Runway Roundup: No glow-ting please

As “Frozen” (2013) fan, fashion designer and Project Runway judge Zac Posen so aptly exclaimed, this week’s challenge asked the designers to “Let it glow.” With the help of this week’s product placement, Transitions Lenses, the designers were asked to create a look that would be wearable during the daytime but also at night under blacklights. To introduce the task at hand, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn pushed down on a giant plastic prop light switch that was clearly built just to start this episode.

Not a fan of the switch were this week’s guest judges, seniors Paxton Crystal and Jacob Katsiaficas. The best buds generously spent their Homecoming afternoon with us, sharing their opinions and a blanket, while getting ready to see Wacka Flocka Flame perform at Fall Fest. Theatre darling Paxton can next be seen in the Drama Department’s rendition of “King Stag.” Jacob, Applejam’s president, can be found jamming in Granoff or at The Sinclair’s “Emo Night” with his camo/dad/fake-punk aesthetic.

Although Paxton proclaimed that he “doesn’t understand high fashion,” to which Jacob responded that he “doesn’t understand low fashion,” both were surprised by how much they enjoyed watching Project Runway and judging the designers.

In terms of what actually went down the runway, Jacob declared Cornelius’ attempt to make an “emoji” dress was the “worst thing I’ve ever seen.” We have to agree. Cornelius used tape to make emoticon shapes on his dress and then painted his dress with glow in the dark paint so smiley faces would show up in the negative space when he pulled off the tape. The dress, which appears plain white in regular light, featured x’s over the model’s breasts and an unfortunately-placed smiley face with glasses that covered her abdomen and crotch area. The piece was one of the highest-rated that week, with the judges describing it as “very now” -- “now” meaning 1999.

We begrudgingly admit that Erin Robertson designed one of our favorite outfits. We don’t understand Erin as a person -- she’s a bit of a Kimmy-Schmidt-goes-awry-and-lives-in-Allston type of figure. Despite the way her personality unsettles us, there is no denying that her looks are gorgeous. The textile and design she made for this challenge were refreshingly delicate yet confident. Having won two out of the three challenges, she is easily becoming the frontrunner of this season, 

We were also happy to observe that Brik Allen was safe and that his golden locks looked more luscious than ever. We can’t really remember what he made, but that’s okay. Mah-Jing Wong, another of our favorites, had a breakdown after FaceTiming with his family. He had a rough go of it this episode with a dress splattered with blacklight paint in a way that better resembled a murder scene or a hotel bed sheet (if you catch our drift), but we are happy he survived. This meant Kimber Richardson was sent home this week with a dress that was just underwhelming.

Get ready for next week, as Tim Gunn’s knees will make their television debut when he comes out to introduce the swimwear-themed challenge in shorts!