OFF TO ITALY
With passports in hand, the ladies fly off to Italy. When they arrive, they are all in awe of the architecture and culture. I was straining to see some Italian men. Damn editing! I can see the Coliseum on the internet! Anyhooo, once again, for no reason at all, Whitney reminds us that she is a plus size model and she may not fit in as well, as if Italian women don’t eat pasta. Give me a break. She’s STILL representing all real women, and needs to get over it and stop mentioning it. A Tyra Mail arrives pointing the girls to their new home, a beautiful loft apartment complete with indoor pool and gardens.Fatima goes right to bed. Seems she is sick. She has a sore throat, a fever and she is congested. She even misses dinner. At the dinner table, Whitney asks Anya what’s wrong with Fatima, and Anya says she isn’t a doctor. Whitney says she was just asking because maybe certain medications would help Fatima. Dominique accuses Fatima of not having it all together and being too dramatic. Anya says that maybe Fatima is suffering from jet lag. Anya leaves the table because she’s tired of all of the gossip, and takes a plate of food to Fatima.
The next morning, Lauren gets up early and decides to unpack, or just generally throw things around. This is incredibly rude, but she doesn’t care that she’s waking up the other girls. I don’t know if Lauren is just insensitive, or trying to keep up her hardcore rocker grunge image, but either way, it’s getting old. Tyra Mail arrives telling the ladies to “Be careful how you roll. You may miss the beauty of Rome.” Anya shouts, “We’re going to be on the river!” Eyes roll as Dominique tells Anya it’s “roll” not “row.” Whitney, who seems to be hating on everyone who can actually eat a bagel these days, says, “Anya is sooooo blond.” Just like Whitney.
ROLLING AROUND ROME
They arrive in a courtyard and are greeted by some guy named Claudio from the House of Mattiolo, headed by owner Gai Mattiolo. They are given a quick lesson on balancing on a segway and then take a quick segway tour of Rome. As they roll, Claudio points out the fashion choices and posture of everyday women off the street, only it’s obvious that these are not just everyday women off the street. These are models placed in various locations surrounded by everyday women off the street. Most of them Whitney’s size.Next up they get Italian makeovers. Sophistication is the key, not flaunting a lot of skin. Afterward, they are taken to a studio to meet the man himself – Gai Mattiolo who doesn’t look like a rich designer at all. He asks each girl to walk for him. Fatima is graceful, even though she coughs. Dominique has a good walk, but he says she doesn’t look fresh. Ouch. He likes Kat, who is the most invisible of the remaining six contestants. He tells Anya that she’s so blond, so skinny. He says that Whitney is so American. As she stomps by, he can only say that Lauren is the tallest with beautiful legs.
Anya wins the walk-off, and is given an original Gai Mattiolo dress for her next red carpet event. Of course, Whitney has to say something negative since she didn’t win.
FIRST ITALIAN PHOTO SHOOT
A Tyra Mail arrives that gives the clue that it’s time for a Cover Girl commercial. Of course, they correctly deduce they’ll have to speak in Italian. Poor Lauren is dreading this part of the competition. I am too. She can’t stand up straight. She cannot articulate. And now, after making it to the final six and getting a free pass to Rome, she has admitted she’s not Cover Girl material. What?????Jay Manuel greets the ladies for their shoot. The product is Cover Girl Queen Collection Vibrant Hues Lip Color. Anya’s enunciation is just as confusing as her English is, but she’s saved by flirting at the end of the commercial with the cute stand-in. Kat, who speaks several languages, does a great job with the Italian, but falls flat on personality. Dominique’s translation sounded more like Chinese to the director, and it seemed to me she was wearing the wrong foundation and looked even more masculine. Think Madam Butterfly…Lauren’s performance was not worth mentioning. Fatima made her presence known and the director loved her. Whitney gave the Miss America, pageant, fake, over-the-top performance again.
