Week 8: Blame It on Rio

This week's episode starts with a bang, as a confrontation takes place in the apartment following the runway show from the last episode. Bishme, and a few other fellow competitors, are confused as to why Tessa was safe and not in the bottom with her look. Her model's strap fell off of her shoulder and her hem was unfinished for a challenge that was all about elegance. The drama is starting to heat up!

Surprise: Marni Senofonte is back again! She is here to deliver this week's challenge of creating a story for a mini collection in teams for a celebrity client's upcoming vacation. Actress Morena Baccarin is visiting Rio soon and needs 3 looks for her trip: glamorous beachwear, chic daytime-wear, and fabulous evening-wear. The challenge also includes a promotional element for one of Project Runway's partners, TRESemmé, where the designers are told that the perfect hairstyle is key to finishing the whole look, so they must incorporate 3 unique hairstyles to complete the collection. This additional hair element is a bit of a shameless plug to be included as part of the challenge, seeing as the judges reference hair only once during the actual judging. But, of course, they need to promote their sponsors.

The selection of teams is completely new compared to all seasons past. For this challenge, Karlie draws your name from the button bag, the designer gets to choose their 2 teammates. Tessa picks first and selects Sebastian and Lela as her teammates, forming Team Rio Holiday. Hester picks next and chooses Garo and Bishme as her teammates, forming Team Disco Queen. The left-over designers that did not get picked are Jamall, Venny, and Renee who form Team Carnival.

Marni drops in to mentor the teams right away, which is a totally different element that has never been done before on challenges. By mentoring during the brainstorming session, the designers get a good reminder of the importance of teamwork and cohesion in their creation of a story. This added element should be totally helpful to the designers, seeing as team challenges in past seasons always seem to have at least one team that ends up working as individuals and needs to find some element of cohesion at the last minute.

After the teams have bought their fabrics and start working on their designs, it becomes clear that everyone has the same color palette of turquoise, coral, and yellow. All the designs mesh together in the workroom, so much so that you cannot tell which pieces belong to which teams.

Garo makes a notable comment as he is working saying, "In order for this team to get along, Hester needs to believe that she is the leader. But I am the backup leader." Smart move! This could definitely be one of the reasons why this team was so successful. However, I personally thought that Team Rio Holiday, who ended up being safe on the runway, did way better than Team Disco Queen. To me, their pieces looked more expensive, elegant, and met the assigned challenge so much better.

THE RUNWAY

Top Team: Team Disco Queen - Hester, Garo, & Bishme

Team Disco Queen was inspired by a 70's Grecian vibe that celebrates color.

Garo Sparo

Garo wanted to work with a silhouette that featured movement. The judges thought this look was well-done and showed the great work that he could do with corsetry, and how this work can be applied in so many different ways. However, the judges agreed that this look was not as good as his fellow teammates.Guest judge and client Morena said this look was, "the one that I could see myself wearing the most."

Bishme Cromartie

Bishme's look was the perfect palate cleanser for this challenge, and Rio is the perfect place for a white pant. The judges thought that this look more than redeemed Bishme from his work last week, as it looks young and cool. Brandon loved the, "beautifully cut top that is super hard to do."

Winner: Hester Sunshine!

Hester WINS again! Hester took the lead in her group, as she likes to be the boss who fosters everyone's personal best, which really worked for her team. The judges thought this look was very marketable and well-made. Guest judge and client Morena said that Hester, "understands the female shape very well."

Bottom Team: Team Carnival - Jamall, Venny, & Renee

Team Carnival was inspired by the Rio summer festival, Carnival. They wanted their looks to be sporty and bold.

Jamall Osterholm

It's a good thing Jamall had immunity this week, as all of the judges except for Marni thought this was the worst look by far. Jamall wanted to have fun with this look and do something a little bit abstract. The judges thought this looked like a bad ice skating uniform. Brandon said, "If he were not the one person in this challenge with immunity, he would have been figure-skating, swimming, running, whatever the hell this look is doing right out the door. Ciao."

Venny Etienne

Venny's design this week was supposed to be the team's evening-wear look, despite the fact that Morena thought it was the daytime piece. The judges thought this look was far too juvenile, especially for Morena. Marni said, "It's not evening, it's not carnival to me, and it's not the client."

Out: Renee Hill

Renee struggled with working in a team again this week, as she compromised her look by making pants the way that Venny does, which was a completely different and new process for her. The judges thought that the pants were terribly unflattering, which led them to conclude that Renee lost her focus and vision by working in a team again. Brandon said, "This weird banana yellow drop-crotch genie pant, like, that is what is upsetting me."

So was Project Runway Season 17 Episode 8 in or out? I have to say in yet again! So far, I'm liking all the small changes that they have made. Although I did not agree with the judges' choice for winning team, it is not the first time that that I have disagreed with the judges. While it was shocking that half of the judging was absent for the runway, the show did pretty well by making the show seem pretty normal despite the fact that only half of the usual personalities were present for the runway show.