Ambiguous Early Thoughts
Tim's initial impressions of the designs were edited to make it all ambiguous (probably to avoid revealing whose designs would land them in the top 3). He found something 'questionable' with all the designs and as usual, offered up rather vague suggestions to improve things. We think the contenders may be onto Tim as none of them seemed to really consider his comments or suggestions. For better or for worse, they all stubbornly stuck to their visions.
Shocking Pep Talk
On the day of the runway show, Tim told the contenders that they should go out and 'wow' the judges. He advised them to 'give [the judges] an electric jolt. [One that would] send Nina's shoes flying!'
Cramming as Usual
Jillian was still having issues with time management and she barely managed to finish the skirt portion of her dress, and couldn't finish the hem, leaving it rather jagged looking.
A 'Legend' in the 4th Chair
This week's guest judge was fashion designer, Roberto Cavalli.
Winning Design
The judges found Christian's black and white multiple piece ensemble to be 'super, super, chic.' His ensemble is really hard to describe but basically it was slim black pants with a white blouse with big, poufy sleeves. Over the blouse was a black, fitted jacket/vest and then a cropped black, drape/cape over that. It was all topped off with a black fedora-style hat. The judges were impressed by how showy but practical his design was, noting that each piece could have been worn separately. Roberto Cavalli deemed Christian 'a talent' and Christian was declared the challenge's winner.
Judgment Day
The judges liked Jillian's gold dress/black jacket ensemble, and found her design 'ballsy' and a 'surprise' (in a good way). Roberto Cavalli said he would love to have her on his staff. The judges were less enthusiastic about the other designs. They found Rami's lavender draped cocktail dress to be too predictable, and wished he would go 'outside of the box.' They wondered if he could do anything else if given a chance to design his own collection. Roberto Cavalli found his dress 'too normal.' Sweet P's cocktail dress in bold colors (gold, red, purple) was found to be very commercial, but not ‘special’ enough. Roberto Cavalli noted that given her choice of inspiration (peacocks), it might have been more fitting to create a gown with a big, bold 'tail' like a peacock's tail. Finally, Chris's pewter silver/taupe dress was found to be too repetitive, as it was reminiscent of what he had created in Week 8's avant-garde challenge. Roberto Cavalli, however, noted that he scored Chris the highest because he saw 'art' in the design and the other judges conceded that Chris understands 'drama' and is a 'showman' by nature.
First Cut
Without much ado, Sweet P was declared 'out' although Heidi gave her a somewhat nice send-off, stating that the judges 'believe[d] in your talent' and were 'sorry to see you go.'
Surprise Twist!
It came down to Chris and Rami for the second elimination. Both were called out for not bringing something new to this challenge. But in a surprise move, both Rami and Chris were declared 'in.'
Sudden Death
However, Chris and Rami would not get a free pass to Bryant Park like Jillian and Christian. Instead, they must preview the ‘strongest’ 3 pieces of their collection to the judges, who would then decide who would get the final 3rd spot for Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Essentially, Chris and Rami would have to go to a fashion 'sudden death' match. Bring it on!
