Welcome to round one! For this round, you'll need to make your model fresh as a daisy and pretty as a petunia-- or any flower you choose! Dress your model(s) to resemble a flower (you may use more than one model, but only one flower inspiration), then post both in this thread! Please use images instead of wardrobe links so we can admire your model and inspiration side by side.

Restrictions: none

Due date: September 24 (get it in by midnight on the 23rd)

They say people dress like their pets, and for this round, it’s your job to prove them right. Make one or more designs using and resembling any animal wearable of your choice. Your task is not to recreate the animal exactly, but to create a stylish design inspired by it. You may use more than one animal, but your design should be cohesive overall, and if using multiple models they will be judged as a whole.

Restrictions: Each HA must use one or more animal wearables. Every animal wearable used must be unique in its use in your design.

Due date: October 1 (by midnight)

I adore this! It's gorgeous. The palette of pinks you chose is delectable, and the three different styles sharing a common thread really serves to enhance the piece as a whole. It shows what you can do with the concept you chose, while still retaining artistic consistency. There's a really good balance between light and dark and various shades of pink, which allows all of them to thrive without any sticking out as not belonging. Brava!

Magnus says: 9/10

I agree with Fizbee: this piece is beautiful. Though the styles emulated in each outfit are different, they all convey the cherry blossom well. The falling petals in particular create the atmosphere of being surrounded by cherry blossom trees. The three outfits also have a similar delicateness to them, further enforcing the theme and their belonging together. But I'm not sure Emma's outfit goes with the other two. There's a little more cohesiveness you could have achieved.

Lotus says: 8/10

I love this concept! It's three snapshots of directions you could have gone with this theme, but with enough in common that they all feel like part of the same design. I also appreciate your not using the stereotypical association between cherry blossoms and Japan. While that still could have been a successful design, it's a fine line to walk with cultural appropriation, and I always appreciate people taking the less obvious option. I like the combination of literal representation -- with the falling petals, petal skirt, and petal-patterned pants -- and going for matching the vibe. However, I feel like Emma's outfit doesn't hang with the others as much as it could -- it's more monotone, and it feels like it's going in a very different direction from the other two. Which again, I love as an idea! I'm just not sure you followed through enough, and I can't tell just by looking at it if you did it on purpose.

Total: 27/30 Your total score is now 27. You are in third place.

You've chosen to use a small number of pieces for each model, and mostly it works! Kat, Ramora, and Romeo's looks are all beautiful and complete, and adding anything would have made them too busy. Clara also looks beautiful -- I would wear that! -- but she just doesn't seem to go with the first three, with a less intricate look and no black in her outfit. And Derek looks rather plain and doesn't match the others at all; less is not always more. He looks like an afterthought. Less may have been more in not including Derek's outfit in your lineup... But I do really love the other outfits you've created, so I didn't take very many points off.

Magnus says: 6/10

The rose is a classic and powerful choice, and you came very close to pulling it off. However: your pieces just don't look like they belong together. If it had only been Kat, Ramora, and Romeo, I would have given this full marks, but Clara's dress is almost purple instead of red, giving her an entirely different colour palette, and Derek's outfit doesn't remind me of roses in the slightest. However, the positives: Kat, Ramora, and Romeo all capture the feel, beauty, and timelessness of the rose. They each look like they belong in a different time period in history, bringing the rose with them. It's a very strong motif. It just trails off on the last two designs.

Lotus says: 5/10

I don't really feel like you knew what you were going for. Like the other two pointed out, there's a definite lack of cohesion. I agree with Magnus about Kat, Ramora, and Romeo: they all match in feeling but differ in style, and if you had followed that through I think it would have been awesome. But the presence of the other two makes it feel like it wasn't on purpose. I think you have a good eye and a good sense of style, you just need to focus it better.

Total: 19/30 Your total score is now 19. You are in fourth place.

I could look at this design for hours! It's elegant, cohesive, and interesting. At first glance everything looks very similar, but as you study it, you realise the designs are unique. I'd feel fresh and pretty as hell going out with the girls all dressed like this. (To the conservatory, maybe?) I feel refreshed just looking at it!

Magnus says: 10/10

This design manages to be cute and elegant at once. Moreover, it captures the essence of heather perfectly: the colours, the delicate ruffles, the breath of fresh air. Your colour matching is excellent: the greens are unified, and the variety of purples gives it visual interest, while all of them are represented enough to create a unified design. Each outfit on its own is nice, but together they're a work of art.

Lotus says: 10/10

You had a vision and you followed it through to success. The design feels very unified and purposeful. I love everything you did to mimic the flowers: the colour palette obviously, but also the ruffles and the fact that the designs are mostly vertical, visually. All the reoccurring but not ubiquitous elements are brilliant: they give it so much visual interest, cohesion, and appeal. Every outfit feels well utilised and purposeful, creating something that's greater than the sum of its parts. This is masterful.

Total: 30/30 Your total score is now 30. You are in first place.

I'm sorry love, this just doesn't do it for me. I'm not into the big blocks of primary colours, and the not quite meshing combination of boxy and flowing. I do like the simplicity, and how the models look and feel like sisters. But I don't think you pulled it off.

Magnus says: 6/10

Ignore Fizbee, I rather like this one. I like the fact that you played with shape, and created common threads between the two outfits using both the shape and colour. They both feel very tropical, like your chosen flower. It's not a recreation of it, but that's okay. It's obviously inspired by it. However it falls a little flat. The outfits lack internal cohesion, and lean entirely on each other to be artful. I would have liked to see them side by side instead of one after the other. (I didn't take points off for that last one; just a comment.) I think it's a design that's definitely greater than the sum of its parts, which is good, but it's not so good that the parts crumble on their own.

Lotus says: 8/10

I think this is a really fun and interesting concept. I like the bold, broad strokes of primary colours. It's daring. They look like showgirls. I feel like more models would have made it better, though. The design doesn't quite feel complete. I like the simplicity a lot, especially combined with the tropical feel. That's not a common combination! But I feel like seeing some more takes on this concept from you would have added interest and unity.

Total: 17/30 Your total score is now 17. You are in fifth place.

This is beautiful! I love the contrast between the two, light and dark, masculine and feminine. They look like royalty at a fairy ball. They have different looks but definitely feel like they belong together: two different looks in the same style. They're both elegant and delicate, and look very purposeful. Well done!

Magnus says: 9/10

I agree with Fizbee that this look is exquisite. I especially love Paz's outfit. The elegance! The style! I feel like Benedetto's outfit could have done more to resemble a calla lily, though: were he not standing beside Paz, I'd be reminded more of a peacock than a flower. But in a way that works: they look like a bride and groom, and traditionally masculine clothing is much darker and more understated than feminine. He quietly bolsters their centerpiece of a design, while still being attractive on his own. Overall, I love it.

Lotus says: 10/10

Okay, I love this. The others have already pointed out the bride and groom look you have going on here, but I'm going to point it out again, because I love it and I love that you subverted it, threading feminine through the masculine and vice versa. I also love all the little ways you recreated the calla lily: Paz's hair as a stamen rising from the calla lily top, Benedetto as the greenery behind the flower, the wider tops and leafy bases with slender middles. It's such a good design.

Total: 29/30 Your total score is now 29. You are in second place.