Katy's Take

Season 4: Episode 4 "Trendsetter"

Yowza… I don’t know when it happened, but my recap somehow got really long this time! Sorry! I’ll keep this intro short (Ugly trends? Teams? It makes for a good challenge, but I’m glad I didn’t have to go through it!). Before I start though, I do have one question that reader "Tundrababe" would like me to answer:

Q: “Those shoes are really cute, and so is the top. Haha - I think they're really reaching in their interpretation of overalls though! I've also wondered about how they pick the accessories. Hopefully a designer like Katy will see this post and fill us in!”

A: When it comes to shoes and accessories, it’s basically a free-for-all situation. Although there wasn’t much fitting in the time that I was there, most designers started pulling different shoes and accessories as soon as they knew what the challenge was and what their fabric looked like so they would have options when the models came in. So far this season, the Bluefly wall looks MUCH more interesting and well stocked then our Macy’s wall. Personally I thought the Macy’s wall was really bad (especially the shoes!) and didn’t have much variety. Also, there weren’t any “standards” for shoe sizes. You basically grabbed the shoes you wanted and hoped that your model could walk in them (which wasn’t always the case).

A personal story about the shoes… on the episode I got kicked off on, I described my dress as simple and sporty and then got criticized by the judges for putting Amanda in heels (this didn’t make the final episode cut). I explained that I had used the most basic/cleanest style of heels on our accessory wall knowing that heels didn’t really fit the look I was going for, but the judges weren’t satisfied. They thought that I should have put her in flip-flops or cool sneakers, and suggested that since those didn’t exist on the accessory wall; I should have used my own sneakers on my model! The problem with that? Most models are aprox a size 8-9 and I wear a 6, so I’m pretty sure there was no way for Amanda to squeeze into my shoes. Anyways, that’s just a personal story on how the judges really do take into account the overall “styling” of the model and not just the clothes. :)


Click here to continue reading Katy's Take as she critiques each team collection.