More Work, Less Time
At the start of the second day, the designers received notes from Heidi telling them that they needed to present their designs to “special guests” at 8 pm that night at the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. The designers were none too happy at this news since it meant that they would now have 4 hours less (usually they worked until midnight) but more work because they’d have to present their designs on the runway the next day as well.
Foreshadowing?
Kenley was given a rather bad edit this week, painting her as a cocky, highly defensive person, which made us think she was headed for elimination. For instance, she declared that her design was “the only one that is avant-garde. I’ve got this challenge in the bag.” And when Heidi later questioned her design at the Rose Center, she boldly declared, “If Heidi’s talking nonsense, I’m gonna step in and set her straight!”
More Returnees
The special guests at the Rose Center were designers from previous seasons of the show, including last season’s winner, Christian Siriano. It was an informal showing, with the models and designers (past and present) mingling and getting an up-close-and-personal look at the designs. The designers from seasons past could also question each team member about their designs and make comments before they went off to vote for a winner, which Heidi stated would be revealed on the runway the next day.
Conceptually Outside the Box?
When Heidi expressed reservations about Blayne’s Libra-inspired design, he asked her if she could at least “get [his] idea, conceptually.” When her response was simply to tilt her head in confusion, Blayne said encouragingly, “think outside the box, Heidi.”
Everyone’s Coming Back This Week!
Nina Garcia finally returned as judge this week. Francisco Costa, designer of the women’s line at Calvin Klein, was the guest judge.
Only the Bad
This week, only those in the bottom were commented on by the judges. The top designers (Joe, Korto, Leanne and Jerell) were simply told by Heidi that one of them was the winner. Heidi then told them she would announce the winner later and dismissed them from the runway.
Bad Signs
The bottom four designers were Kenley, Suede, Terri and Blayne. Blayne’s Libra-inspired flesh-colored Grecian style bodysuit with one side heavily adorned with multi-colored fabric was thought to be “haphazard.” It looked “costumey” and was a “one legged monster.” Michael Kors was more succinct, declaring that the model looked like “she’s pooping fabric!” Overall the judges thought it was unbearable to look at, “ridiculous,” and a “fashion joke.” Terri’s Leo-inspired gold and red dress “looked like a costume” specifically, “a voodoo princess in hell.” The judges were not pleased to hear about how difficult her working relationship with Keith was and overall, they thought her design looked “cheap” and that “taste, all of a sudden, flew out the window.” Kenley’s Aquarius-inspired dress with huge sleeves and a bubble skirt in mismatched fabrics and colors did not impress the judges because they couldn’t see anything astrological in her design. Kenley argumentatively insisted that her design was “avant-garde.” Michael Kors countered that “avant-garde is something we haven’t seen before” and the judges have seen aspects of her design before. They were also put off by her “defensiveness” at their critiques and thought she was “acting more like a Taurus” because “boy was she stubborn!” Finally, Suede’s Libra-inspired aqua/purple pants/blouse ensemble was thought to be “boring” and not quite avant-garde because it looked like “it came off the rack at a department store.” The judges thought he could have “pushed the envelope more” and overall, the design was “tacky.” The judges were also not amused by his tendency to speak in the third person, noting that he “certainly was not ready for the third person kind of lingo.”
For the Win
Jerell’s Sagittarius-inspired design was declared the winner, winning both the previous designers’ votes as well as the runway judges’ votes.
Two Outs
The first designer eliminated was Blayne, whose design “seemed like a joke” to the judges. The second elimination came down to Terri and Suede. While Suede’s design was “boring [and] safe,” Terri was eliminated because her design was “poorly made [and] it lacked taste.”
