Project Runway: Episode 5

Project Runway:
It's My Way On The Runway (Bitch)

It could be said that this week's episode of Project Runway has been the most explosive and bitchiest yet. The designers were given their brief from Marie Claire fashion director and judge, Nina Garcia: split into two teams and create a collection of garments suitable for women in the workplace. The looks were to be then photographed with the intent of featuring in Marie Claire's new "@ The Workplace" magazine, however only the winning team's collection would actually be featured. This brief was a recipe for bitching, arguments and complete clashes from the beginning: after seeing how the designers reacted when paired up in episode 3 to create a look for past Project Runway designers, you just knew that someone would blow up in this challenge!

First up with the teams. Seeing as Sonjia won last weeks challenge, she was able to choose her first team mate. Her decision? Elena - purely for her technical sewing skills. Yeah, can't say I would have made the same decision. After Sonjia, Nathans name was picked from a button bag and so he had the next choice. Following this, each designer chosen then had the decision of who would join their team. In the end, Team 5 consisted of: Christopher, Ven, Nathan, Gunnar and Fabio. Team 6 included: Melissa, Sonjia, Elena, Dmitry, Alicia and Raul. First off, who in their right minds would choose Elena to be on their team? *face of utter astonishment* You just know from the start that she's going to lose her mind over something, attempt to take charge, steal the limelight and throw one massive bitch fit. Oh, and she's going to design some hideous OTT shoulder detail.

The amount of arguments and hissy-fits in this weeks episode could last the rest of Season 10: As we all know by now, Elena is extremely high-strung and temperamental. To begin with, she lost the bag of fabric that she bought from Mood for her design and as a result, had to use some extra material that Dmitry offered as a Plan B - which she obviously wasn't pleased about. Then she wasn't quite happy with the shoulder-ruffle-detail-thing that she designed for her jacket, so proceeded to throw it across her work bench. Later at the photo shoot, she decided that none of the props available were suitable and that the majority of the end photographs weren't quite up to her standard. She was rather vocal on her opinions as well and so, got herself into countless arguments with both Melissa and Raul. Oh, she even had a bitch at the hair and make-up team, demanding that the models be in front of the camera whenever she said. Raul's issues came from his designs landing him in the bottom two a few times and his previous elimination. He worried  from beginning till end and refused to really take in the teams perspectives and ideas for the collection. Then the claws came out. On a few occasions: one being at the photo shoot and again after the Runway show, Raul told Elena that he hated her and I quote, couldn't stand her! Well, who else wants to give Raul a pat on the back? I have to agree with him on this subject, but it was still a little shocking to hear him come out and say it to her face. 

Anyway, I'm about three paragraphs into this post and I haven't even mentioned the clothes! Team 5 were given the task of creating five looks and had a budget of $1000, whereas Team 6 had six looks to create and were given a slightly higher budget of $1,200. Straight away, Sonjia took charge of Team 6 and decided that it could perhaps work out for the best if each team member created something that they felt the most comfortable with, rather than create an entire look each. They didn't exactly have a theme or colour palette ready for entering Mood like Team 5 did, but they seemed organised even though Raul was going in the opposite direction from anything they suggested. Team 5 had a colour palette and decided that they would create a look each. Let's see the designs, shall we?

Team 5:

Christopher

Fabio

Gunnar

Nathan

Ven

I'm going to be honest and say that I totally hated Fabio's dress. While the judges loved it and thought it was versatile for women of all ages, I hated it. The design, the shoulders, the material - I didn't like anything about it. Ven's skirt and top were gorgeous. I would look at any woman wearing that and wonder where she bought it from, but it doesn't change the fact that Ven is a one trick pony. I said this in episode 2, and each week has only reinforced my opinion. He goes for architecturally structured floral designs. Beautiful every now and again, of course, but it gets boring when you see it in his designs every single week. Show me some versatility in your design capabilities Ven!

Team 6:

Dmitry

Alicia (trousers) & Elena (jacket)

Alicia (trousers) & Elena (jacket)

Melissa

Raul (top) & Sonjia (skirt)

Raul (top) & Sonjia (skirt)

My favourite from Team 6 has to be Melissa's dress. That dress is so modern, chic and fashionable, yet completely professional and powerful for any work environment - I absolutely love it. It's definitely something that I would wear to the office myself and it looked fantastic when photographed for the editorial. I also loved Sonjia's skirts: that blue pencil skirt really stood out with the bold colour, but looked insanely flattering and suitable for the office. The worst look for me? Elena's jacket with the OTT shoulder details. I get that that sort of detail is her aesthetic, but she clearly knows how to tone it down, so I don't know why she feels the need to have it in 99% of her looks. Not flattering or fashionable for me at all.

Both teams scored the same amount of points in this weeks challenge, so that meant that this weeks guest judge, Marie Claire Editor-In-Chief Joanna Coles had to really work with Heidi, Nina and Michael to decide which designer would win this weeks challenge, and which look was the worst, meaning elimination from the competition. They chose Melissa's stunning blue dress as the winner and chose Raul as this weeks loser. That's got the hurt: two eliminations! Raul said in his vlog that he was happy to be leaving the competition at this point in time and said that creating garments in seven hours just wasn't for him. I can't say I'll be sad to see him go: his designs never really hit the mark with me.

What did you think of this weeks episode? Did you agree with the judges decisions? Leave your comments below!

Photo Credit: www.mylifetime.com

Introducing: SS'12 by Vita di Moda

SS12 by Vita di Moda

&
UnitedStyles at Fashiolista

First of all, let me just apologize for not giving you guys a style post with my new W118 by Walter Baker trench like I had previously promised. I ended up absolutely swamped with things to do for college, then I went to the cinema to see The Avengers, so I didn't have much time to write/take photos! Due to this, I'd like to make it up to you by sharing some design illustrations that I made over at United Styles.

The designs came about when I was introduced to the website Fashiolista (my profile button is in the right hand bar, why not go check it out?): A website that brings you a difference in how you shop. Yourself and other users are invited to create a profile and start 'loving' various fashion items, on both the website and various other shopping sites through the use of their heart button which you can add to your web browser next to the URL tab. It works just like the Polyvore 'Clip To' and Pinterest's 'Pin It' buttons. On the website, you can check out various competitions that Fashiolista currently have on with various retailers: At the moment, you can create your own pair of jeans with Getwear or, like me, create a collection of designs for style bloggers with United Styles. I really love the UI for creating the designs and you can even preview your design in a realistic 3D showroom with the option to buy your design! I got a little carried away with it, so let me show you some of the illustration idea's I've came up with.

I was inspired by the abundance of print this season and the colour palette just came from what I thought looked good together. What do you guys think? Would you wear any of the pieces I designed? 

My personal favourite is the baby pink polka dot trench. It comes in at $159.95, or about £99 - I'm actually a little obsessed with it. If you want to buy any of the pieces, you can view the images on my Fashiolista profile and click the source: that will then take you to the United Styles page!


Remember to 'like'/follow Vita di Moda on Facebook & Twitter!

Glasgow's Very Own: Chouchou Couture

"The Chouchou woman is no slave to trends and the flamboyant designs are driven instead by lifestyle to be worn with a wink and a grin."

Chouchou's "Hollyhood"
100% Wool Tartan Hood - £39.00

If you haven't already heard of the Glasgow based, Italian fashion designer Silvia Pellegrino then perhaps now is the time to sit up and take notice. Silvia's label Chouchou was set up in Rome in 2008 with each garment produced by hand using both contemporary and vintage textiles. Silvia combines her Italian flair with a love of travelling, free-spirited flamboyant women and unusual beauty to create her designs, resulting in a collection of looks that are unique, feminine and oh so very stylish.

One such design that proves a staple and best seller for Chouchou is the "Hollyhood". Named after their very first customer Holly, they are the perfect accessory to any outfit, whether it be as the hood as styled, or on the shoulders as a scarf. There are a range of designs to choose from, however I decided to feature the tartan hood as it shows my love for Glasgow - as well as the fact that it makes classic tartan look amazing to say the least.

Although the label is only four years old, Silvia has taken huge strides in creating a name for the brand with ASOS Marketplace placing Chouchou on the list of "New Labels We Love". The recognition received from ASOS has subsequently landed Silvia with a phone call from the world famous magazine British Vogue; resulting in a feature in their March edition this year. The editor of Vogue, Alexandra Shulman said that the tartan "Hollyhood" was the item which caught her attention and ultimately lead to her interest in Chouchou.

The current collections are: Marianna SS10, Lola AW11, Amber SS11 and there will be a new SS12 edition to add to the list launching next Thursday (5th April) - Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the launch as I will be in Paris, however I do plan on doing a post on the new collection once I get my hands on some photographs, as it is one that I cannot wait to see!

For the purpose of the post, I have chosen to focus on two of the garments currently available to purchase on the Chouchou store @ ASOS Marketplace. First up is this vintage chiffon pussy bow blouse;

Front View.
Pussy Bow Blouse; £63.50

Back View.

This electric blue, sheer blouse is one of my favourite pieces; the flower detail on front, with the pussy bow and cropped back detail is just gorgeous. Wondering how to style this little number? Silvia's style advice is to pair it with a sleek pencil skirt, high waisted palazzo pants or leggings for maximum impact. Currently envisioning how you would wear this piece? Why not head over to the online store and buy it for yourself!
Lastly we have this light pink vintage cropped jacket:

Pale Pink Vintage Crop Jacket
£56.00

Back View.

I can't look at this jacket without falling head over heels in love with it. It's romantic, contemporary and right now features highly on my current shopping wish list. The raw edges and beaded applique collar and genuine leather front panel are the features which sold it for me personally, as it combines just the right amount of girly and punk-edge to suit my style. Styling tips from Silvia are to wear it over tube dresses, high waisted pencil skirts and any other style combos that you can think of; the possibilities are endless. If you, like myself just have to have this jacket in your wardrobe then you can buy it over at ASOS Marketplace here.

One thing that's for certain is that both Chouchou and Silvia have a bright future ahead of them, and looking at how far they've come in such a short space of time is utterly remarkable and inspiring. What makes my love for the brand grow even more is just how sweet and kind Silvia Pellegrino really is. It's easy to say that I will be a fan of her for a very long time that's for sure.
For up-to-date news from Silvia & Chouchou, you can follow on twitter and facebook. Alternatively, you can check out the website here.