Each week, Project Runway Canada mentor Brian Bailey reveals some of his personal thoughts about what went down on the runway. This week, Bailey reflects on the tailored suit challenge that would determine which designers made it to Toronto Fashion Week. Some contestants thrived, others struggled and Genevieve was sent home.


Which of the judges' reactions surprised you the most this week?
Shawn took the surprise award this week in that we both loved Genevieve's lingerie. However, he also loved Sunny's jacket, which I felt was complacent design, even if it was well made.
 
Who created your favourite design this week?
I felt that all the designers stumbled in design and crumbled on tailoring, so I didn't have a favourite this challenge. Sunny came close to delivering great tailoring, but the design was not up to his finer ability.

Which contestant appeared to struggle the most with this challenge?
Genevieve herself admitted to struggling with tailoring; however, I gave her nine out of ten on the lingerie, as it was beautiful and true to her sense of style.

Which contestant improved the most this week?
Jason improved the most this week as he was able to realize that a strapless grey jacket suitable as office attire was a mistake.

What was your favourite part of this week's challenge?
My favourite part of this week's challenge was going fabric shopping with the models. They recognized that this could mean staying in the competition and I saw extremely savvy and beautiful women working it out in the fabric store. They had a job to do, so I got out of the way!
 
Before the runway show, who did you predict would win? Who did you predict would be eliminated?
Before the runway show, I predicted that Sunny would win based on his sewing skills, even if the jacket was mainstream deconstruction. Genevieve's poorly fit skirt signaled long before the runway that she would be gone from the competition.

How receptive was this week's losing contestant to your advice?
Genevieve was determined to create a '30s-inspired suit with too many design details, even if she heard it was the wrong direction to go.

If you were one of the designers, what would you have created for this challenge?
For this challenge I would have used Genevieve's fabric (as it was beautiful for soft tailoring) and created a form-fitting short jacket. The jacket would have a trench collar and lapel and would be paired with a slim fitting/just above the knee skirt that was wrapped at the bias with three-inch wide strips of the same fabric. I would pair the outfit with killer shoes and massive amounts of stainless steel and crystal necklaces to hide the ultimate in lace lingerie underneath.

Did the contestants learn anything in this week's challenge that will help them in their fashion careers?
If you are not a great tailor, find one and treat them like a god.

Project Runway Canada airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Global.

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