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The designers meet Iman at the creepy Bodies exhibition -- you know, that one where there's skulls and muscles and no skin. She tells them to create a collection inspired by the inner workings of the body. My mind immediately jumps to Lady Gaga's meat suit. Iman's final instruction is to create something that makes her heart skip a beat.
Mike tries to suggest that the members of the House of Nami switch it up: if they did evening wear last time, show day this time. He's overruled by Cesar. The Emerald Syx is letting Calvin go on and on about a storyline, but he nearly got eliminated last time, so they shouldn't bother listening to him. Isaac walks in and Emerald Syx has nothing to show him because they fought the whole time. House of Nami goes first -- they are going with the layers and the skin tones. Issac actually gives them helpful suggestions. Emerald Syx goes in with nothing -- Issac tells them to change their name to House of Emerald, since they are just five people. They start fighting; Isaac tells them they are going to be losers.
Jeffery takes the lead for his team and they seem to get somewhere. Well, until Isaac walks in and tells them that everyone needs to incorporate something reversible into their design. Twist! Designing. Fighting. Stressing. Designing. Fighting. Stressing. Repeat ad nauseum.
Michael from House of Nami refuses to complete a look because he doesn't like the way his is coming together, so he literally cuts it to shreds, throws it in the trash and storms off. He knows full well that the team will lose if they don't have six looks, and doesn't particularly seem to care. So he quits the show and then the Nami group starts scrambling to make another look. It actually appears kind of decent.
House of Emerald is up first. Their collection is entirely blood red. (FYI, taking a scarf and untying it is NOT reversible by definition). Some of it is more convertible than reversible. House of Nami goes for more peach and pinky colors and by in large understands the concept of the challenge. Isaac says he thinks their collection worked and credits Emerald for getting their shit together so quickly. They especially love Calvin's dress, which, to quote Iman, "had more tricks than a hooker." House of Nami takes the win. Their favorite look belonged to Eduardo. He gets an extra hour of work time the following week.
House of Emerald faces the panel of judges (which includes photographer Douglas Friedman). They like Jeffrey's dress. Golnessa dresses herself cutely, but her model not so much. Cindy's dress has a weird pinchy thing happening on the butt. Calvin's is awesome, though they don't care for the fact that one item turned into a backpack. Tamara's dress is falling apart during the judging panel -- not a good sign. And she gets called out for the ugly pleat that she was forced to put on by her bossy teammates. They bring in House of Nami and say that since Mike up and quit, no one is going home. Isaac thinks Emerald is sinking, so he sends Calvin to House of Nami, Then the House of Nami has to send one member to the other team. It's just like grade school. Cesar takes the bullet for the team. -- Angel Cohn
Want more? The full recap starts right below!It's morning at their apartment, which, from the outside, makes the Atlas Building look like the YMCA. Tamara says that, as soon as they got back to the apartment, everyone was talking about how Francine should have gone home. She kind of chuckles and I think that's because of how they all mostly got reamed on the runway, so it's funny to see them quickly change the subject to how unworthy Francine's stuff was. That said, glad to see her gone.
Mike, who I don't believe has yet to remove that hat, tells us that he has always been interested in design. If you give him cardboard and duct tape, he can make something, like a sign that explains to passers-by that, given food, he will work.
The designers find a note from Iman. They have to meet her downtown. Everyone's excited. They end up a the South Street Seaport. At the Bodies exhibit! The designers seem a little freaked out and I can understand why. There's actual exposed insides all around.
Iman's there and she's wearing fur, which I find somehow ironic and perfect. She tells everyone that they're going to look within for inspiration. Their challenge is to complete a collection inspired by the inner workings of the human body. Mike tells us that this is exciting to him because he is inspired by the human body. That's fantastic.
They will have some time to look around, then 45 minutes to plan a collection for Isaac to love or hate. "Design something that will make my heart skip a beat," says Iman. She's a regular Will Rogers. They start looking around and most of the House of Nami is grossed out. Understandably so, This is an INTENSE exhibit. Cesar is particularly skeeved. David says that he is really inspired by female genitalia. He kind of elaborates about folds and stuff, then just stops and kind of genuflects with his eyes. On just about anyone else in the world, this would have seemed creepy, but this dude just sounded so sincere and romantic. He made hoo-ha romantic.
Calvin tries to relay an idea he is having for the story that House of Emerald Syx can show on the runway. He is talking about "big-ass silk chiffon." It goes without saying that his story-telling style is very dramatic. Jeffrey found it gimmicky.
Back at the workroom. Mike tells us that he thinks Cesar is very good, but he thinks he is just as good.
Calvin can't translate his vision into English words. People try to ask questions so that he can clarify and he just screams at them. If you don't want to lose, listen to him. That's his version of clearing things up for people. Because of the horrible communication style of these folks (and who can really blame most of them for not being able to have an effective conversation with Calvin?) they have nothing to show Isaac when he arrives.
He begins his consultation with the House of Nami. They were inspired by flesh tones and blood colors. The color story is sort of a progression from skin to blood. Isaac is turned on by the darkness of the colors. He tells them to not shy away. David says he wants to make a coat and a dress, but Isaac tells him to combine the two. Isaac loves Mike's idea for this dress that would have yarn hanging off that looked like veins.
The House of Emerald Syx has no concept. Isaac's first order of business is to tell them that it's ironic that their name is six when there are only five of them. Well, It's actually "Syx" instead of "Six," but I get it. He asks them if they want to go with just Emerald instead of Emerald Syx. They do.
He doesn't get the mood from mood boards and everyone explains the communication problems they are having, with Calvin saying that no one will listen to him. Isaac tells them to stop fighting. He demands that Calvin get it together. He already knows how to turn people off, so it's time to learn how to work with people. Kinda sage, that advice. Isaac says that, from the looks of things, House of Nami is already going to win again. Jeffrey says they need to massage each other, which is a lovely way to describe creative support. They decide Jeffrey will be the lead designer. He tells us that he comes from a family of 12 and can work with anyone, including the devil. I'd certainly say that's being put to the test.
It looks like the consultation is done, but Isaac comes back with a twist. Jeffrey freaks. He's not a fan of twists. Isaac says everyone has to have something reversible in their design, since it's about the inside of the body.
At the fabric store, House of Nami has $600 budget. They're all going for muscle colors. Emerald has a $500 budget. Jeffrey wants everyone to work together and feels that he knows what they need to improve.
They will have until midnight to work. Calvin is going to make a dress and jacket. The jacket will turn into a backpack. No one on the team seems to like the idea, but he insists. He says he doesn't want to fight anymore, when essentially he's saying that he won't discuss other possibilities. That said, a jacket that turns into a backpack doesn't seem like the worst idea in the world. Tamara tells us that she was inspired by the body in the exhibit with joint replacements. Cindy feels that pleating looks like ribs, so she's doing a lot of that.
Dominique wants something that looks like a skeleton, in that it would be see-through. Eduardo's idea is to exaggerate the shoulders, to mimic the exposed shoulder muscle in the exhibit bodies. Mike wants to try this risky technique to create his textile, but Cesar thinks it's a bad idea. Mike starts dipping yarn in this paint then splashing it on white fabric. This was a GREAT time to try something he'd never done before.
It's almost the end of night and Jeffrey says Emerald still doesn't have a story to tell. At least some love is happening in their house. Calvin says to Tamara, " Do you think I make retarded clothing?" This makes her laugh. I don't really know what he meant just then. Tamara interviews that, crazy as it seems, she has a connection with Calvin. She wants to believe he means well with the absolutely horrible things that he says all of the time. Cindy doesn't think Tamara's dress is interesting or cohesive with their collection and tries to suggest that she add some pleating to her design to pull everything together, but she resists. She feels that Cindy and Golnessa are in sync because they are partners in the real world, and I imagine that's half of the reason she resists. Calvin jumps in and insults Golnessa's dress and she reminds him that he was the one who got bashed by the judges in the challenge. Calvin turns it and insults Jeffrey's skills as lead designer. I wish Fern Mallis were here to tell everyone to be nice.
The models are coming in for a fitting and Mike says his stuff is not sewn. He doesn't know what he's going to do. I also don't think he knows what he's doing.
Golnessa says Emerald was inspired by sheer stuff around heads of the exhibit, but Calvin doesn't like the idea of doing the same thing on their models. He's really not very good at this whole teamwork thing. I have to add though, I walked past his store in Nolita the other day. It's in one of the poshest shopping areas in NYC, so...I don't know, the guy's paying the rent somehow. Some part of this is working for him.
Eduardo loves his model in the dress he made. Cesar says that Eduardo is one to watch. He's a silent Peruvian, which he says like that's some sort of actual thing.
Cindy doesn't think their collection is cohesive. From here, it looks like she's right. Mike scrambles to make something, just so his model will have something to put on at the fitting. She knows something is wrong, because the dress is so tight. Everyone else in Nami is super excited about how things are coming together. Mike says he knows everyone is worried, but he doesn't care about their opinions. Wow, it's not really an "opinion" that you haven't made a dress. Jeffrey sees Mike pacing and finds it really weird. He wonders if they'll win from Mike just fucking up. Mike starts eating instead of working, which naturally makes his team even more anxious. Mike says that, at this point, he doesn't care if they win or lose. Cesar tells him to just finish his dress. Cesar has some sexy authority about him. He's like the vice principal of fashion school.
Suddenly, everyone notices that Mike is cutting up his dress. Rolando thinks that he's losing his mind, while Cesar describes it as falling apart. Both are correct from my vantage point. He throws it in the trash and walks out of the workroom. David follows him to try to talk him down, but he asks to not be filmed. David interviews that Mike could have asked for help, but instead just freaked out and quit. "What the fuck," asks Rolando. Precisely. Cesar says he's an idiot. Dominique says that she doesn't think Mike understands what an opportunity he's throwing away.
Cesar and the reset of Nami bust into survival mode and start trying to create a look to replace Mike's. Cesar calls him a schmuck. Golnessa is worried that her dress is not dramatic enough and Calvin helps with some adornments which she finds to be a pleasant surprise. Cesar drapes and tries to finish and manages to turn out another look! He accurately describes their effort as a helluva job. That night, Cesar calls Mike a schmuck again and pathetic, which gets a laugh from Rolando.
The day, Eduardo is nervous. He hasn't finished his look. Cesar feels privileged to work with his team and is all good riddance to Mike. Poor Mike's model is confused. Emerald puts gives Tamara the hard sell about the pleats and she feels ganged up on. Even Calvin agrees and she eventually says that she likes the suggestion and adds a little something to the front of her dress.
Moments before the show, Calvin refuses to put shit on model's heads. Tamara backs him up. He's so vulgar with his disagreements. Golnessa gets angry and he says he'll cut his finger off before helping her again. Jesus. Jeffrey explains to Stefan the problem and he points out that the majority wanted the headdresses, but he doesn't push it.
The crowd has arrived at the show and photographer Douglas Friedman is the guest judge. The House of Emerald's show begins and there's a heat beating on the projection screen at the back of the runway. Cindy's dress is first and her bolero jacket is reversible. Jeffrey's neckline folds down to change the shape and color of the dress, like a ski cap for your boobs. Tamara says that she's not a fan of the pleating that's on her dress now and it looks like nothing more than something that was added at the last moment. Calvin's dress gets applause when the jacket turns into a backpack. Golnessa's scarf turns into a train. Cool. Jeffrey says that he thinks they could win.
This week in David's Cute And Straight Antics, he plays the harmonica in the workroom. Hopefully, this segment will continue, perhaps even after the season is over. Dominique is TOTALLY into him and for many good reasons.
Stefan calls five before Nami's show and Eduardo is still sewing. Stefan finally tells everyone to stop touching their models. Their show begins. David's shawl turns into a cape, which is much like a vagina, per him. Dominique's jacket is reversible and there is a pattern like veins on the inside. Literal but neat and chic. Rolando has a jacket that turns into a shrug. Eduardo's dress, with a reversible skirt gets applause when it hits the runway. Cesar has a reversible shrug and the skirt of his dress has fringe that resembles veins. Their show was amazing.
Afterwards, Isaac commended Nami's color palette. Iman liked all of the veins in their collection. Isaac loved Emerald's collection too. Iman says that Calvin's design has more tricks than a hooker. So, that was really awesome that she just said that. And, the winner is Nami. Happy David hoots.
Isaac says the winning element was the sophisticated palette. It was like theme and variation, instead of one melody. The two top looks were Cesar for using veins as fringe and also Eduardo's for using the perfect color on the girl. The model comes out and the winner is Eduardo! He says it feels great to win. He thought Cesar would win, because his dress was amazing. He gets an additional hour of work week and, if he makes it to the finals, an additional $500 for his collection.
"Here we go again, Emerald," says Iman. True. The only thing different is the name. They go to the runway to be judged. Calvin's tees are far too small. Isaac says he thought using the same color was smart for the House. Golnessa explains that all but Calvin and Tamara wanted pleats, but Peter says that Jeffrey and Calvin's dresses actually work well together. They all really hate Tamara's dress and give her shit for adding stuff that she didn't want.
Laura Brown should shut up. She says that Cindy's dress is pinched and it's like "When Dresses Attack." I guess Paula Abdul's old writers need work, but that joke was tired two years ago. But, she says that, contrary to the crowd reaction, she hated Calvin's backpack. She loved the cape though.
Isaac says that the fighting on their team is disgraceful. The drama is affecting their collections. Calvin talks and everyone rolls their eyes. He says he won't argue, but Iman points out that he's naturally argumentative. She says it prevents people from seeing the see loveliness of his work, which is an excellent point. She says that someone is leaving, which is weird. Really?
Iman says Jeffrey was fresh and great, but he failed as lead designer. Golnessa made a dress she wouldn't wear, which is their advice that she should start designing for the runway the way she styles herself. Cindy impressed only because she was the first on the runway. Tamara compromised her vision. Calvin may have more talent than the others, but no one can stand to work with him. Something has to change.
House of Nami is called to the stage by Iman. She tells them that they roll with punches, so they are getting another punch. No one is going home. Tamara thanks Mike in an interview, and seriously. Isaac says a change is needed. Calvin is moving to Nami! Poor Eduardo says "No no no oh my God!" All of Emerald smiles with relief.
Also, Nami has a minute to decide who from their team will be switching to Emerald. David's freaked out and seriously how beautiful are his eyes!? Cesar says he will move to their team, which makes Dominique very sad. Isaac tells them to sleep well and that's that! Drama! Cesar says that if Calvin can't make it work with Nami, he'll just be another dramatic Asian queen, which I find to be questionable in it's ok-to-sayness.
Jeff Long is a writer/performer in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com