PR, episode 7

1.) Keith is out. I can't say I'm wholly surprised, but I am a little sad to see him go, especially because he was so obviously sad to go. (His uncontrolled weeping at the end of the episode was, in my opinion, sincere and touching.) I liked Keith for a couple of reasons. One, he was obviously very easy on the eyes. But also, as a gay ex-Mormon who lived in Salt Lake City, I identified with Keith, and I wanted to see him succeed. I also don't think he was as nasty as the show made him out to be. There were moments when he was not only polite to his fellow contestants, but truly helpful. He even broke down when Daniel was aufed.
2.) All that said, Keith was just not making it as a PR contestant. His ego and his defensiveness got in the way of his ability to absorb criticism and improve his work, and at this stage in his career, he is simply was not as good a designer as he thinks he is. This last episode demonstrated his central problem: he hasn't demonstrated that he could step outside his world of fashion-as-conceptual-art and create a chic, well-tailored, wearable garment (although he went some way to doing this in the Brooke Shields challenge). He has been hiding behind all those strips and swatches and poofs, and when he finally decided to throw them to the wind, it became clear that he has a long way to go before he can claim to be a truly accomplished, versatile designer.
3.) The car parts challenge was good, and, for the most part, the contestants stepped right up to it. I did find it surprising that nearly everyone pulled what appeared to be bright yellow airbags from the cars, and yet there wasn't a sign of these on any of the outfits. What are airbags made of that they seem to be such limiting choices of material? Maybe it was the color.
4.) I'm glad Leanne won. I think she is turning out to be the dark horse of the season. Now that the other mousy girls have gone, it's easier to distinguish who she is, appreciate her personality, and zero in on her aesthetic. Her dress was interesting, clearly well made, and she was one of the few to manage some softness (the seat belt fringe) out of the largely unforgiving and rigid fabrics. I loved the seams, loved the shape, and it just looked flawlessly executed.
5.) Korto's was also good, but there were so many seat-belt dresses, and I quickly got tired of that color and that sheen. Still, she worked the seat-belts in an original manner, and she made a beautiful, well-made, and intriguing garment.
6.) Jerrell's was good, too, and I'm glad he finally got some love. He'd been making these ridiculous get-ups for too long, and this one was sophisticated, interesting, and innovative. If he can keep moving in this direction (and away from his Olympics monstrosity), he might have a chance.
7.) Blayne's car wash dress was a mess. Even though Keith's was ugly, poorly made, and falling to pieces, I kinda wanted Blayne to get the boot, because his designs are consistently bad, and he persists at being an annoying idiot. And Blayne's was only better than Keith's by a stitch.
8.) Kenley's meltdown over having to use a different model was ridiculous. I mean, look at those models--they're all basically the same height, and they pretty much all wear the same size. They're essentially interchangeable--that's why they're fashion models! Kenley was just trying to get the cameras on her, and it worked. Her dress was OK. It helps when she isn't allowed to choose ugly prints. (But notice how she was still determined to make one with her sharpie.) She should have dyed that frill or something.
9.) Suede made the same ballerina/cheerleader dress he's been making all along. It seems to me that he's making up for his lack of ideas by getting overklempt and weeping over his dead forebears (last week grandpa, this week dad). I find it pretty silly. Both "wackadoodle" Suede and "miss you so much, papa!" Suede are equally annoying. He's a bad designer, he looks terrible, and he makes bad clothes. He's pathetic. He needs to go.
10.) Mercifully, we saw little of Joe in action this time. Was that a brand name on his model's chest? He's such a brown-noser...
11.) I have to say that I'm warming up to Stella, but her outfit this time was pretty much garbage. At least from the waist down. She fell into the same trap Keith did: she tried too hard to give the judges what she felt they wanted. At least unlike Keith, she only did this from the waist down. Her top was OK, but it was dull. It looked a lot like Kenley's.
12.) Everybody better watch for Terri, and I don't mean because she's so great. She's good, but this last outfit was just fine, nothing more. No, they need to watch out for her claws. Still, she's entertaining. I liked watching her roll around giggling on the floor. She's talented, and it's just a matter of time before the judges finally acknowledge her. If I had to predict who's going to fashion week, I'd say Terri, Korto, and Leanne.