‘Project Runway’ 20 episode 4 recap: On ‘Coronation Day,’ who was the most regal and who got royally screwed? [LIVE BLOG]
“Project Runway” season 20 went straight from the season premiere into the unconventional materials challenge, which always pushes the creativity of the designers to the limit. They had to create playful looks using toys bought from famous toy store FAO Schwarz. But you know what else pushes designers to their limits? A team challenge! That’s what they have to do for “Coronation Day.” Follow along below for our live blog with all the developments and commentary as they happen.
SEE‘Project Runway’ season 20: Worst looks
Mila Hermanovski was eliminated in “Toying with Fashion” for a look that was unfinished and showed little creative point of view. That leaves 12 designers competing for a second chance at the “Project Runway” title: Brittany Allen (Season 18), Prajje Oscar Jean Baptiste (Season 19), Laurence Basse (Season 15), Fabio Costa (Season 10), Bishme Cromartie (Season 17), Johnathan “Kayne” Gillaspie (Season Three), Rami Kashou (Season Four), Viktor Luna (Season Nine), Korto Momolu (Season Five), Kara Saun (Season One), Hester Sunshine (Season 17), and Anna Yinan Zhou (Season 19). The winner of the competition will get $250,000, a mentorship with the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), and a feature in Elle magazine.
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“Coronation Day” blindly pairs the designers together to create luxurious gowns fit for royalty, with guest judge Wes Gordon, the Creative Director of Carolina Herrera, joining the full-time panel of Nina Garcia, Elaine Welteroth, and Brandon Maxwell. So whose looks will be fit for a queen, and whose will be a royal mess? Follow along below starting at 9:00pm (times listed are Eastern).
9:02pm — “In my season, I never rocked the bottom, not a single time,” says Laurence about her close brush with fashion death last week. “So you’ve gotta rebuild yourself, make sure that they see you the next time.” I hope she makes the most of this second chance because I think she should have been the one sent home last week.
9:04pm — Just as the designers are speculating about their next challenge — bridal? drag queens? — the horns start blaring. “The queen!” In celebration of the coronation of a new king in England, the designers will colonize India — er, create a formal gown for royalty. Prajje is so excited he nearly faints. “The good news is, we’re dividing you up into teams of two,” says Christian, but, um, when are team challenges ever a good thing? As Fabio puts it, “It’s fitting that we’re working with monarchy because there’s a lot of diplomacy involved.” No button bag, though. The teams are determined by tea sandwiches. They’re split up into …
— Kayne and Viktor — The winners of the first two challenges, but will they work together as well as they worked apart?
— Brittany and Anna — I have a good feeling about this pairing … now watch them be on the bottom.
— Hester and Fabio — Kinda nervous about how their aesthetics will mesh. Kinda nervous about how ANY aesthetic will mesh with Hester.
— Kara Saun and Laurence — The designer who barely survived the first challenge and the one who barely survived the second challenge. Interesting.
— Prajje and Korto — No notes.
— Rami and Bishme — They seem temperamentally compatible.
9:05pm — Only one designer will be eliminated, so they need to be “crystal clear” about their contributions to each gown so the judges will know whose head to lop off. As winner of the last challenge, Viktor’s team gets first pick of models. They go around making their selections and lo and behold every team chooses a skinny woman.
9:09pm — Planning their designs, Prajje and Korto are on the same page about creating African/Haitian royalty using fabric Korto brought from home. Kayne and Viktor want movement like water, a cape with a train. Brittany is excited that she and Anna are both very feminine designers. Hester and Fabio arre both genderqueer designers, so Hester suggests subverting the idea of royalty and gowns. I like the idea, but it could go sideways fast. Kara Saun and Laurence split up doing the gown and the cape. Bishme and Rami are thinking sculptural shapes. No conflicts among the teams … yet.
9:16pm — Mood visit. They have 30 minutes and $1000 per team. Fabio and Hester are picking grey as their color story. That makes me a little nervous. Could be blah. Rami is thinking of an everyday woman who gets a royal moment. Brittany is worried they’re going to spend $700 on a novelty fabric, leaving $300 for everything else. But Korto is using fabric from home, so her team is starting out ahead on their budget. Viktor wants to use a metallic silvery leather; Kayne isn’t so sure.
9:20pm — In the workroom, Brittany admits to being a high-strung type-A control freak. Anna also wants to be the leader, so she doesn’t think either will end up being the leader. Could end up being all compromise, no vision. “I just want to make it out of this team challenge alive,” says Brittany. Korto explains a really exciting robe reveal she and Prajje are planning. Hester reiterates her queer point of view; she and Fabio should at least stand out from the others on the runway, and I’m looking forward to that. Rami and Bishme are all good vibes, mellow AF, which can also be a worrying sign if the look ends up being as mild-mannered as the partnership.
9:26pm — Laurence and Kara Saun’s aesthetics don’t quite mix. Laurence leans towards hard, while Kara Saun is very soft. “It’s serving rich bitch realness from Africa,” says Prajje. That’s a mission statement if ever I heard one. Slay! Viktor and Kayne’s silver corset, though … Prajje doesn’t understand it, and it’s giving me Wonder Woman vibes.
9:28pm — At the night lounge, Korto spells out an advantage that the recent-season contestants have: Christian Siriano and the judges already knows them, so the walkthroughs, judging, and expectations will be different. Two older contestants have been eliminated and Korto wonders if that will be a pattern. “I’m an OG, and I still got it,” she says. She doesn’t want any regrets.
9:32pm — Brittany reminds Anna that they’re a team and they need to have more or less equal contribution to the design. My current theory is that this conflict is a misdirect and they’re going to end up with a top look.
9:36pm — Christian walkthrough! He thinks Korto and Prajje making the applique the star is a good idea … as long as they have enough of it. I’m very encouraged by what they’re doing so far. Rami and Bishme are going in too safe a direction, though, and need more drama. Christian is impressed with Laurence’s cape fabric, but the “icy” queen gown underneath gives him pause until Kara Saun explains the hard-and-soft concept.
9:40pm — As for Kayne and Viktor, their gown is looking like a “medieval costume,” they need to make it cooler and more modern. Viktor admits that if he were on his own he would edit more, but he wants to make sure both he and Kayne are represented in the garment. Kayne also wonders if the corset works but doesn’t want to fight it out of respect for Viktor. Jumping off that cliff together. But Xena wants her corset back. Hester and Fabio have a good queer idea and should lean into their rich-looking grey color. Christian is confused by Brittany’s concept: a queen from an all-female planet where they reproduce by drinking from a single source of spring water. Like … wha? The beading on their skirt is also a problem, it doesn’t look intentional.
9:45pm — Fabio thinks about his queer look with Hester and remembers coming out to his mother. “Project Runway” was a big part of her accepting him and his career choice. That’s why he keeps coming back to the show, for the fourth time now. Meanwhile, Kayne is still trying to make that corset work.
9:48pm — Time for model fittings. “Where are her skates?” asks Christian to Kara Saun about her gown. Kara Saun doesn’t want to hear that because it doesn’t look like an ice skating costume … except right now it kinda does. And the dress still really doesn’t mesh with the cape. Christian also suggests changes for Brittany and Anna, but Anna doesn’t think they have time and just need to finish their dress. Not a good sign. Kayne and Viktor are also in a troubling place with their costumey, corseted gown, which looks like she’s from the planet Brittany described. Hester and Fabio need to work on their pants, but I think they’re in the best shape right now overall. Them and Prajje/Korto seem to be really on the right track.
9:54pm — Time for the runway show, with guest judge Wes Gordon, the creative director of Carolina Herrera. He’s one of Korto’s favorite designers. Prajje also loves the brand. A lot to live up to.
BRITTANY/ANNA: Very feminine, princessy, looks nice. Nothing about it wows me, though. Brittany too doesn’t think they’ll win the challenge and is just hoping to be safe. That’s possible, depending on what else comes down the runway. Anna is also disappointed that it’s just a pretty gown.
KARA SAUN/LAURENCE: I’m not feeling that skirt. Laurence thinks this is her redemption, but is it really? Bolder than Brittany/Anna, so maybe they’ll be safe. The cape and dress still don’t really complement each other.
VIKTOR/KAYNE: It looks better coming down the runway than I thought it would, but they still should have done without the corset. Ditch the corset and it’s a top look.
FABIO/HESTER: My favorite look so far. Clean, well executed, unique. It’s more feminine than androgynous, I think. The pants don’t really come through as much to give it that gender-bent style, but I think it’s a winner overall.
RAMI/BISHME: The best decision they made was to expose the midriff under that sheer fabric. That makes it feel edgier and more modern. I also like the way the sleeve drapes down into the cape too. I dig it.
PRAJJE/KORTO: I need to take a look at this one a second time. Voluminous and kinda busy, but I love the reveal taking off the robe and showcasing that dress underneath. Another top look for me.
9:59pm — Here’s what I’m thinking. Top are Fabio/Hester and Prajje/Korto. Bottom are Brittany/Anna and either Kara Saun/Laurence or Viktor/Kayne. I think Rami/Bishme deserve to be safe. We’ll see what the judges think.
10:00pm — Interesting, the judges will be critiquing all of the looks. Nina says there were no bad designs and I kinda agree, though some designs I think had bad elements.
10:05pm — Elaine likes the simplicity of the classic gown silhouette on the Bishme/Rami look, but they made it modern. Wes thinks it’s one of the chic-est dresses with an amazing understanding of drape and pattern-making, but it doesn’t stand out enough. Nina thinks it’s a classic, with a great drape of the half-shoulder, but the black color is a problem. Brandon doesn’t like the embroidery. Seems like a split decision.
10:07pm — On Brittany/Anna, Wes thinks the train feels wilted and heavy, the fabric was wrong for it. Nina thinks it’s almost like a costume. Elaine thinks it’s ill-fitting, she wishes it looked younger and more modern. The gathering of the tulle “brings everything down.” Brandon thinks they needed to get more inventive and risky. Definitely a bottom look.
10:09pm — Laurence/Kara Saun are next. Brandon loved that he could see a piece of both designers. Elaine thought it was one of her favorite looks. Wes loves the cape and the dress is beautiful, but they have no business being together. Nina notices an homage to Karl Lagerfeld, and she loves the play of black and white, it’s dressing royalty from the future. Another split decision, but sounds like a top look. Not sure I agree with that.
10:11pm — Wes loves the hat on the Kayne/Viktor look, but it veers into costume and looks better with the corset off. Nina is stumped because without the corset it’s a beautiful gown. The work is there but the accessorizing is so over the top that it’s hard to consider it a gown and not a costume. Definitely a bottom look. Brandon thinks it would have won if this were a stage performance challenge, but it was too busy for a royal look.
10:16pm — Fabio/Hester are next. I had no idea the skirt actually came off to reveal the pants more clearly. They should have had the model do that reveal on the runway because it’s fabulous and makes me like their design even more than I did. Nina was curious and pleased. Elaine could see Meghan Markle wearing it. Wes didn’t like the “sad” fabric. Brandon loves the drape and modernity of it. Sounds like another top look, and damn right!
10:18pm — Prajje/Korto are last. Wes thought it was well styled: the headpiece ties together the coat and the dress, which I agree do feel pretty different from each other. Nina loved the story, and she loves the combo of the blue and burgundy. Brandon thought this look was what the challenge was all about. Elaine says they made the ancestors proud, and without African fabric. Sounds like the winning design.
10:19pm — Brandon doesn’t think there was one worst look, just details to pick apart. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna pick Brittany and Anna as the worst, though.
10:22pm — In the judges’ deliberations, Hester/Fabio, Bishme/Rami fall somewhere in the middle, so they’re safe. Huh, I thought Hester/Fabio should have been one of the top teams. The best looks are Korto/Prajje and Laurence/Kara Saun, and if Korto and Prajje don’t win between those two, I’m gonna throw something. On the bottom, Kayne/Viktor was pure Vegas and Brittany/Anna was boring, basic, and cliche.
10:25pm — The winning team is … Korto and Prajje — hell yes! And the overall winner of the challenge is Korto for the splendid fabric choices.
10:28pm — The judges don’t announce a losing team before announcing the losing designer. I’m a little surprised that Viktor is sent home because I thought Brittany and Anna would be the judges’ least favorite look, but I guess that corset was an unforgivable sin. And this goes to show how serious they are about no immunity this season. Viktor just won the last challenge, but as they say, in fashion, one day you’re in and the next you’re out.
10:29pm — Viktor says in his exit interview, “I’m very sad. I wanted to make it to the end. I wanted to make it to the end. I wanted you guys to see a lot more of me. It’s going to be a few months of hard doubting myself, what did I do wrong? But it’s part of growth. I’m grateful for everything, but I’m also going to miss being on the runway and the rush.”
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