Project Runway Season 12 Episode 7 – Shoes First: Memorable Quotes From Last Night's Episode

If the shoes fits, design a garment inspired by it! Episode 7 of Project Runway’s season 12 saw the designers head to the Marie Claire magazine fashion closet, where they were surrounded by shoes. There, they met Tim and editor-in-chief Anne Fulenwider, who gave them the week’s challenge: to design an outfit inspired by a pair of shoes in the fashion closet. The designers competed for the shoe of their choice – to choose a pair, they had to press a buzzer and answer questions about the fashion industry. Was anyone else disappointed that neither Dom nor Miranda could answer the basic question about who came up with the term “Little Black Dress” (the answer: Coco Chanel)? Some of these designers need to brush up on their fashion history knowledge!

Anyway, the designers chose their shoes and got down to business. After sketching in the Marie Claire office for 20 minutes, they were whisked off to Mood. Once again, the challenge was fairly ambiguous, so it was interesting to see the array of fabrics the designers bought. At the same time, it was surprising that Miranda and Alexander chose very similar red-and-green tartans. The two designers were worried that they would be compared to one another on the runway, but it didn’t really seem like a big deal. Time in the workroom seemed to fly by; it wasn’t long before Tim was there to critique the designers. There were already a couple standouts – Helen’s fitted black dress and capelet were sure to be a favorite with the judges, and Alexandria’s simple, yet sleek dress to go with the extreme gladiator sandals she chose seemed like a good combination. Plus, the pieces of lace she was incorporating added the right amount of femininity. There were also some problem pieces. Bradon’s incorporated a draping technique that looked like rippling water into his garment, which was originally a dress. After Tim’s critique that it might be too much, or appear too dated, he turned it into a top with a circle skirt in a different fabric. The models came in to be fitted, and everything was a hustle from there on out. The next day, the models had their hair and makeup done, and it was runway time!

Fulenwider and actress Kaley Cuoco were the guest judges. This week, the judges choices for the top and bottom designers were a little surprising. Helen, Alexandria, and Ken were the top three, while Bradon, Miranda, and Jeremy were in the bottom. I wasn’t very impressed by Ken’s short peplum dress. The fabric choice was better than his previous design’s fabric, but where was the creativity in the design? Watching the runway show, Kate’s design was one of the few designs that was exciting: she created an interesting black pant with long slits up the front with a white button down shirt that had interesting construction details. And, I liked Miranda’s design – but then, I’m a sucker for vintage and vintage-inspired clothes. I would wear those plaid pants in a heartbeat! In the end, Helen won the challenge and Miranda was voted out of the competition.

Memorable Quotes: “There’s a battle of the tartans brewing in this challenge.” – Bradon “I can just see myself prancing around in my shoes and not finishing anything.” – Kate “She’s winking. Otherwise she would be carrying a whip.” – Tim “It could be the showdown of plaid pants.” – Dom “Simplicity is next to godliness.” – Zac Be sure to check out our other favorite site dedicated to all things Project Runway…Blogging Project Runway! – Tanisha Wallis Photos: Lifetime