After six challenges ranging from working with unconventional materials found around a pool to an avant-garde look inspired by fencing to LED lights, 14-year-old Allie Lunt was eliminated in Thursday’s episode of season two of “Project Runway: Junior.”
“I’ve made so many friends here,” said Allie, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Dayton, Ohio, who was emotional after being eliminated. “I’ll never forget this experience.”
“Just as important to me as your talent, which is exceptional, you are an amazing individual with beautiful qualities of character,” co-host and mentor Tim Gunn said after her elimination. “I’m going to miss that part of you.”
“Project Runway: Junior” is a fashion competition for 12 designers, ages 13 to 17, who are given weekly challenges, a budget for fabric and a time limit to create their designs.
There is a runway show each episode and the quartet of judges rate the designs. They then critique the top three and bottom three designers, take a closer look at the clothes and then name a winner and who will be out.
Judges for the show are Kelly Osbourne, author and fashion designer; Christian Siriano, who won the fourth season of “Project Runway”; Aya Kanai, executive fashion director at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines; and model and co-host Hannah Jeter. The show is based at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
Thursday’s challenge was to make a date night look for the wife or girlfriend of a firefighter. Several of designers struggled with creating a look their client was satisfied with while including their own design aesthetic.
Allie created a striped dress with a floral overlay for Tiffany, who likes comfortable clothes with some fit.
The feedback from the judges was that it wasn’t enough of an evening look, it was “safe” and covered up the some of her best work on the design, where she had worked to match up the diagonal stripes.
“We appreciate ideas more than safeness,” Siriano said. “I think this is just too safe for me.”
Osbourne said in their deliberation that Allie hadn’t given them a “wow” moment during the show, as Allie has been in the middle group in several of the challenges and in the top a few times.
“It was the best I could do in the situation,” Allie said. “I wish I could have done more.”
Allie has been sharing thoughts about her designs and moments on the show on her website at allielunt.com and on social media, especially Instagram.
Their second challenge was to use pool accessories as unconventional materials.
Allie posted on Instagram that what wasn’t shown on the episode is that a medic had to be called in because she was burned by a hot glue gun and barely finished her look.
For the avant-garde challenge, the designers worked in teams of two to create a fencing-inspired look, as fencing is Gunn’s new hobby. She worked with Chelsea Ma to create their look, which was one of the top designs on the runway.
In the fourth episode, the challenge was the create a day to night look and Allie’s look was praised by the judges.
And here’s her LED light look from the fifth episode:
Allie did have good news to announce on Thursday — she and two of her fellow designers are showing at New York Fashion Week.
There are seven remaining designers and the winner receives several prizes, including a scholarship to FIDM and a Brother sewing machine.
"Project Runway: Junior" airs Thursday evenings on Lifetime.