Project Runway review: Are animal prints really the cat’s meow?

In this Project Runway episode, the designers used Cats movie as their inspiration for these animal print street wear looks. Were these looks the cat’s meow?

Project Runway poses a simple question in this week’s episode. Are animals prints the new neutral? While leopard, cheetah, zebra and a myriad of other animals can inspire fabric choices, but those animal-inspired looks should not challenge anyone’s inner Golden Girl. This Bravo fashion competition needs to be chic, fashion forward and a fresh take.

Periodically, reality competitions use upcoming releases as an episode theme. This week’s Project Runway used the movie Cats. While it was great to see more scenes from the upcoming movie, a few of the designers might have taken the “cat theme” a little too literal. Most designers found the right balance.

As the runway starts, Karlie Kloss reminds the designers that fashion which hits the streets is really fashion. Overall, many of the looks channeled the designers’ aesthetic versus real street wear. It is more the designers’ animal print designs interpretations than street wear.

Since it is only the second episode of the new Project Runway season, the majority of looks were just safe. It is disappointing because some of the “safe” looks deserved their moment beyond the one walk down the runway. Sometimes the bad gets more air time than the good in these beginning episodes.

Looking at the top three looks, one look was quite confusing. Victoria might have had an intriguing conceptional design, the look wasn’t executed well. From being unlined to wonky seams, she might have been in the top, but she wasn’t going to win the challenge.

The winning look came down to Delvin and Marquise. Both of these looks had very, very different takes on chic streetwear, including the use of animal prints.

Delvin was the only designer to shy away from cat-inspired animal print. His bird print was bright, bold and chic. While the judges debated the interpretation of street wear, this coat dress definitely made an impression on the runway.

While it wasn’t downtown street, it was classic 5th Avenue street. There was an edge but more importantly it had a modern interpretation of animal print. Cats aren’t the only animals in the jungle.

Marquise had a design that went so right when it could have gone so wrong. The mixing of three different animal prints needed a deft hand and he accomplished that task. It was modern, edgy and definitely a downtown street vibe.

While the judges raved about the blouse, the bottom was a little difficult for the regular woman to wear. The asymmetrical culotte would need a confident woman to pull it off. It definitely is a NYC look, not a mid-American vibe.

Winning this week’s challenge was Marquise. His look will be sold on Bravotv.com. Additionally, fans can vote on their favorite look through this week’s Flash Sale.

It was rather interesting that the fan voting aspect hasn’t been talked about more. Each of the looks can be found on ProjectRunwayBravo Instagram stories for voting. If you have a strong opinion and want to vote, you better hurry.

The bottom looks in this week’s Project Runway challenge were rather obvious. If you didn’t guess that Veronica was a bottom look, you are a new fan to fashion series. When Brandon Maxwell describes a look as an exotic diaper, the outcome is not going to be positive.

While Veronica had an idea, it wasn’t executed. The styling was confusing. The silhouette was not right. The garment wasn’t finished correctly. Overall, it was a mess.

Geoffrey struggled from the moment he stepped into Mood. His nerves definitely caused poor choices. Basically, he threw together so many ideas that everything was a jumbled mess.

When too many designs come together in a single look, it is just overwhelming. He needed to edit. He needed to take a step back. He needed to think fashion, not “cat fashion.”

The third bottom look was Tyler’s Tokyo street-inspired look. This design ventured more to cat costume than fashion. While some Japanese fashion might blur that line, this design took it a step too far.

As everyone commented, the look had more of a stage vibe than a real world look. While it was well made, it was dated, costume-like and just a little too cheeky.

Still, the execution and vision saved Tyler. Although this look might be better for Scary Spice to wear on stage, it was still a particular point of view.

The judges were faced with a difficult decision. Should they pick a jumbled mess of ideas or a look that was executed poorly.

In the end, Veronica with her lack of execution was eliminated. While her romantic looks might be stunning in some settings, this look missed the mark.

One aspect, not design related, slightly impacted the episode. Dayoung missed a day of competition due to medical issues. While she was able to finish and was safe, it was refreshing that many designers helped her in the competition.

Often in these reality competitions, the contestants are only looking out for themselves. While one designer didn’t offer assistance, it will be curious to see if these good will continues throughout the season.

What did you think of this week’s Project Runway episode? Would you wear any of these animal print looks?