‘Project Runway’ 20 episode 9 recap: Who was thrown overboard at the end of ‘Below Decked Out’ real client challenge? [LIVE BLOG]

It’s time for the real client challenge on “Project Runway,” in which the designers have to create fashionable looks not for professional models, but for clients who get to dictate what they want from each designer. So how did it go? Scroll down for our live blog with all the minute-by-minute developments and commentary throughout the episode.

Thanks to the Siriano Save, no one was eliminated from “Runway” last week in the denim extravaganza that was “Uncut Hems,” so there are still eight designers competing for another chance at the “Project Runway” title: Brittany Allen (Season 18), Prajje Oscar Jean Baptiste (Season 19), Laurence Basse (Season 15), Bishme Cromartie (Season 17), Rami Kashou (Season Four), Korto Momolu (Season Five), Kara Saun (Season One), and Anna Yinan Zhou (Season 19). The winner of the competition will get $250,000, a mentorship with the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), and a feature in Elle magazine.

The difficulty of the client challenge is that it’s a balancing act. Part of the objective is to make the client happy, but the designers are still competing against each other, so they also have to make sure their looks are forward-thinking and true to their personal styles. What happens when the client’s aesthetic is completely different from yours? What if they want a look that’s too basic for an elite design competition? How can you satisfy the client, the judges, and yourself all at the same time?

This season’s clients are cast members from the Bravo reality series “Below Deck.” “Real Housewives” star Luann de Lesseps and former “Below Deck” star Kate Chastain join the show as guest judges. Follow along below to find out what happened starting at 9:00pm (times listed are Eastern).

9:02pm — “I never in my life thought that Christian is going to use this Save on me,” says Rami the morning after his almost-elimination. “I was ready to embrace the moment and just move on.” Glad Christian used the save because Rami’s look was not the worst of the challenge by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe Nina Garcia being absent for the last two challenges messed with the other judges’ judgment. Now Rami feels more confident after struggling to please the judges thus far — just one high score and three low scores so far.

9:03pm — Christian sends a text message urging the designers to meet him at the Greenpoint Pier. You can kinda tell what time of year they must have filmed this because those poor designers are wearing every oversized puffer ever made. But as someone who loves the cold and is writing this in August, I envy them. What I don’t envy them for is the real client challenge. Anna is nervous because that’s the challenge she went out on last season. She had to dress a “Real Housewives” star without ever having watched “Real Housewives.” Has she seen “Below Deck,” though? She doesn’t strike me as a reality TV person … you know, except for the reality show she’s currently competing on.

9:05pm — Captain Lee tells the designers that their formal uniforms “need a serious update. I mean, it’s boring AF.” They’re all function, but no fashion, as Christian points out. So their challenge isn’t just to design a look for “Below Deck” cast members, but specifically to design new uniforms for them. That’ll be interesting. If they’re all making uniforms, which by definition are supposed to be the same, and the primary colors they’ll be using are black and white, and they all have to include the epaulets, so how do they stand out from their fellow designers while also creating something as functional and professional as it needs to be?

9:05pm — “You guys are going to be busier than the door knob at a whore house on nickel night,” says Captain Lee … Soooo, I don’t watch any “Below Deck.” Is he gonna be like this the whole time?

9:06pm — The designers are paired up with crew members at random. Kara Saun get deckhand Mzi, Bisshme gets chief steward Aesha, Rami gets lead deckhand Courtney, Korto gets chief steward Daisy, Prajje gets Captain Sandy, Brittany gets chief engineer Colin, Anna gets Captain Jason, and Laurence gets first officer Gary. I’m excited we’re going to be seeing some menswear, but a little nervous for Brittany since in her last season she fell flat on her face the one time she tried to do menswear. This is a two-day challenge, which is a little surprising since making uniforms seems like one of the simpler, straightforward challenges of the season.

9:11pm — Rami’s client needs a functional look that’s also professional and stylish. Kara Saun’s client likes flamboyant patterns, and Kara Saun is an air force brat so she’s going to use her experience around the military to her advantage. She’s inspired by her father who went to formal military balls. Brittany’s client is an engineer, so something black would be helpful, something versatile with pockets. “If you trust me, I’ll take care of you,” says Brittany. Fateful last words? “I just think a jumpsuit would be dope,” says Laurence to her client. He’s down with that. Anna’s captain needs “loose, light material” because he’s constantly out and about with the crew. Prajje hits a snag right away. His client, Captain Sandy, wants “bling.” He’s not feeling it. Bishme says, “I haven’t won anything yet, so I really want this so bad.” He’s keeping his cards close to his chest.

9:16pm — Time for Mood, where Christian reminds them they’re going for “functional but fashionable.” Bishme is using neoprene, which makes me kinda nervous for him. For Captain Jason, who lies in Indonesia, Anna is going to get a chance to bring in some of her Asian heritage. with a kimono-style jumpsuit. Christian is worried that Laurence is making a leather jacket. She’s the leather queen, but is is that really going to be functional enough? Kara Saun is making a tracksuit-meets-tuxedo — a tracxedo. I don’t know WTF that’s supposed to look like, but we’ll all find out together.

9:18pm — Korto thinks her girl Laurence is taking a risk with the leather because she’s going to need to balance fashion with function and how much function is she really giving with leather, just as Christian pointed out.

9:26pm — Christian arrives for walkthroughs wearing a blue color-block jacket that I want immediately. He loves the details on what Rami describes as kind of a tennis look, but he suggests that Rami do separates instead of a “restrictive” dress. Bishme’s look, meanwhile, might be a little too revealing to be truly functional, but Bishme pushes back — “She said she likes it, that’s how she gets her tips!” Prajje is taking some risks, his design is “a lot of look,” but “it might pay off.” Christian is definitely not feeling Anna’s kimono captain idea. “I know I’m taking a huge risk, but I’m really excited for this direction.” Christian is “nervous,” but Anna seems to have a clear point of view she’s going for. As long as she doesn’t bleach this one.

9:29pm — The clients arrive for their fittings. Korto’s shorts might be a little too short. Laurence’s jacket is going over well with her client. Brittany’s look fits her client weird. “I never make menswear in my everyday life,” she explains. As I alluded to earlier, she was eliminated on a menswear challenge in her previous season. That was when Christian used his Save to keep her in the competition, but that’s not going to be an option now. “I’m terrified.” Me too.

9:34pm — Bishme’s client loves how much leg she’s showing, but Christian thinks the looks needs another surprise element or detail. Anna’s client is loving the Asian inspiration, though for the captain of a ship, I think it’s iffy.

9:36pm — “I really thought this was going to be stressful, people were going to be crying, like the ‘Real Housewives,'” says Prajje, remembering Kristina Kharlashkina‘s clash with a client who kept giving mixed messages and contradicting herself. I remember that too. If nothing else, the “Below Deck” folks seem way more chill. I like chill. Conflict gives me a tummy ache.

9:38pm — The designers have drinks with their clients. “That was my first tequila in a year!” celebrates recent mom Anna. Gary seems like he’s flirting with her. He offers her another tequila shot. Hopefully he doesn’t get her f*cked up the night before the runway. Two shots becomes three shots becomes four shots. That poor girl is gonna be on the floor in the morning, and now Gary is threatening her honor. If this were “Bridgerton,” he’d be forced to marry her by now. Or there’d be a duel.

9:43pm — “Four shots, no headache!” announced Anna the following morning. “I’m so glad I woke up sober.” My girl is joining me in the no-hangover club. “Let’s shine on them hoes.” Wait, are you sure you’re sober, Anna?

9:44pm — Prajje acknowledges that he’s taking a huge risk with his print. Clients return and Gary is basically stalking Anna. Dude, go bark up another tree. An unmarried tree. Or at the very least an ethically non-monogamous tree. It ain’t happening with Anna.

9:45pm — Prajje is throwing shade on Kara Saun’s look, which doesn’t give off any uniform vibes. Prajje is surprised there are no ostrich feathers coming off it. I kinda of agree, not necessarily about the ostrich feathers but about the uniform aspect. Besides the epaulets peeking out on the shoulders there, it doesn’t look like it really satisfies the challenge. I’m also nervous for Prajje and Laurence, not for the quality of their looks, but for whether they’re practical enough uniform designs. I think Rami and Bishme are on the right track. Anna could go either way.

9:52pm — Nina’s back! Set these other judges straight, Nina! Joining them are “Below Deck’s” Kate Chastain and “Real Hosuewives” alum Luann de Lesseps, whose look won last season’s client challenge.

BISHME — He kinda killed it. The look is clean and simple, but with a lot of nice details. It fits like a glove, it’s super flattering, and it definitely fulfills the challenge.

LAURENCE — I’m kinda disappointed actually. The jacket’s nice, but it’s otherwise just this basic black jumpsuit. Underwhelming.

KORTO — Another look that’s not wowing me. The shorts are very short. The jacket is actually longer than the shorts, and I’m not sure about those proportions. Not a bad look, but Korto has done better.

KARA SAUN — A case of the right look for the wrong challenge. How is that a yacht crew uniform? He looks damn good, especially in that jacket, but for what the challenge was I don’t think it quite passes muster. I’m surprised. This season’s three rock stars — Laurence, Korto, and Kara Saun — kinda left me wanting on this challenge.

RAMI — Another top look for sure. Pumped up the fashion, but it looks 100% professional and functional. I love the gold stripe details. I think it’s the best look so far.

BRITTANY — She did the thing. Not my favorite look tonight, but I love the way her top-stitching really highlights the details and the pockets. Very functional. Very professional. But also creatively executed.

ANNA — Did her risks pay off? … I’m not totally mad at it. I think it maybe needed a layer underneath the kimono top, a shirt or something to make him look more like the authoritative captain of the ship. It also looks very loose. It could flatter his body a little better.

PRAJJE — Worked out better than it might have. Despite the bold pattern it kept the uniform vibe. It looks pretty good and fits pretty well. He did a good job with that one.

9:59pm — Rami and Bishme are far and away my favorite two for this challenge. Maybe Brittany or Prajje to round out the top three. After that there was a lot of middle for me. No one terrible, but not too much wow. It’s kinda shocking to think, but I could see Kara Saun being eliminated for her look. Except for the season premiere, she’s been rock-solid all season. It would be sad to see her go. But then again Anna could also be out. Or even Laurence. This is gonna be interesting.

10:04pm — Rami is first. Kate thinks it really does look like a uniform, but elevated. Luann calls it crisp and elegant and professional. Nina loved the idea of the skort. The tailoring is impeccable. And she can twerk in it! Which is apparently a thing.

10:05pm — Korto is next. The client is happy. It was in Kate’s top two, because it gives her Bond girl vibes and she loves the pop of neon. Brandon loved the jacket, but the romper isn’t as functional. Nina gets upscale hostess vibes from the vest.

10:07pm — Anna’s look comes out. Kate thought it looked cool and comfortable. But the way the radio is clipped on causes the outfit to droop, which is a “bummer.” Brandon had issues with the fit and proportion, and he wanted “more authority on the runway from the captain.” It didn’t land for Elaine either as a believable captain uniform, “it felt too casual.” Nina has a problem with the neckline. The silk material doesn’t seem too comfortable. It’s too relaxed. The judges are basically echoing my thoughts that I couldn’t quite put into words. Not a bad look overall, but it doesn’t feel like a captain’s look.

10:09pm — Bishme is next. Nina thought the neoprene was a perfect idea for wind and water. Luann loved the anchor on the back of the jacket. The look was one of Kate’s favorites. I gives a extra little bit of fashion that she wanted to see.

10:10pm — Prajje should be interesting. Elaine appreciated how he pushed the design, but it felt a little costumey, and the pattern felt like a good fit for Prajje but not so much for the challenge. Nina thought the print was distracting. Brandon thought it didn’t work, top to bottom. Luann didn’t like pattern either. Nina liked the shape of the jacket and the cuffed sleeves.

10:15pm — Laurence should be interesting too. Kate thought the leather jacket for a yacht was confusing. Elaine didn’t have any problems with the construction, but Laurence could have pushed herself more from a design perspective. Nina wishes there had been more stripes. Brandon thought it had no special details and was too safe. Agreed!

10:17pm — Uh-oh, Kara Saun’s look. Kate thought it would be great for Mediterranean party season. Elaine felt there was too much going on with the double-breasted jacket and gold zippers and chunky lapel. Nina wouldn’t know if he was part of the crew or a guest. Brandon agrees it’s beautiful, but for the wrong occasion. It’s very impractical for the challenge.

10:18pm — Okay, Brittany. I hope they like it. Kate felt it was engineering-appropriate and it would look good in front of the guests. Nina thinks it communicates his job immediately. “It just looks cool.” Elaine thought it was fashionable but really “nailed the challenge at the same time.”

10:18pm — After those critiques, I think Anna or Prajje is going home. Kara Saun and Laurence might be in trouble, but I think their strong track records will keep them around in the competition. The judges love them. As for the winner, I think the judges agreed with me that it should be Bishme or Rami, and I think the judges slightly preferred Bishme because of his choice of neoprene.

10:25pm — Bishme, Rami, and Brittany had the best looks, and the winner is … Bishme! Very well deserved! I wonder if we’re sleeping on Bishme. He’s the only designer this season without a single low score, and he’s now been at the top four times, including this win. He could be a dark horse to win it all.

10:27pm — Kara Saun, Prajje, and Anna are at the bottom, The eliminated designer is … Anna. She looks devastated and I feel really bad for her, especially to have been eliminated AGAIN on a real client challenge. That’s really gotta shake your self-esteem as a designer.

10:30pm — Anna says in her exit interview, “I am a little bit surprised because I definitely believe that I am a very unique designer and I think I have more things to show. This time is way tougher than last time, and I think everybody can tell that I had some difficulties here, from the friendships, from being safe many times, and I just have to keep myself strong, keep myself moving forward. My son’s going to be so proud of me because everything that mom is doing is for you. I want to be your future inspiration. I love you.”

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