'Project Runway' Season 13 Spoilers - Episode 9 Recap; American Girl Doll Challenge
Season 13's designers from "Project Runway" were given the chance to relive their childhood when they took on the latest challenge from host Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn: to create a piece inspired by an American Girl Doll, and though they are designing for a child's toy, the finished creation should look modern, relevant and fashionable for the woman of today.
Episode 9, which aired on Sept. 18, saw the designers with Gunn at the American Girl Store in New York City, and they were introduced to senior design manager for American Girl Heather Northrop.
The designers were paired with a doll and a child model, and as soon as they had the dolls' back story and were able to finish the sketches, they had the option to use the fabric from American Girl or they could buy their own fabric from Mood.
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Emily was paired with American Girl Rebecca, a poor girl living in Manhattan's lower east side in 1914. She was confident about the challenge because she was the only one among the designers who actually made children's clothes before joining the competition. For her model, she created a grey tulle dress.
Kini worked with the rich American Girl doll Samantha, and he created a long plaid coat with a long white dress. Meanwhile, Char worked with Kaya, the Native-American doll, and she made a fringed vest. Amanda worked with the Addy doll, which was said to be born in 1885, while Alexander worked with the Kit doll, and Sean was inspired by the Julie doll from the 1970s.
While Korina worked with the Josefina doll, Sandhya was inspired by Caroline, the American Girl doll who loves to sail. She created a pink peplum jumpsuit that was a cause of concern for Gunn. Though the mentor tried to give her some advice, she shrugged it off and said that she was sticking to her design.
On the day of the runway show, the designer gathered once more as Klum introduced the judges, Nina Garcia and Zac Posen. They were joined by guest judges "Mad Men" actress Elizabeth Moss, and Heather Nortrop.
In the end, Kini won the challenge, and the judges praised the plaid coat and the red dress underneath. Kini decided to scrap the white dress and start from scratch, and the risk definitely paid off.
Sandhya and Emily were in the bottom two. Posen thought that Sandhya's design made the model look like a "circus flamingo" in the jumpsuit, while Klum said the garment looked like onesie for a baby. Emily's creation was deemed to "show no joy for a child."
Emily was saved, and Sandhya was sent home with Klum's trademark "Auf Wiedersehen."
"Project Runway" airs Thursday nights on Lifetime.
