‘Project Runway’ Season 19, Episode 6 Recap: ‘Fashion Is Back, Baby!’

There are myriad reasons why I’d make a terrible Project Runway contestant, but one is obvious: I’d spend entirely too much of my meager workroom time perusing the so-called accessory wall. A glittering shelving unit stuffed with belts, bags, hats, jewelry, and platform snow boots, the wall serves as the designers’ last resort for finishing touches to make their looks pop on the runway. I have a borderline concerning addiction to minibags and square-toe shoes, so this week’s challenge—a collaboration between the contestants and New York’s best accessories designers—felt like an early holiday present. I’m all for the corny themed battles Project Runway does so well, but something about a challenge grounded in the real world made this week’s stakes feel higher, and the looks reflected that.

At the beginning of episode 6, “Fashion Is Back, Baby!” the designers are instructed to grab one of several white boxes adorning the accessory wall, each labeled with the Project Runway logo. Inside they find a single accessory: Anna has a collar necklace, Prajje a pair of floral gloves, Katie vegan leather boots, and so on. Christian reveals they’re holding designs by New York-based accessory-makers, each of them hit hard by the economic toll of the pandemic. To celebrate fashion’s physical and financial rebirth, the designers will “enter into a one-time collab” with one of these accessory experts, with whom they’ll create a runway look and a brand-new accessory. The winning team will split a $25,000 prize from Visa (which enjoys several brand shout-outs à la Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens. Product placement is back, baby!).

I love this challenge because it feels like something these designers might actually do if they go on to build Christian Siriano-sized labels someday. They’ll most likely not design an entire collection of Halloween-themed gowns or Olympic-ready suit-jackets, but they might, in fact, team up with a talented milliner or jeweler. Collaborations are all the rage these days, in part due to the boon of mutual branding, but also because teamwork is such fertile ground for new, original ideas. That’s certainly the case this week; some of the best looks of the season so far result from this episode.

From the moment the designers meet their collaborators, the attitude in the workroom is practically euphoric. Aaron is paired with handbag designer Lorna Nixon, and they decide on a glamorous swimsuit-and-beach-bag look. Bones is thrilled by the sculptural hats made by his teammate, Ashaka Givens. Creative waste designer Akilah Stewart finds a new friend in Zayden, who wants to celebrate their mutual Indigenous backgrounds through a tribal print. Shantall, her emotions stirred by tales of pandemic loss, opts for a phoenix-themed look, symbolizing small businesses rising from the ashes.

At Mood, the—ahem—mood is similarly euphoric, even with the time crunch. Christian urges Coral to pick a fabric color other than black—he believes the judges keep missing her macrame work because it’s so dark—and she picks a gorgeous red lace instead. Next, at Hai Trim and Feathers, the contestants fill their carts with crystals, pearls, feathers, ribbons, and chains. Anna plops on a 1920s-style silver-chain head cap and tells a Hai Trim employee, “Thank you for helping the queen. I’ll invite you to my castle.” I know I never shut up about Anna, but do I really need to explain why?

Finally in the workroom, the designers are full of big, albeit risky ideas. Aaron admits his bathing suit could go “very Hamptons resort wear really quickly.” Katie has opted for yet another bib-collar pattern explosion, and Christian, worried, recommends she elevate the silhouette by making the dress a midi. She panics, hems it too short, then decides to let it out into a high-low skirt that looks unrefined and unfinished. Bones, for his part, decides to ignore Christian’s concerns altogether. Christian doesn’t want the designer’s cascading, water-inspired fabrics to look like a “big tattered mumu,” but Bones, always a tad overzealous in the confidence department, chooses to maintain his original design.

Once the workday is finished, the episode reaches perhaps its most poignant moment. Sitting on a corner of his bed, Zayden takes a video call from his partner back home, who expresses worry that Zayden is behind on rent payments. “I know it’s tough, it’s tense right now,” he tells Zayden. “But life is happening.”

Project Runway doesn’t dwell on this moment, and I’m not necessarily sure it should. Yet, there’s something so powerful about pulling back the curtain here, revealing how—behind all the gossip and petty feuds—there are actually real people in this competition, and they live in a world squeezed by pandemic-era circumstances. Most fashion designers are not Brandon Maxwell or Christian Siriano; in fact, Christian Siriano is one of the only Project Runway winners who’s developed a mainstream fashion house. Most of the others—and most of the fashion designers in the world—run small businesses, many barely staying afloat. Fashion is, contrary to popular belief, only glamorous on occasion. There’s power in admitting that. Yes, Project Runway is meant to be frothy, goofy fun you watch with a glass of rosé and a bowl of popcorn. But it can also be truthful, and this is one of the first episodes I’ve seen that acknowledges the truth.

The next morning is runway day, and the fight for that $25,000 prize feels more heart-wrenching than ever. Let’s break down the looks.

• Octavio’s collaboration with headwear designer Rodney Patterson is an example of Octavio’s aesthetic done right: big, bold, and a little bizarre. His model wears a flowing long-sleeve polka-dot gown, paired with a way-more-than-10-gallon hat and matching (gigantic) hatbox. I think the print is outdated, but the overall drama of the look is a delight.
• Oh, darling Bones. Christian was right about those waterfall-like fabrics. The dress Bones sends down the runway completely drowns out his model, and it isn’t helped by the coral-like hat his collaborator Ashaka has made. Although the hat is stunning, it’s competing for attention with the dress, and neither’s winning.
• Next is Coral’s sheer red lace ensemble, topped off by a lace-draped hat by milliner Lynn Paik. You can finally see the details of Coral’s hand-woven macrame, and the impact is felt immediately.
• Call me crazy, but I’m not a fan of Kristina’s look. The sheer chartreuse of her jacket, top and pants looks washed-out under the runway spotlights, and the oversized fit feels poorly tailored rather than intentionally large. Shoemaker Lauren Brinkers’ metallic taupe shoes are also, admittedly, not my favorite. The design is lovely, but they look unfinished, as if she ran out of time to complete them.
• I want to like Katie’s design so badly. I want to see her succeed. I love how bold her patterns are, how unique her ideas are compared to the rest of her competitors. But, every time, she sends something down the runway that looks incomplete and cartoonish. This week it’s another ruffle-collar dress, paired with neon yellow shoes by Rebecca Heykes. The pairing might be charming on a teddy bear, but it clashes on a model.
• Shantall’s silk crimson gown looks Oscar-ready, especially paired with a stunning gold brooch from Aziza-Abdullah Nicole. It might not be enough to put her on the top, but there’s no question in my mind Shantall is safe this week.
• I had so much hope for Zayden’s design; the inspiration was so unique. But his model is dressed in a thin, uninspiring primary-colored fabric that doesn’t look tribal from a distance. The lines on the skirt don’t match up with those on the bodice, and the bodice itself gaps around the model’s cleavage. The only redeeming piece is the handbag by Akilah Stewart, but it’s lost amongst the noise of Zayden’s garment.
• Aaron’s swimsuit cover-up has the water-like effect Bones was trying to evoke, but with much more success. The rippling blue silk is extraordinary, and the simple but sophisticated one-piece and matching beach bag by Lorna Nixon are, as Aaron says, “striking.” Aaron, hit me up when this is available to shop, okay?
• Chasity’s crop top and high-waisted pants work much better than I thought they would. Adorned with ruffles at the shoulders and neon orange stripes on the sleeves, the ensemble is powerful but still feminine, accented by the mystique of an eyeball-decorated handbag from Andres Quintero Betancourt.
• Unsurprisingly, Anna’s is a triumph. I could see this exhilarating black gown—with matching shoulder, neck and waist jewelry by Sally Reardon—on a star like Angelina Jolie. It’s classic but not boring, something Anna does better than anyone else on this show.
• Prajje’s dress has the best inspiration, bar none: his Haitian grandmother, who loved to dress up to go to church. He’s put his model in a vintage-styled light blue dress with a matching headwrap, paired with an exquisite set of bursting floral gloves from Katie Sue Nicklos. I absolutely love this look.

For the most part, the judges—including guest judge Steven Kolb of the Council of Fashion Designers of America—agree with my thoughts, with the notable exception of Kristina, whose look they can’t get enough of.

Prajje, Coral, Kristina and Octavio all get spots in the top, while Zayden, Katie, and Bones fall to the bottom. Brandon thinks Prajje’s dress is “divine,” and Steven even suggests it’s so timeless as to be worn by Jackie O or Lady Gaga. He calls Coral’s lacework “sophisticated” while Nina tells Octavio, “This challenge was made for you.” Yet all of them fall over themselves praising Kristina, whom they give best design of the week. I might not agree, but like I said earlier—there’s a reason why I’d make a terrible Project Runway contestant.

Unfortunately, after several weeks in the bottom, it’s time for Katie to go home. The judges insist it’s because she has trouble listening to her own voice, but my concern is she doesn’t know what her own voice is. She dresses herself so well, but she struggles to put that aesthetic on another person. My hope is she’ll be able to turn that proclivity for patterns into something successful someday, and she might not even need Project Runway to do it. Meanwhile, Zayden and Bones return to the lounge, Zayden, perhaps more than anyone, thrilled at a second chance.

Next week, we get a faux fur challenge—and, uh, a car accident? Seems the show might be back to its drama indulgences after this week’s real-world-inspired episode. Best we all come prepared.

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