The Fashion Show: On the Job
June 25, 2009 by Pearl O'Wisdom
Filed under Television, Uncategorized
Is that a terrible and uninspiring opening song I hear? Then it must be a new episode of The Fashion Show!
Big Bertha says that last week’s episode got ugly, and the competition is bringing out folks’ catty side. Back in Apartment 3G, Kelly Rowland calls Merlin to say, head to 36th and 10th for the Harper’s Bazaar Mini-Challenge. The designers walk into a workspace and are informed that they will be working in pairs. The designers draw colored spools of thread from a bag to end up with the pairs. The pairs are: Lidia & James-Paul; Big Bertha & Merlin; Anna & Haven; and Daniella and Reco! HA! I love that those last two got paired up.
The actual mini challenge is that there are some girls who had too much fun going out last night. As a result, they did not have time to get dressed for work at their office daytime jobs. The challenge is to create business outfits using the going-out outfits and stuff in a supplied lost and found. The winner gets some prize. Once again, this is dumb. I would openly ridicule all of these girls if they came to work in my office dressed like any of these designers have styled them. Why? BECAUSE THEY LOOK LIKE THEY THREW SOME JUNK ON OVER THE CLOTHES THEY WENT OUT IN! The winner of the mini-challenge is Big Bertha and Merlin. They make a big deal out of a belt buckled turned broach, but the guest judge (some girl from Ugly Betty that’s not America Ferrera or Vanessa Williams) says it looks cool.
The show tries to create tension by letting the designers know that, this week, they will be working for a BIG NAME in fashion. Hmm . . . I wonder who it could be? Who have we not seen since the opening credits? Yes, that’s right. The elimination challenge this week is to create a look for Les Mizrahi’s upcoming collection. Nevertheless, I think this is a really good challenge – how novel! Seriously, I can’t help but think how this show would have been improved if the designers had tutored under a designer all season long. Big Bertha and Merlin, as winners of the mini-challenge, receive an extra special prize of . . . five minutes alone with Isaac? Huh?
The design board (or his “mood board,” as he calls it) for Isaac’s upcoming season is exactly what you’d expect: lots of color and pattern. It’s pretty awesome. The designers will have to stay in their pairs for this challenge, and they will only have eight hours to work on this challenge. I love it. I hope Reco and Daniella murder each other, so this show will be two weeks shorter than planned.
As expected, Daniella and Reco begin with argument. Lidia and James-Paul begin with confusion. Merlin and Big Bertha begin with picking beautiful fabrics. Haven and Anna begin by agreeing on everything.
I just realized something. This is a team challenge. Could there be a chance that both members of the team could get eliminated?!?! Keep your fingers crossed!
Everyone sews.
Some of my favorite moments: Merlin telling the audience, “I am working with him [Big Bertha], even though I don’t like him at all,” and the preview of The Real Housewives of New Jersey preview.
Three hours before the fashion show, Isaac and Kelly come through for a critique. During the critiques, we see that Big Bertha is wearing a tie-dye tee shirt. And he has made a jacket out of FELT. Isaac and Kelly are repulsed, as am I. Out in the hallway, it is revealed that only one person is being eliminated. Boo!
Time for the fashion show! Veronica Webb is guest judge, and I love her.
Daniella and Reco – These two send out a mess. The top is not horrible, a blue top with a rust colored jacket, but the pants. THE PANTS!! They look like mom jeans made from a bedspread from the Ramada Inn. Hideous.
James-Paul and Lidia – Unsurprisingly, it looks wretched. They have created a taupe dress with a sequined toga on top. It is intended to look like fish scales, but it looks like mess. Over that, they layer a large copper . . . jacket? Wrap? Bed sheet? To make it even worse, the model is styled terribly. Awful.
Anna and Haven – Ok, this look is the bomb! They have made a pair of culottes (CULOTTES!) from a black and white patterned skirt; the pattern almost looks like hieroglyphics. The sleeveless top is a multi-colored stripe with large horn details attached around the neck. Best of all, the ladies have layered a large black jacket over it. The jacket closes over the model’s left shoulder with two large gold medallions. Let me repeat: this look is the bomb!
Big Bertha and Merlin – Wow! The pair has done a plaid skirt matched with a patterned top. In between is a large, acid yellow belt. It sounds crazy, but it looks great. And it looks very Isaac Mizrahi. They’ve topped it off with a black jacket with a huge, exaggerated collar. Don’t really love the jacket – especially the weird horn pieces on it and that it’s made from felt – but this whole thing looks good.
Judging time! Well, there’s no secret here which two are the top and which two are the bottom. The big surprise of the judging here is how great a judge Veronica Webb is. She knows her stuff. The winning team tonight is Haven and Anna! Heeeeey! I agree that they should have won, but the version of it on bravotv.com doesn’t exactly look like their design.
With the bottom two, we hear how awful James-Paul’s coat is and learn how clueless Lidia is. She doesn’t know whom she was designer for, and the dress and coat do not belong together. Reco and Daniella’s pants are described as granny pants. Ha! Isaac says that their color story is uninspired. Of course, they argue in front of the judges, too. After a fairly long deliberation, the judges sort them out. James-Paul and Reco are safe. Ultimately (and appropriately), the judges eliminate Lidia. She is very upset in her exit interview, and I kind of feel bad for her. She seems like a nice gal, so I am sending her good vibes for a successful future.
‘Til next time!!
Season 1, Episode 7: On the Job (originally aired June 18, 2009)
For more on The Fashion Show, click here.
Thursdays at 10/9c on Bravo
Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal, Barbara Nitke
