‘Project Runway’ recap – the magic of Zamora

October 10, 2014

Amanda Stevens,

With so many reality shows, scripted and non-scripted out there, almost anyone can be famous or infamous whether they’re talented or not. But sometimes, just sometimes, we get it right. That’s what’s happening with Kini Zamora. There was a sort of paradigm shift over the past three episodes; Zamora is now the “sweetheart” of “Project Runway” season 13. Let me break it down:

The American Girl doll challenge (episode 9):

Zamora won the American Girl doll challenge and created a houndstooth coat and dress with impeccable workmanship — an ensemble that woman, not just little girls, would love. “I can honestly say that I was definitely in my comfort zone when it came to working with my model Anita,” he said. “She reminded me of all my ohana, more specifically, my little nephews and nieces that I absolutely LOVE designing for. Like many other families in Hawaii, we have a big family full of aloha. We gain a lot of our inspiration from our children… and believe me, we have A LOT of keiki in our family.”

Muse on the street (episode 10):

The design challenge was to create a makeover look for a randomly selected person in Washington Square. Judge Zac Posen, who was a fan of Zamora’s denim work in his audition, praised him for bringing those skills back at this specific point of the competition. Again, judges commented on his impeccable construction, and he ended up in the top three.

The highest bidder (episode 11):

In teams of two, the design challenge was to create cohesive looks using the contents of storage units. Amanda Valentine and Zamora blew the judges away with these looks; pink crop top with pants (Valentine), soccer ball dress with faux fur coat (Zamora), and graphic top (Valentine) with full skirt (Zamora). At the end, it was unanimous, and pretty obvious — Kini took home the win. He will be forever known for the upside down umbrella dress from the Avant garde challenge, and now for the soccer ball dress.