The challenge? Create a party dress for a famous socialite. The socialite? Nicky Hilton. So, I guess we're calling her a "socialite" and not a "cultural leech." The designers are shown a dossier with a few photos of Nicky, to give them inspiration. Marla almost exactly copies a dress from the dossier.
There's a lovely bit of drama over missing dress forms. Daniel V. (of course, the "V" is needless now that Franco's gone) buys the wrong fabric and begs for scraps from others.
The designers present their creations to Nicky at a cocktail party. During the party, the designers have a walk-off that is amazing. In fact, Nick might be replacing Cara for the rest of the season. Or until week, when Marla will be eliminated. This week, though, it was Lupe who was auf. Her amphibious design would put Nicky on a "worst-dressed list," say the judges. God forbid. The Hiltons hate nothing more than negative publicity. The winner is Santino, who really needed the ego boost. Even while wearing heels and doing a superb Tim Gunn impression, the guy comes off as a jerk.
Previously: The designers pitched lingerie lines to Heidi, and she picked four team leaders to lead teams of three in creating the leader's designs. Santino lost what I'm sure were the tons of respect that he had for Emmett. He also had a runway meltdown. Daniel Vosovic won the challenge. Daniel Franco nobly took the blame for his teams loss, and was eliminated. Confession: my DVR begins five minutes before the show begins (for peace of mind reasons), and I just watched Daniel Franco's elimination again. I swear to God I just cried a little. That was really touching. I was just remembering how, in the first season, Daniel explained that his fashion pursuits had been delayed because he ran the family business during his father's illness. So, after having his dreams delayed because of obligations, then having said dreams crushed at a maddeningly early stage; this guy offers himself up for elimination in the name of principle. I find that really bold and admirable. Okay, sorry for the diversion -- on to the episode.
Morning at the Atlas apartments. Chloe interviews that she thought Santino would go. She is sad that Daniel is leaving and when she says that Daniel was being "honorable," she gets choked up and says, "I'm gonna all tear up again!"
Nick interviews that he thinks that judges were correct in eliminating Daniel Franco, though Santino's tantrum looked "hazy." Is "hazy" West Hollywood for "totally inappropriate and lacking in self-awareness"? Santino interviews that the judges can "come for [him] again and again and again" and he won't back down from his vision. Okay, fair warning, I guess.
At the runway, Heidi greets everyone. Mention has been made on the forums, and I agree -- Heidi looks so gorgeous this season. Pregnancy certainly agrees with her. She tells everyone that they will be designing a party dress for "one of America's hottest young socialites." This could be interesting. Now, it's time to choose models. I'm having issues with the structure of the model choosing. I understand that the current structure emphasizes to a model (and the audience) that her success is linked with the success of the designer, but the only way to get rid of your model is if you win the challenge. And most of the winning designers are going to be happy with their models and attribute at least some of their success to them. So, this is all a pointless exercise. They should draw buttons from the black velvet bag, and the first person that wants to change models gets to choose. But only one person gets to change for each challenge. So, clearly Cara would go home (because of her persnickety behavior during the last challenge) if Marla had the opportunity to get rid of her. But, if the button of…say, Zulema was chosen before Marla's was chosen and Zulema wanted to get rid of Rachael, then Marla would be stuck with Cara for another week. It's just frustrating, because here come the models, Rebecca (Daniel V.'s) and Claudia (Daniel F.'s). Now, of course, Daniel V. wants to stick with Rebecca. I mean, it would seem fairly ungrateful for him to change models after winning the challenge. But Claudia is a lovely girl with a great attitude. I'm sure several designers would love to use her. But instead, she goes home. Funnily, when Heidi tells her she's "out" (which, incidentally, she's pronouncing much more succinctly these days), Claudia replies, "Yeah, I know." Backstage, Claudia and Tarah hug. Bye, Claudia! We'll miss you.
At Parsons, Tim greets the designers holding a stack of dossiers. He tells the designers to consider that socialites are very important to their careers. He asks Daniel to open and read one of the dossiers. The socialite is Nicky Hilton. I guess that's to be expected. When I saw the preview last week, and they showed a blurred version of her picture, I thought maybe the socialite would be Lauren Bush. I don't know why that excited me more. The designers seem happy. Santino interviews that "Nicky Hilton is an amazing muse -- for making beautiful things." Why do most of Santino's remarks have a subtextual "Stupid!" at the end of them? He always sounds like he's answering a question to which the answer is just way too obvious [, stupid!]. Daniel reads a letter from Nicky. The day, she will be hosting a party for them where she will judge their designs. He quotes, "My standards are high, and my taste is exquisite." Is this the same girl who got married in Las Vegas with Bijou Phillips as one of her bridesmaids? Then had the marriage annulled three months later? Maybe the guy didn't live up to her "standards." But, um, the taste part. That just doesn't work.
The designers have thirty minutes to design. Then Tim will give them $150 each and take them to the fabric store, Mood, to shop for supplies. Chloe interviews that they only received two pictures of Nicky in party dresses. One was "flashy," the other sophisticated. So, Chloe's going to try to make something sexy and sophisticated at the same time.
Marla interviews that she had begun sketching before they were told that Nicky Hilton was their socialite. She feels that maybe those sketches would be more right for Marla, less right for Nicky. Marla says, "I can't say that I make many party dresses these days." Why does that make me so sad? What did she think this show would be? Like, half of these designs are for party dresses. Did she think she'd be making a nun's habit? Marla seems a bit lost right now.
Kara says that her design will be "fresh" and "girly." She adds that you have to make your client happy. Ever since she threatened to castrate Daniel Franco, she has freaked me out a little.
At Mood, there's the usual mad scurrying. Nick speaks in Spanish to one of the workers there. Zulema decides that she will be using black and white fabrics. My imagination, or is Emmett sporting a pretty massive gut? Daniel interviews that, with the time constraints, going to the fabric store without a clear plan is "instant death." We see Santino find the fabric that he wants, and he interviews that he has been designing for rich girls all of his life. Yeah, I heard his elementary school playground creation of a veil made from dandelions and Funyuns bags was a real winner. It's totally legendary. I mean, it cost, like, 50 cents but looks like it cost, I don't know, like, five dollars. Likewise, he interviews that he could take $150 and make it look like $150,000. Man, he's lucky that he already has experience with this sort of thing. Thank you, rich girls.
Back at the workroom, they all get to work. Andrae interviews that he wanted to create a dress that will let Nicky's "own self shine through." There are an army of publicists working around the clock, attempting to make sure that Nicky Hilton never, ever lets her "own self shine through." They're no match for the Hilton selves most of the time, but let's give them credit for trying.
Nick says that designed a dress that "harked back to the days of the 1930s." He also adds that he has worked with celebrities before. Zulema says that her design will be made of black leather and cream georgette, which she thinks will set her apart from the rest of the design pack. Daniel shows us a pink geometric pattern on silk satin. He was going to pair the silk satin with black stretch satin, but inadvertently purchased chocolate brown satin instead. Both Marla and Kara are using black stretch satin. Marla tells Daniel that she thinks she may have some left over. Kara tells him that she doesn't want him to count on her. For being in a pretty scary situation, Daniel is remaining surprisingly calm.
Daniel's calmness is juxtaposed in the show with Zulema, wide-eyed and raised of voice, asking if anyone removed a dress form from a certain area in the workroom. "They need to return it. They need to return it right now. " Marla interviews numbly that, as the number of designers dwindles, the tensions are getting higher. Then Marla jumps in on the action. Her dress form is missing too. "Fucking A! I just had it here with a piece of tape and I went out to do something!" She goes to Kara's workspace and says, "Did you just take this from over there?" Kara acts like she's in an entirely different room and hasn't heard any of the commotion and responds, "I took a form." Santino is looking at everyone with a perplexed gaping-mouthed stare. Everyone is talking when, off-camera, we hear what my close captioning refers to as "[man]" scream the soon-to-be…no, wait, already famous quote, "Where the HELL is my chiffon!" Commercials.
Back from the break, we see more of the incident with the dress forms. I think Kara was being a little sneaky by taking Marla's mannequin, and she's playing dumb to Marla now. Marla interviews that "you've got to bolt things down sometimes." She adds that Project Runway has turned into a competition, not with the other designers, but with herself. Finally, something she can win. Wait, she says the competition is to see if she can be creative and talented and make great clothes. In that case, neither Marla nor Marla has a chance. If those are the things that are going to determine who wins this competition, there must be someone else involved besides you and yourself, Marla. Maybe someone with a little less whickety-whack.
Lupe interviews that her design is Japanese-inspired. It's "clean," "fun and feminine." She says that she is adding tchotchkes to her designs in order to "draw the eye into the body." Her design philosophy, she states, is to add and subtract elements to a design based on your personal need.
Santino interviews that he was battered by the judges at the last runway show. Since he has been backed into a corner, he has decided to make "the most beautiful thing." Nick recalls, in his interview, that Santino was defensive towards the judges during the last challenge. "If he keeps it up, he's gone."
Tim Gunn comes in for a visit. He talks to Diana first. He seems confused by her design. She tries to explain the draping that she's going to do, but it doesn't come across clearly.
, he talks to Zulema. She seems to be moving along smoothly. She tells Tim that she is getting better with time management.
Tim does not seem happy with Lupe's tchotchkes. "Disgusted" would be a better word for what he seems. Lupe interviews, in the grand old tradition of the delusional designer who has been given a negative Tim Gunn critique, that the additions to the garment are "pretty much what [she likes] to do." Then she says something about the design being "out there." As if she were cutting edge. I understand that everyone wants to believe they're incredibly creative and unique, but if I hear one more person start spouting off about their "vision" in the face of Tim Gunn's advice, I'm gonna lose it. For real, woman, take the crap off of the dress. Just do what he says. You're not going to turn into Brave New World. Your identity will be intact. Follow the goddamn fashion director of Parson's advice. Okay?
Tim tells Marla that her dress looks identical to the dress that Nicky Hilton is wearing in one of the photos in the dossier. Marla flatly responds, "Well, it's possibly true." You know, Marla has sadly shown herself to be one of the lesser equipped of the designers on the show, but I kind of love her demeanor. She doesn't seem desperate. She just kind of rolls with the punches. She carries more than a little whiff of Wendy Pepper demographically, but I don't feel like she has done anything devious to reach this point in the competition. Tim continues, saying that the dress Marla's making doesn't look like her sketch; nor is it pretty. He asks her to "be Marla." Marla interviews that she has spent most of her career "working at making a living," and thus has probably been unable to "play" in her designs as much of the other designer. Again, said with no bitterness. Imagine if that were Wendy Pepper. I picture her holding a bubbling, foaming glass filled with a colorful poison as she incants some sort of hex and screams. Tim tells her to "listen" to her own voice, which is followed by an interview where Marla says, "As a designer, I don't trust my own creative voice." That's really sad, to me.
After Tim leaves, everyone continues working furiously. Daniel is still waiting on either Marla or Kara to have some leftover black fabric. I seriously hope that he has a Plan B. Kara says to him insincerely, "Well, Daniel, you know if I had it I'd give it to you. And I'm sorry baby, I wish…" To which, he responds, "And so do I."
The morning, Daniel says that he didn't get the fabric he needed, so he'll have to "rethink" his design. Oh, God, Andrae is wearing his little orange shorts again. He looks like The Boy in the Plastic Bubble when he's wearing those things -- frail and sickly.
At Parson's, Chloe tells Diana that her dress is looking like Stevie Nicks, to which Diana responds, "What's Stevie Nick?" Oh no. She did not.
As they are working, Santino says to Daniel, "Daniel, you don't even have fabric to finish the sides of your dress." Santino is doing a perfect Tim Gunn. I mean, perfect. Daniel laughs and responds, "No, I don't." Santino continues, "I'm shitting myself." That was funny. Daniel interviews that, without the fabric he had intended to use, he has to be creative and think of another option. He says that the design will be centered around the pattern on the fabric he has.
Tim comes in. He tells Chloe that her dress is cute and that she "pulled it off." Lupe tells Tim that her dress looks "like crap." Tim says, "I'm not gonna debate that." That is so painful. Then he says, "I'll leave you alone."
Diana doesn't get it any easier from Tim. She complains of the fabric "puckering" on her bodice, but Tim also points out that it is sewn poorly. Diana interviews that she is concerned about her lack of design experience. She says that she needs to concentrate on pleasing people instead of being so conceptual. I'm not sure that that's entirely true, but it's nice to see her growing a little bit. I wouldn't want her to totally lose her conceptual edge, but it's always nice to make things pretty too.
Tim gives total approval to Santino's design, which gets a loud "Whoo" from Santino. Nearby, Nick smiles. His thoughts tell a different story. Oh, wait, that's just an interview that they placed on top of this image. Tricky editors! He says that Santino is talented, but not talented enough to beat Nicky in this challenge. "This ain't my first time at the rodeo." And that's not the first time he's said that. Something tells me Nick's been to a lot of rodeos. Tim tells Nick that his design looks "sophisticated." Normally, that's a compliment. I'm not sure about this time, though, since the customer is Nicky Hilton -- the same Nicky Hilton who was posing half-nude like a dead person on the beach for David La Chapelle's photos for Vanity Fair when she was like 16. I don't think sophistication when I think of her. I do, however, think of crabs. Because of the beach thing. Mmm hmm.
Tim is still not happy with Marla's design. She says, "This is my dress," in a way that suggests she believes herself. But she can't, can she? It is the same dress that Nicky Hilton is wearing in the photo. No mistaking it. Emmett then speaks up: "Why would you buy that, if you already have it in your closet?" I could say, "Ask the nineteen pairs of khakis in my closet." But I understand his point. Tim says, "I don't want you to be a copycat." Marla then gets strangely defensive, which Tim diffuses by recognizing that she is anxious. He then tells her that her challenge is to make her dress not look like the dress in the dossier.
Tim preps them for the party. He tells them that they need to win over Nicky Hilton, not just with their dresses on their models, but also with their own presentation. Everyone scurries in the hour remaining before the models arrive. When they models get there, the designers spend some time putting them in the dresses. The rest of the time they spend grooming their own damn selves. Santino wears five-inch stiletto pumps because he thinks they will be "memorable." Santino is right. Frighteningly tall at this point, but right about the "memorable" thing.
Daniel looks good.
With everyone in their finery, the designers and models go to Marquee. Nicky Hilton arrives in jeans and a cardigan with Heidi, who is decked out in a lovely black cocktail dress. You can hear Santino bellow, "Hi Nicky." That guy has the deepest voice ever. And the highest heels. I think we've got the makings of a new cabaret star. Book the Carlyle! Heidi introduces Nicky, who tells the designers that she loves fashion and is excited to see what they have designed. She seems really sweet. ["I'm always surprised by how deep her and Paris's voices are." -- Sars] Heidi asks the designers to remember that Nicky is their client, so they will need to be memorable and sell the dress. Then she says, "Let's pop some bottles. Let's have some fun."
Then, at the most brightly lit cocktail party ever, everyone begins to schmooze. There's Richie Rich and Traver Raines of Heatherette. Daniel introduces himself to Nicky first. She says that she loves his dress. He interviews that he felt it was a positive experience.
Nick and Tarah introduce themselves to Nicky, and she says that the dress, which is made of a blue fabric, is one of her favorite colors. Nick says, "I sort of guessed that." Why? Because she was wearing pink and black in the two dresses she was wearing in the dossier's photos? Yeah, I didn't think so. Maybe he's nervous or something. That's kind of a hokey thing to say, though. He redeems himself by showing the back of the dress, which has a lovely swooping drape. He demonstrates that Nicky could pose for photographs with her back to the camera, looking over her shoulder. This gets a laugh from Nicky and Heidi. In his interview, he says, "I just felt like, you know, a little Mexican kid in Tijuana, like, 'Buy my gum. Buy my chicle.' It's like, it's sort of pathetic." Jesus Christo, that is funny.
Andrae sells his dress by saying it will travel well. Kara tells Nicky that her design would be "stunning" on her, because it has an empire waist. "I know us small girls…" she says as she pats her own flat bosom. Okay, there are better ways to make that point, Kara. Nicky kind of laughs and says she likes the dress, then gazes off into the distance.
Diana presents her dress and says that she added an extra layer to the skirt of her design, so that if Nicky is dancing, she will "attract more attention than other people will." I love Diana's interpretation of what a socialite wants. She kind of hits the nail on the head, though. "More attention that other people" just about sums up the ambitions of the Hiltons, I'd say.
Emmett presents his dress as a "little, sexy, versatile dress." Then we hear him telling them in almost a scolding manner that "I don't want to impose my opinion on someone who I don't know." Zulema describes her dress as a "tough, nice girl sort of thing," which she says is "Zulema." I guess she's waiting to show the nice girl part. We're only at "Zul."
Nicky tells Chloe that she loves the braiding action on the back of Chloe's design, and adds that she is using a lot of braiding in her upcoming holiday dress line. Chloe says, "I was channeling you."
Lupe presents her dress by saying she wanted to make something that would show her whole vision. She then adds that they were given photos of Nicky in party dresses as inspiration, including one of a Chloe dress. Nicky says, "Yeah, I saw a dress that looked like my Chloe dress. The black one?" Lupe replies, "Yeah, I don't know what happened." Okay, that's shitty. You're shitty, Lupe.
Nicky tells Marla that her dress looks like one that she wore recently. Marla, to her credit (or detriment -- it's debatable), doesn't lie, but kind of dumbly says, "Well, you know what? They did give us -- rhey gave us a couple of pictures of you in dresses. What dress was that that you wore recently? Chloe?" Nicky says, "It was a black Chloe." Marla good-naturedly goes, "Argh," and puts her face in her hands. She could have probably thought of something better than this, but I'm not sure that even Marla knows exactly why she ripped off that dress. Meanwhile, her nasty model, Cara, looks at Marla like she's hoping that she'll die. Marla interviews that she is worried that she might be eliminated. The mannequins seem fairly confident that she will be eliminated.
When Santino presents his design to Nicky, she again praises the braiding on the design. He gives her his business card and she says, "Working it! I love that." Heidi seems to find it very funny. I guess she is just relieved to see him being so charming when he was so difficult last week. Santino interviews that he thinks confidence is important and that he showed a lot of confidence with Nicky. He kisses Heidi's hand when he's done and she curtsies, which is awfully cute. We see a shot of Richie Rich and Heidi sharing a powder compact. Even cuter.
Later, the designers cut loose. Diana is dancing, and everybody's talking. Daniel says, "Apparently, you play a little music, give her a drink, and she just will shake her shit like all the rest of us. So she's now Dirty Diana."
, the designers decide to have a designer "walk-off" a la Zoolander. First, is Santino, who does The Rock's (or is it Hulk Hogan's?) "I can't hear you!" hand to the ear thing. It all looks like silly fun. Some look goofier than others. I don't mean to harp on this, but Daniel unbuttons a little of his shirt and I say yes. Lupe does a caterpillar move on the floor, because she is not thoroughly enough one of the NKOTB circa '88. Andrae says that "of course" Santino and Nick are the best walkers. Nick's actually a little kinetic for my tastes. He almost spins himself off of his feet. Emmett does this languid walk that, for some reason, kind of embarrasses me. It looks like they are having a great time.
The day, Tim greets the designers and tells them that they will have two hours to get their models ready before the runway show. Kara helps Marla add a few things to her dress to differentiate it from Nicky's Chloe dress. Daniel explains to the make-up artist that he wants his look to be "mojitos, like on the beach." And in the "Seriously, are you fucking kidding me?" moment of this episode, Marla tells the hairstylist that she likes the way Diana's model's hair looks, but "I don't want to do that, 'cause she's doing that. But, if you can do a variation." I want the girl to just look within herself! For one moment. Jesus, Mary, and Annie Hall, what the hell are we going to do with you, Marla? Lupe interviews that she was nervous when she compared her design to everyone else's.
Heidi welcomes the designers to the runway. She introduces our judges: Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and Nicky Hilton. Nicky, we are told, has her own fashion line, Chick. The designers are told that their designs will be scored when they come down the runway.
The show begins. Santino's dress is first. It's a grayish-blue color, almost lavender. The bodice is wrapped tightly with asymmetrical bunchings of fabric. The straps are braided, and the braids line the bust line. As well, the braid wrap around the bodice. The skirt is made of flowing triangular layers. It's very light and pretty. Santino interviews that he chose the color because it matches Nicky's eye color.
Up , is Chloe's dress. It's the same blue and black color scheme as her Clothes Off Your Back design. It's made of a different fabric and in a different shape, though. It's silk and has a short flowing skirt well above the knee. There's a black band around the waist. The back is bare. The bodice is cut to the waistband and wraps around her neck in a halter style. The neck is tied with a braided strap that hangs down the bare back and meets the waistband. It's a pretty dress. Chloe interviews that a celebrity will need color to stand out. Drug problems work too.
Andrae's design follows. It's really pretty. It's cut on the bias and has a loose flowing skirt. The dress is like midnight blue or dark gray or something, with gray satin double straps on each shoulder that create a "V" shape and meet at the tip of the bust. The back is scooped, with loosely draped fabric at the bottom of her back. The straps criss-cross on her back. Andrae says that his goals in the design were "beautiful" and "easy to wear." Mission accomplished, I'd say. It's a really pretty dress.
Emmett's dress is . It has an empire waist. The bodice is a simple band. There are shoulder straps. The skirt is long and flowing. The colors seem a little odd to me; there's black chiffon over a silver and black striped fabric. It comes off like plaid. Overall, it's fairly simple stuff. Emmett interviews with what is becoming a tiresome song and dance about how he's a menswear designer, so everything's hard for him.
Zulema's dress is . It's pretty interesting. The bodice is made of black leather and has a wide "V" at the center. There are shoulder straps. The rest of the dress is made of cream georgette. It's form-fitting, with bunchings that meet center seems on the front and back of the dress. At the bottom of the dress, on the sides, the skirt is bunched up a little for a rounded effect. It's fairly interesting. I have to say this, though; I'm sure she's lovely in person or whatever, but I really don't like Rachael, Zulema's model. Maybe it's just Zulema's designs, but Rachael never looks pretty. Zulema interviews that Nicky will like her design if she's ready to be a little "naughty for the night."
Diana's design is . The bodice is black and asymmetrical, with vertical strips of different textured fabric. The bust line is shaped kind of like a puzzle piece -- some rounded, some jagged edges. There are multiple straps that work asymmetrically. The skirt is full, with many layers of black strips of different shapes. Diana interviews that she feels that the personality of the designer is just as important as the clothing, because you are selling the "idea of you, or a style."
Nick's dress is up. It's pretty sexy. It's a light blue satin fabric. It's cut on the bias. The dress wraps, with the center of the wrap falling at the bottom of the plunging neckline. There's some black beading action at the shoulders. In the front, the dress is well above the knee. In the back, the fabric drapes beautifully, exposing most of the back. There's a diagonal strap across the back. The back of the skirt trails into an off-center train that falls to the ankles.
And here we have Guadalupe's dress. It looks like her model just climbed out of a swamp. It's black and strapless with…just…lots of stuff all over the skirt. The skirt also has some unfortunate attempt at bustling or something in the back. There's a green algae-like belt thing around the waist, and flowers and shit just everywhere. Also, the model is wearing a red sock or some shit on her right arm. Lupe, you're like in fucking Rent. I'm going to need at least 525,600 minutes to erase the memory of this disaster from my mind. Lupe interviews that she doesn't know if Nicky will love her dress, but she doesn't think that she will hate it. Then she says she doesn't know how people will see the garment. Michael Kors looks ready to stop the show right now. Scribble, scribble.
Following Lupe, we have Kara's design. It's fairly simple. It's a short, black, empire-waisted dress, with a halter style bodice. The silhouette really resembles her design for the semi-finals challenge. There's even a bow on the side. There is a neat strap across the back that's pretty. As well, it is draped very prettily. From the front, it looks a little like a nightgown.
is Marla's dress. Okay, let's forget all the rip-off stuff -- it's just not very pretty. Not to mention that Cara, her model, looks like she should be carrying an IV stand. Girl needs some pep in her step! ["Girl also needs a bacon-and-gravy sandwich and some dress styles that don't show her sternum." -- Sars] It's a short black dress with cutouts on the sides. The back is bare save some thin straps, which also make up the shoulder straps. The skirt is asymmetrical and revealing. Marla interviews that she is nervous.
Va-va-voom! Here we have Daniel's design. It's a form-fitting cocktail dress. The top of the décolletage is revealed. Apparently, he got at least a little black fabric, because the shoulder straps are black. All along the dress there are horizontal rings and pleated layers sewn into them -- like a flapper dress without the fringe. The pattern works really beautifully with this idea and Rebecca, his model, really fills out the dress. Daniel interviews that he is happy with the dress.
Heidi calls the designers onto the stage. She calls the names of Chloe, Diana, Nick, Guadalupe, Marla, and Santino. The others are safe. The models return to stand by the designers of the dresses they are wearing. When asked about his design, Santino says that he noticed Nicky's eye color and wanted to create something to go with it. Nicky says that she thinks it's a "killer, killer dress." She also says that she thinks he has the attitude to succeed in the fashion business.
Nick says that he wanted to make Nicky look like a Hollywood goddess. Nina compliments the back of the dress, and Michael likes the fit. He also picks up Nick's idea that she could pose over her shoulder. Nicky says that it is very pretty. Now, I don't know if the editors are doing this to us on purpose, but they just showed a shot of Santino looking really pissed. He can't possibly get upset when anyone besides him gets a compliment, can he?
Now, Lupe describes her dress. She explains that she used Japanese texture, and that her "thing" is to add detachable objects like flowers to the dress. As flat as that description just sounded, imagine Lupe saying it, but real jumpy. Nicky says that she thinks Lupe took the idea too far. Nina agrees, saying, "There's too much of everything." Michael says that if Nicky wore that dress, the tabloid press would ask, "Are there green socks on her dress?"
Chloe says that she wanted to make something that looked expensive, and if silk charmeuse is sewn properly, it can look expensive. I understand what she's saying, but -- rule: rich people never want to talk about something being expensive. She should have just said "fine" or some other veiled term. Nicky says that blue and black are her favorite colors and she loves "the presentation."
Diana explains that she wanted to create different patterns by changing the texture of the fabric. She added a belt at the waist for an elegant touch. Nicky sweetly says that the belt is "chic," but the skirt is too full. It would make a girl look like "she has a big butt." Michael says that people would say Nicky looks "like she's been sitting at home eating Ho-Hos." Now we know where Michael was last week.
Marla says that her dress is young and sexy. She mentions the open back as the sexy part. Nina thinks that it is unflattering with its many ruffles, layers, peaks, and angles. Nicky says that it was similar to the Chloe dress. Heidi is on this like Columbo. She asks Marla if she saw a picture of the dress. Marla admits that she did, and that Tim warned her to not make her own dress too similar. Heidi says she is surprised that Nicky recently wore something similar to Marla's dress. I'm assuming she's surprised that Marla made something similar, and not that Nicky would wear something like it in the first place. The designers leave the runway.
Nicky says that she loved Nick's dress. She would "absolutely" wear it. She also liked Santino's dress and thought that he was "very cool." Michael agrees about the dress and says that it would be a good silhouette for her. Heidi says she thinks it's too short-waisted. "Like, I wouldn't wear it," she says, leading me to believe that a certain pregnant lady on the stage is holding a grudge against Santino after last week's tomfoolery. Nicky says that she liked Chloe's dress, and thought Chloe was sweet. Nina says, in a really cool way that I'm going to start trying to imitate in my personal conversations, "I liked Chloe's dress." There was a lot of feeling there -- I'm having a hard time describing it. Michael agrees. He thinks it's flattering and sexy. Nina adds that it's young. Nicky says that Diana's dress is cute, but "not for [her]." Nicky then says that Lupe's way of describing all of the detachable flowers and whatnot is "very complicated." Michael thinks it was a "ridiculous" dress. Nicky doesn't think that Marla has a passion for fashion, because she didn't see it "in her eyes." Also, she reminds everyone that Marla based her design on a dress Nicky had already worn. Michael points out that Marla's dress might be boring, but Lupe's dress would definitely provoke a "What was she thinking?" from the press. Heidi says she does not like that Marla copied. "You cannot do this in a competition." Girl means business.
The designers return to the stage. Chloe is "in." Diana is "in." Nicky chose Santino as the winner of the challenge. She thinks he has the "whole package" and that he will go very far in the fashion business. He thanks everyone and leaves. We get another gracious footnote from Santino in the form of an interview where he says, "I didn't win the Barbie competition, but I won the Nicky Hilton competition. And that's more important. Because Barbie's not going to buy dress from me, but Nicky Hilton might." Nick is "in." He touches Marla's arm as he's walking off. We hear an interview from Nick saying he was "a little shocked that Santino won." He thinks he is just as talented as Santino.
It's down to Marla and Lupe. Lupe is sporting a little bit of a pooch there. Stand up straight, honey. Heidi tells Lupe that the judges feel that her dress would put Nicky on the "worst-dressed list." She tells Marla that no one knows where "Marla is in [her] design," which is a perfectly lovely way of saying "copycat." To her credit, Marla nods in a very respectful acceptance of the criticism. Marla is "in." Lupe gets an "auf wiedersehen," then she's out of there.
Backstage, Marla, Diana, and Emmett hug Lupe. Tim enters and hugs her as well. Then he tells her to pack her stuff and get the hell out of Dodge. She interviews that she knows her style, but not everyone can "grasp" it. Okay, you're not learning anything from this, are you? She says that she hopes to create her own line one day. I'll keep my eyes peeled, Lupe.