Making the Cut E6: Waffle House Chic

I know I’m behind this week. I’ve been very busy filling the dishwasher, sewing things, rubbing my temples, and binge watching The Good Place with my daughter. My life is a list of gerund phrases right now!

Making the Cut E6 opens on a rainy Tokyo day. Standing in front of the Sensoji Temple, Tim and Heidi give the designers their next challenge, and the category is: Dichotomy! Built in 645 AD, Sensoji is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, surrounded by the current hustle and bustle of city life in Asakusa.

Japan is a country of the old and the new. It’s the land of past and present. It’s the land of tea ceremonies and color copiers. Working with that idea, the gang needs to make two looks that represent the two ends of a battery, aka the yin and yang.

Tim reminds them that one of the looks must be accessible, specifically calling out Sander, who has the most adorable “You can’t tell me what to do!” internal monologue throughout the episode.

The designers will showcase their collections on the staircase of the Amazon Fashion studios, with moving digital images projected onto the walls and stairs. They can pick a unique digital image theme to inspire and compliment their creations. Pretty meet bee-boop-beep-beep.

Jonny

Jonny’s digital theme seems to be The Bad Place. Fashion meets Flames of Hell. It’s dark and flashing, and the whole time I’m worried one of his models is going to fall down the stairs because they are blinded by a strobe light.

This runway-look coat is bad-ass. I want to wear it (with a face-mask, natch) and run around town, screaming at people to stay the fuck home while I wield an inflatable sword.

Joseph Altuzarra says he likes that Jonny is “evolving his leather language into something else.” You can start learning your own leather language now on Duolingo.

Ji Won

Ji Won’s digital look is all about lines and angles, kind of like a test page off a monochrome printer.

I hate the color blue she chooses. It looks like a cheap, knock-off version of the Pantone Color of the Year. Dang, I never knew I could be so mad at a color!

However, I do like what Ji Won is going for here. Her Korean heritage fighting against the American demand for assimilation. Traditions of our grandparents meet a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. The problem is really in execution. And color.

Rinat

Rinat’s digital theme is greenery. Ahhhh, the outside world. Nature. It’s pretty and soothing. Also, stay the fuck inside, people.

Her contrasts are Judaism and Buddhism. The runway look has elements of menswear/Hasidic outfits, while the Buddhist look is flowy and loose, inspired by the sun.

The problem is that there is still no obvious Rinat brand and that her accessible look is a mess, albeit with nice fabric choices. After winning E5, Rinat is sent home.

I do love that when Rinat is told she is not making the cut, she says with edge in her voice, “Thank you for this opportunity. My life is going to continue after this.” Godspeed, Rinat!

Megan

Megan’s digital theme was SPACE, the place where no one hears you scream. I’ve been trying to do something high-brow every day during the quarantine, so this is inspiring me to listen to Holst’s The Planets orchestral suite while I fold laundry. The whole thing is about 50 minutes long, which means I need to listen in total at least three times to get Mount Maytag sorted out.

I love a white suit, but Megan’s collection looks like something I have seen before. It’s too “Tom Ford meets Reynolds Wrap.”

The judges love the dress when it first emerges, but upon closer inspection, it’s “not as special.” If you fall wearing this dress, you decapitate yourself. So on that level, it is taking a risk.

Esther

Everything’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from me. Esther goes under the sea!

The judges have been after her to go beyond black, and I love how she got there. It’s very hard to use clear polyvinyl in a classy and elevated way, but Esther pulls it off. Adding clear to show color, i.e. the skin underneath, is genius. I would wear this dress. I would wear this dress the second the quarantine is over and I meet my friends for dinner at 5 o’clock, so I can be home in bed reading by eight.

I love the gold runway look even more. Esther fell in love with the PVC substrate because when she cut it, the edges popped in fluorescent, to match the jellyfish on the wall. I could totally see Florence Pugh wearing this to a premier.

This was an emotional challenge for Esther, who admits she’s exhausted. Naomi offered the best compliment, telling her she respects that Esther sticks to who she is.

Sander

Oh, Sander. How I adore this young, sprightly Belgian. He is my front-runner, and throughout the episode, he bickers with himself about what does accessible really even mean.  

He thumbs his nose at the judges with the duality of his collection, consumerism versus art. And what is more iconic for consumption than a t-shirt? The accessible look has a t-shirt cut out on the t-shirt. See it?! And the pockets — on both the skirt and the pant — pull out to create a t-shirt silhouette.

At first, I couldn’t figure out why I love the color combination and then it hit me. Waffle House! That pale yellow and light brown evoke such a feeling a happiness for me. 1 AM. Grits, hashbrowns, and sausage links. I’m getting a serotonin boost just thinking about it.

Sander wins. Let’s scatter, cover, and smother him…in love.

What Was Naomi Campbell Up To This Week?

We get a combative Naomi this week. She is not hearing it when Joseph tries to question Esther’s gold dress.

Of course I like it. It’s now. It’s what the kids want.

Naomi says she see both of Esther’s dresses on the runway.

When it comes to Rinat, Naomi fights for her. She doesn’t want to see her go, rolling her eyes in annoyance at Heidi and the other judges, frustrated that she can’t change the minds of “all three of you” to save Rinat, who she feels deserves one more chance.

Sometimes democracy sucks, Naomi. Just ask us Americans. Oh wait, we are a republic with an electoral college, created to assuage slave states. Never mind!

Catch up with all TCT Making the Cut coverage. New episodes drop every Friday on Amazon Prime.