Sport and glamour come together in challenging week for our fearless designers.

This week saw our designers up at the crack of dawn, with host Kristy Hinze issuing the fashion challenge in the middle of the sporting battlefield – Victoria’s iconic MCG. Each designer would be working with AFL’s most glamorous women; the girlfriends of the games biggest stars. Their challenge was to design a stunning evening gown for the client to wear to football’s night of nights: the Brownlow. And to pass the challenge, the ladies must love their dress.

They had 20 minutes to sketch some ideas with their clients, then 20 minutes and $250 to buy the material they had two days to turn into a dress worthy of the red carpet. Of the eight girls, Helen had dressed five of them, and she wasn’t shy about letting the other designers know about her celeb connections. Menswear designer Brent wasn’t as confident, but the designer most struggling was Lui. When the ladies came in for their first fitting, Lui’s client Chantel did not like the direction the dress was going in at all. Uh-oh!

Day two, and as Henry emphasized fit, proportion and attention to detail, it was reaching peak hour in the workroom. The pressure was on for Lui, but luckily for him, his client loved the final dress. Phew!

Renowned designer Peter Morrissey joined the judging panel to help decide who had nailed the brief. Leigh and Petrova were the first designers declared safe. The judges loved Lui’s and Helen’s dresses, but it was Juli who won this week’s challenge, with a feminine gown which whispered elegance in the best possible way. Brent and Mark were criticized for their efforts, but it was Shane who didn’t make the cut this week.

Catwalk Talk with this week’s guest judge, designer Peter Morrissey
Question:	Name the three most important personality traits in a truly great designer.
Answer:	1. Empathy - to understand the lives and needs and wants and desires of people makes is essential to be a great designer. 2. Strength of character and belief in oneself - four times a year you are judged whether you are good or not. 3. A heart - to actually dedicate your life to making people feel better about themselves.
Question	What are the common mistakes new designers make when starting out?
Answer	That press is more important than dollars. To survive one must sell their product more than have it spoken about.
Question	: After seeing the evening gowns the contestants made, which designers were you most intrigued about seeing what they’d do next?
Answer	Lui. I loved his modern approach and elegant chic design lines.
Question	If you had the chance to style a film, what would it be like?
Answer	A present day film about real people and real lives set in and around the city, like Crash. And of course a Sex and the City.
Question	Apart from other designers, name your top five current inspirations.
Answer	1. The everyday woman and mother. 2. A man that has the manners of a gentleman. 3. Life and its occasions. 4. Classics of life. 5. Comfort, luxury and ease
Question	Finally, what is the biggest misconception about male fashion designers?
Answer	That they all are screaming queens!
The winner of this weeks challenge, Meet Juli Grbac
Question:	Congratulations on winning the challenge! What does winning mean to you?
Answer:	Winning this challenge was amazing. I love making beautiful dresses, and so I really pushed myself. Seeing Sarita gliding down the runway looking like a goddess has by far been my proudest moment on Project Runway so far.
Question:	What inspires you?
Answer:	Travel When I am in a new city I can just sit and people watch for hours - looking at the way people wear their clothes, their hair and their makeup. I get inspired by colour. I only use flat colours, not prints, but if I see a new Fuchsia, or a gorgeous electric blue I am always inspired to create. I also love crystals and frills, so if I can think of a new way of using them, or a new Swarovski crystal comes out, you can be sure to see them on any Grbac garment!
Question:	How is the whole experience different to your initial expectations of being on a TV show?
Answer:	I enjoyed the show more than I thought that I would. It was hard being in lock down, but we all got on really well and I made some amazing friends. I loved being able to create for 10 hours straight without any interruptions.
Question:	Looking forward, who do you see your biggest competition on the show?
Answer:	I love Mark’s designs, very simple and chic. Petrova is also one to watch, her designs are tricky, gorgeous and so clever.