‘Project Runway’ 20 episode 13 recap: ‘The Sky’s the Limit’ in avant garde challenge that decided the final 3 [LIVE BLOG]

Daniel Montgomery
·14 min read
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“Project Runway” is one challenge away from the finale, so what happened in this week’s 13th episode when the designers had to create avant garde looks inspired by the views of New York City from the Summit One Vanderbilt building in Manhattan? Scroll down for our live blog with all the minute-by-minute developments and commentary throughout the episode.

Prajje Oscar Jean Baptiste was sent home from “Runway” last week in the “Let Me See Your Peacock!” challenge leaving four designers competing for another chance at the “Project Runway” title: Brittany Allen (Season 18), Laurence Basse (Season 15), Bishme Cromartie (Season 17), and Rami Kashou (Season Four). 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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So who’s likely to come out on top? Well, Brittany is at the greatest disadvantage according to our racetrack odds, perhaps because she was eliminated for her avant garde design back when she competed in season 18. But she managed to dust herself off and execute successful menswear looks this year despite struggling with men’s fashion in season 18, so perhaps she’ll be able to redeem herself in this field of design as well.

Also with a lot of pressure on his shoulders is Rami, who got the Siriano Save and would undoubtedly love to prove to the judges that he’s worthy of showing a collection. Bishme actually made a collection in season 17 but was eliminated before getting a chance to actually show it. That leaves Laurence, who finished third the last time she was on “Runway” and has won more challenges than any other designer this year — but landed in the bottom two in “Peacock.” So you can never be too sure which direction a challenge will go in. Follow along below starting at 9:00pm (times listed are Eastern).

SEE‘Project Runway’ season 20 spoilers: Who was eliminated, when, and why?

9:02pm — “I’m ready now, I have a mission to complete,” says Bishme, who is back in the final four after reaching that point in season 17 only to be eliminated right before getting a chance to show his collection. That’s one of the reasons I want to see him in the finale more than anyone else. Rami and Laurence have been to the finale before, and Brittany never got quite so tantalizingly close.

9:04pm — Time for a field trip to Summit One Vanderbilt! The designers are tripping out justing getting in the mirrored elevator. They emerge into the colored lights of a winding corridor that leads to an open space with mirrored floors and a view of the Manhattan skyline. “It’s the most breathtaking view,” says Rami. But “I’m terrified. I feel my body trembling. I’m not a big fan of very high heights.” You and me both, Rami. I’d need to be harnessed to the floor to get that close to that floor-to-ceiling window.

9:06pm — Christian Siriano arrives to explain that Summit One Vandderbilt is an “immersive design installation … It makes you question reflection versus reality.” The challenge is to be inspired by the architecture of Summit to create an avant garde look worthy of the finale. “Avant garde is so, so incredibly subjective,” notes Brittany, who lost her chance at the finale on season 18’s avant garde challenge. Her goal it to “push my aesthetic to the very max. I’m going to blow this one out of the water.” Considering how she redeemed herself on menswear this season, I wouldn’t underestimate her. Laurence, meanwhile, wanted to be an architect before she did fashion, so of course she’s prepared. Even though she just landed on the bottom two last week, Laurence’s cool confidence is infectious and I’m never really worried about her.

SEELaurence Basse’s ‘Project Runway’ designs, ranked worst to best

9:09pm — The designers find their sketch pads and model cards in a room full of reflective silver balloons, which inspires Bishme to make an avant garde cocktail dress with a huge round belt and hat to represent the reflection of the room. Brittany is inspired by the skewed proportions: buildings look big up top and smaller as you look down towards the ground. So she wants the proportions of her look to range from big to small as well. Laurence looks out the window and inspired by one building in particular that looks like it had a notch carved out of the side. Rami considers using contrasting colors to reflect the way sunlight hits the buildings, plus a texture that emulates the clouds. His garment will redefine the shape of the body.

9:11pm — At Mood, the designers have $700 dollars to spend and as usually 30 minutes to shop. Laurence starts looking for neoprene, Bishme wants vinyl. Brittany is also getting vinyl, but she may need more. Rami is grabbing satin. “Somebody needs to get crazy with this,” says Christian. “I want something insane!” Same!

9:20pm — Day one of the challenge seems to go smoothly enough after their Mood visit. They’re all feeling the pressure to outdo themselves. At the Night Lounge, the designers discuss their experience with avant garde; most of them focus on functionality and wearability in their day-to-day careers, but Brittany at least feels the freedom to go with the flow here. If plans change, it’s just part of the creative process.

9:28pm — On day two, Christian arrives for his walkthrough. It’s the last walkthrough before the finale. Christian wonders if the brim on Bishme’s vinyl baseball cap could itself be more avant garde. Otherwise, Bishme’s look is “really cool, I’m into it.” Brittany notes that this is her 24th walkthrough with Christian, but she has yet to make the finale, so she really wants it. She’s working on a voluminous puffer look, but Christian suggests a cropped look or a more refined top. Brittany already had some of those ideas, and she’s going to add to her look to make a “really insane body suit.”

SEEBishme Cromartie’s ‘Project Runway’ designs, ranked worst to best

9:29pm — Laurence’s technical approach is “crazy,” and Christian loves the shape she’s designing, but she needs to push it more, be more surprising. I agree she needs to pump up the volume from what’s in her sketch. Rami’s elongated dress is incorporating “a lot of things,” so Christian is worried he’s going to confuse the judges: what on Earth is his collection supposed to look like? “It’s really risky, I don’t know. I’m a little nervous.”

9:32pm — From these walkthroughs, I’m most confident about the looks Brittany and Bishme are putting together. Laurence has potential but her design could be bolder. and like Christian, I’m not sure what Rami’s look is going to turn into by the end.

9:34pm — Bishme is turning his cap backwards with a kind of mask hanging over one eye, and he looks like a vinyl superhero. I don’t hate that, but I’ll have to see how it meshes with the rest of his look.

9:35pm — Time for model fittings. Brittany’s still playing around with ideas of fit and material. Right now with that hood I’m getting kind of a sporty “Handmaid’s Tale” vibe, like Gileadidas. Now I’m starting to get a little worried for her. She needs to settle on ideas soon because there’s only so much pivoting she can do over the course of two days. Laurence’s look, meanwhile, still needs more drama. It’s reminding me of her incomplete menswear look from last week in that we kept waiting for it to come together but it never did. Is this look ever going to have the drama it needs?

9:36pm — “Rami, what is this?” Christian asks. “It looks like a hodgepodge.” That’s a potetially deadly critique since that’s exactly how Julia Fox described Rami’s “Uncut Hems” look before the judges eliminated him and Christian used his Siriano Save. I still have no idea what his look is going to turn out to be.

SEEBrittany Allen’s ‘Project Runway’ designs, ranked worst to best

9:43pm — The morning of the runway show, Brittany’s nerves are shot, but Rami says that fear is often a sign of growth. They also reflect on returning to the competition for “All-Stars.” Bishme was uncertain just because of how fresh his grief was over his sister’s death, while Laurence and Rami marvel at how much the show and the designers mean to some people and how much they can inspire others through their work.

9:46pm — Two and a half hours left before the runway show. I really like Brittany’s puffer. Christian tries it on and it’s swallowing him up, but in a cool way. Christian still seems somewhat muted about Rami’s look even though he’s editing his ideas back. I’m still not getting a sense of avant garde from Laurence’s design.

9:48pm — “It’s a little Batgirl for me,” says Christian about Bishme’s midnight vinyl dress and mask. I mean … he’s not wrong, but I like it.

9:49pm — At last looks, I honestly think Brittany could win this challenge. The other three could go either way. I’m most worried for Rami and Laurence.

9:54pm — Joining Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell, and Elaine Welteroth on the judging panel this week are guests Steven Kolb (CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America) and celebrity stylist Law Roach.

BISHME — “Avant garde is literally what I do in my sleep,” he says as he watches his look walk down the runway. I love the shine and the color of the vinyl he chose. The shape and construction of the dress are cool. The big belt disc is also nicely constructed. I’m into it.

RAMI — He thinks his model “exudes the avant garde feeling.” I like the big collar, but I just don’t like this dress that much. One hip just jutting out for seemingly no reason, fabric bunching around awkwardly, and it looks kind of patchwork. Doesn’t look intentional. He may be in trouble.

BRITTANY — Love the puffer jacket with those long sleeves (I’m a sucker for oversized details like that). The skirt with those buckles connecting to the boots is really cool. Unfortunately for Brittany the iridescence of the fabric isn’t coming through under the runway lights. Even without that, though, I think it’s the best look so far.

LAURENCE — Okay, this look is actually cool AF. Really nice and architectural with the broad shoulder piece and the flared skirt. Is it avant garde? I’m not so sure. This could be the winner of another challenge, not sure how it fares in this challenge. Just as a look, it’s right up there with Brittany.

SEERami Kashou’s ‘Project Runway’ designs, ranked worst to best

9:59pm — Sadly, I think Rami is out. His look was pretty clearly to me the weakest of the four. Bishme, Brittany, and Laurence all looked great as far as I’m concerned, with Brittany being my personal winner for the challenge. Elaine and Steven praise all the designers for the amazing job they did and how difficult a decision this will be.

10:07pm — Starting off with Rami. Nina could tell that the structure was trying to mimic the glass and metal form of a building, but there are details that are not the usual technical perfection that Rami usually delivers. She’s impressed that he pushed the boundaries, though. Law likes the cutouts and the transparency of the mesh, but he couldn’t use it on a red carpet because people on social media would zoom in and see the flaws. Steven thinks it’s a “tall, strong” look, “raw,” but he captured the avant garde theme. Elaine commends him for his 3D drapery, but the fabric choice distracted from his vision. Brandon commends him for pushing himself even if it didn’t go perfectly. Not sure what’s going to happen after those very mixed, but somewhat affectionate critiques.

10:09pm — Bishme is next. Law is obsessed with the hat. But outside of the hat it doesn’t feel very new to him. The shape of the dress is very referential. Nina loved the color choice the most because it felt unexpected. It’s extremely editorial. Steven thinks the hat is great and the cover on the shoe is clever. Brandon struggled with how referential the look was, but the hat was an original idea that saved the look.

10:10pm — Okay, Brittany’s turn. Law thinks it’s cool, it would look great on an album cover, so it’s “commercial in a good way,” but for the purposes of the challenge it was a miss for him since it’s streetwear, not really avant garde.

10:16pm — Steven thinks Brittany’s look is cozy and has proportion, and maybe it’s avant garde with its “crazy sleeves,” but he doesn’t really see the architectural influence. Elaine says there’s so much Brittany did right, she leaned into what she does well — avant garde meets activewear. It’s also very flattering on the model. Nina couldn’t really tell what Brittany was inspired by. She has seen a version of this look and is disappointed by it because Brittany didn’t seem to push herself the way the others did. Brandon acknowledges that she loves current fashion, but she falls back on what’s familiar to her too much. Not going to lie, I’m shocked that my favorite look of this challenge is probably going to be eliminated. Am I the only one who really liked this look?

10:17pm — Laurence is last up. Steven thinks it’s great with its avant garde biker jacket mixing materials. Elaine calls it “Laurence 2.0,” she really leveled up. Law thinks she nailed the architectural inspiration. Nina says she “really delivered,” and she was smart to incorporate everything she’s good at. Sounds like this is our winner. I don’t mind since I think it’s a fabulous look, but I actually thought Brittany pushed her boundaries more and was much more successful in her execution than Rami. So I’m still surprised by how much flack Brittany got. Maybe my idea of avant garde is too basic?

10:25pm — The winner of this challenge is … Bishme! After all the praise for Laurence, I thought it would be her, but I don’t mind this result. Bishme’s look was excellent, and he and Laurence are moving on to the finale as they should.

10:26pm — Laurence is also announced as a finalist.

10:27pm — That leaves Rami and Brittany. “Brittany … you are in!” Which means Rami is out. Kinda relieved. Kinda wasn’t expecting that after the critiques. I was a little baffled she was on the chopping block with Rami. As much as I love Rami, I think his was clearly the most flawed design of the challenge. And he has already been to a finale, so Brittany getting her first chance to show a collection is going to be really exciting.

10:29pm — Rami says in his exit interview, “It’s been a long journey. It’s been a lot of hard work. Nobody wants to be in a position where they’re about to be handed something, which is the opportunity of going to Fashion Week, and then it being slipped away from you. I’ve set an intention to challenge myself creatively, technically, and I feel like I accomplished all of those. I have no regrets. I have had the honor to compete and to befriend and to become intimate with a lot of these people and learn about their stories and their backgrounds. And it’s been such an honor just being with you guys. It’s an honor, and that’s it, that’s all I’m going to say.”

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