The designers are given boxing gloves. Kentaro proves to be the savvy one, telling Brandon the important part is that the clove is pink. They arrive at the boxing ring to meet Tim, in sweats (Ayana speaks for us all to express shock) and a representative from Avon who tells them about the work Avon has done to combat breast cancer and introduces them to some survivors. Margarita is obviously emotional, and tells the mannequins that her grandmother had breast cancer. I know the warrior/fighter parlance is getting pushback in some circles, as it implies that there are winners and losers in illness, but warrior woman is not a bad theme for a challenge.
During the Tim critiques, Margarita is still really emotional, and Tim seems thrown. I think it's hard to remember that at this point they have been in a weird routine for weeks, different food, different sleep, different schedules, this is the point in the trip where you think you are super fine and then a bus stop ad sends you into a meltdown. So, getting a little emotional about breast cancer seems right on par. Tim ponders perhaps being a woman it touches her more. I'm going to assume that Tim's real concern here was that sometimes being a little to emotionally tied to your piece inhibits your ability to critically edit it and Margarita has gold pleather and bright red, so it's something she needs to keep an eye on.
Kentaro and Brandon have both created looks with turtlenecks and hoods, and menswear inspired elements. Basically warrior woman is where their two aesthetics overlap, and while Brandon is working in pastel pink and white, and Kentaro is working in black and white. Kentaro keeps tweaking and trying different elements. He also tells the mannequin, he thinks he has been too focused on what will look good on the model and not on what he likes to make, which sure, but, hmm. Basically he seems to be flailing a bit. Kenya has been paired with the model Liris, who I believe may have more appearances in the top than many of the models. (Obviously, as they use one less model each week, there's no way to make a fair comparison, but she has shown to be a great asset to several of the designers.)
So let's just go in alphabetical order.
Ayana made a beautifully tailored top that pairs a half ruffled button down top with striped pants that have a petal detail on it. I wonder if the judges assumed it was from Kentaro or Brandon. I think it looks very Ayana, and yes also has some of the elements Kentaro and Brandon have been playing with. It's very editorial, and the judges love it even more up close as they see how carefully she matched the stripes.
Brandon has created a cropped top with tailoring and buckles, topped with a hoodie drawn tightly around the model's head and layered drop crotch pants. Zac notes that he is generally not a fan of poopy pants, but these are very well tailored. Nina loves what she continues to call his street style paired with millienial pink. Heidi wishes the hood had been down, but overall liked it.
Kentaro's black layers mean a lot of his details are lost and the outfit looks heavy. One could argue she does look ready to go into battle, but not in a way that is editorial or interesting. The judges do note the similarity to what Brandon did, but Brandon's outfit shows more skin and Kentaro's doesn't.
Kenya has made a beautiful blue dress with her signature form fitting pencil skirt, and petal shoulder details. Nina loves dresses that you could wear to work and sit at the conference table in and still have all the fun stuff be visible. Heidi is thrilled that someone has dressed Liris so well. Nina later asks Zac about the work involved in the petals. There's been a noticeable shift this season in Nina's interest in how things are made. Allowing for changes in show editors of course, we have seen her demonstrate more interest in the skill required.
Margarita described her idea that cancer is chaos and she was containing the chaos with the corset, so the corset is snug (and gold pleather) and the red is more wild. She was also trying to do something that was very her. The judges like it better knowing her idea, but ultimately, on my screen at least, the red is very bright, and paired with gold pleather it just reads more discount Wonder Woman than it might have in deeper colors. I like Margarita, but this is still not something that tells me specifically what her viewpoint is.
Brandon wins.
Margarita is out. Except, as Tim comes back he tells her he loved the outfit, and he wants to see more of her, so is using the Tim Gunn save.
