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Wow, this week's episode was a nightmarescape in satin. The designers were required to design and create prom dresses for a group of New Jersey Catholic schoolgirls. Reading that last sentence just sent shivers up my spine. The girls had pre-chosen the designer that would be making their dress by looking at their portfolios.
For the most part, the designers did a fair job of not being overwhelmed by the desires of the girls and stayed true to their personal visions. Christian, however, had the most opinionated client, and she may have been a little excited to show her bitch colors on a reality show. In any event, Christian did not react well and seemed to have a bit of a meltdown. And then weirdest thing happened. Practically everyone seemed extremely concerned for him. Tim was adamant that he not give up. I think this proves that he's clearly got more goodwill working for him than it would seem, per his general bitchiness in interviews. Either he's really good at just talking behind people's backs when they're not looking, or everyone knows that he's not being mean-spirited. Anyway, his dress was a mess. It reminded me of something worn by Martha on Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance. It was bronze with lace and lots of ruffles. Way too much.
Along the way, we heard memories and saw pictures of the designers at their proms. For his prom, Chris stayed home and watched old movies and got drunk. That's possibly the saddest thing I've ever heard.
On the runway, Sweet P and Victorya were the top two. The judges only liked two. Ouch. The bottom four were Rami, Kevin, Christian, and Ricky. Victorya was the ultimate winner because of her incredibly modern, young, and sophisticated design. And poor Kevin. He made the trashiest red dress with an unfinished hem. He's gone. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously: The designers made clothes out of Hershey's paraphernalia and a little bit of candy. Rami won his second challenge and the lovely Elisa was shipped back to her home planet.
It's morning at the New Gotham apartments and everyone is performing their morning grooming rituals. Ricky is brushing his teeth while wearing a white- and black-striped conductor's cap. Could someone please rob their apartment? A hat burglar, preferably. Christian is blow-drying himself into a Pekingese appearance. Rami is moisturizing himself while clad only in a towel. And the crowd says, "Yes." Well done, Mr. and Mrs. Kashou. Then, he talks. Eh. He's happy that he won another challenge. He is confident that he has "something" different from the other designers. 30-inch biceps would be the first.
Victorya is the only person in her apartment now that Elisa is gone. She interviews that "crazily enough" she misses Elisa. That would make that "almost" a nice sentiment. She says she felt connected to Elisa. Now she's moving to apartment 33H with the other remaining female designers.
At Parsons, Heidi greets them on the runway and her bangs are blown out straight onto her forehead and over her eyes. There's a danger that perhaps she cannot see where she's going. Let's see what happens. She staggers out and tells the designers that they will be working with clients to create a design for one of "the most important days of a woman's life." Rami interviews that he's just hoping it's not a wedding dress. Yeah, that would be bad.
Heidi calls out the models and a girl poses behind the runway scrim. Kevin interviews that he thought maybe they were designing for midgets or Oompa Loompas. Now, they're high school girls, who are probably mostly full-grown, so I don't know what he's talking about. A procession of high schoolgirls in private school uniforms enters the runway. All of the designers start giggling and, while it may not have seemed out of line when it actually happened, I can't imagine a worse thing to do to a group of high school girls. They are liable to start crying or rip you a new asshole. Kevin interviews that he wonders what they'll be making now. What do you think? Judicial gowns? There are only a few options and I doubt it's cotillion gowns. Sweet P says that all of the girls are pretty short.
Heidi tells us that all of the girls are from the same private school in New Jersey. And...the designers will be making their prom dresses. This is going to be awesome. All of the designers start giggling, but I can't tell if they're happy or scared. Christian interviews that the other designers seemed excited, but he thinks that prom is tacky and horrible and gross. Certainly. He's serious about that though. The girls have looked at the portfolios of the designers and chosen whom they would like to work with. This gets another laugh from designers. This feels like drama students turning up their noses at commercials and industrial films. Chris has a reason to laugh though. He interviews that he has no idea what the girl who chose him must have been thinking, since his portfolio is so full of weird stuff. Cut to photos of women in crazy Wonder Woman/Brunhilde-with-very-large-breasts costumes.
The girls go down the line and say whom they choose to work with. The to last girl chooses Chris, and he mumbles, "Don't be too scared." More laughs all around. The last girl, who is totally adorable in the dorkiest white-framed glasses, chooses Rami and giggles. Heidi takes the girls and leaves. All of the designers have another laugh after they're gone.
In the workroom, Tim greets the designers. Before bringing in their clients, Tim warns the designers that, though it is inevitable that many of the clients will have strong ideas about the direction of the designs, it is up to the designers to keep that in mind and maintain their vision. They will have 30 minutes with their clients then they will go to Mood with a $250 budget.
The girls enter and go the their designers. Everyone gets to work. Jillian's model, Erika, says she's never had a custom-made dress before. Wow, PR is really performing a service here. Chris interviews that he knew they'd have an eveningwear challenge at some point, but he didn't realize that they would be working with such young people. They're not covered in poison ivy, people! Sure, according to the criteria, there are few things scarier than teenage girls, but get some balls! He asks his client, Krista, if she would prefer her dress to be low-cut in front or back. Krista: "Both." My kind of trollop.
Kit asks her client, Brie, why she chose her and she says it's because Kit is edgy, which is her style. Kit interviews that they have to consider the age of the girls, and she thinks the dresses should be more modest. To be honest, I totally would not have pegged her as having that point-of-view. But I really agree with her. I find it incredibly disturbing when you're seeing these teenage girls on MTV at their sweet 16 or what have you with their dresses cut down to Tina. I don't mean to sound like I'm a hundred, and girls that age are gorgeous; but more often than not they don't know how to pull off a super sexy dress. Just show your cute waist and pretty shoulder, girls. You've got plenty of time to sell the rest of the farm. Save it until you're looking for your second husband.
We see Kevin working with his client and he interviews that he is from New Jersey. So, he knows what high school life is like there. Apparently, everyone goes tanning a lot, which seems very represented by the group of girls we've got here (especially Christian's client). Then we see a picture of Kevin at his prom. I'm dying. He's so tan. And he's got a greasy, floppy '90s 'do and small hoop earrings in both ears. And he's stag. And his head is kind of cocked to the side. And I'm so in love with this picture. His smile is very warm and sweet, but I'm having this sneaking epiphany right now that, no matter how conservatively groomed and dressed we may be in our high school photos, only like 3% of us are going to make it through life with those photos not appearing totally fucking stupid and awkward and cheesy at some point. Kevin is not part of that 3%. It's so weird too, because I could bump into Prom Kevin on the street today, and though I wouldn't find him particularly stylish, I wouldn't really give his look a second thought. But knowing that's Kevin Christiano of KJeans and how he looks now, which I also don't find that particularly stylish (at least not good style), that high school picture just looks so impossibly dorky. But I love it! Kevin says that New Jersey kids also steal liquor from their parents. They sound like they're really bad there. He says that, regarding prom night, he hopes that the parents of the clients are watching, because he has plans to put a Chastity belt inside the dress of his client. Whatever Cher has to do with this, I don't know.
Rami is working with Bianca, the cute girl with the white glasses. She says that she prefers a dress that is fitted to something draped. He interviews that Bianca doesn't like traditional, which is good for him. She seems to be very cooperative.
Victorya asks her client, Jessica, why she chose her. She says that she was the last one to choose. And how amazing is that? Jessica tells her that she really liked Victorya's portfolio, but the damage is done and it's all gravy from here on.
Sweet P's client, Nicole, wants a dress with a plunging neckline and a below-the-waist back. So, essentially she wants sleeves. She says something about having a big butt and needing some sort of panel in the back, but I can't totally decipher it because of those crazy Jersey accents. She says she wants the dress to be ivory, which makes Sweet P nervous because it's not her wedding day and "hopefully she won't even lose her virginity." Well, I guess that's up to you now Sweet P, isn't it? Go. Make your dress of virginity.
Here's Christian working with his client, Maddie. She tells Christian that she has been studying fashion design for two years. Well then. Christian's presence in this whole situation is so funny. He interviews that Maddie was "adorable" but that she had "some opinions" and was not afraid to grab his pencil and start sketching on his paper. "Oh! Okay!" is his response in his interview. She likes light brown and gold, and she wants lace on the back. Hmm. He says that she wanted so much tacky stuff. He tells her that once he starts, there's no changing. She just giggles.
Tim ushers the clients out and Christian lies on the floor and says, "I want to die." Chris chastises him: "Bitter! Bitter!" Then, they go to Mood. Racing. Racing. Running. Kevin decides to go with a red fabric that he finds "gorgeous." Sweet P decides that the white or ivory that Nicole wanted is too similar to a wedding look, so she goes with a "champagne-y charmeuse." Anybody out there need a drag moniker? There you go. Chris is holding two fabric red and green to each other and jokes to Tim that he is making a Christmas dress. I'm making a "poinsettia."
Back at the workroom, Christian interviews that he was "best dressed" at his prom. Chris asks if that was a personal opinion or if a vote was involved. Ha! He was found best dressed by his peers. We see a picture of Christian standing with a group of girls. I know he's young, so prom wasn't that far away for him, but his hair is remarkably the same. He's really committed to that look. He goes to his dress form and says dramatically, "This is the most important day of my life!" This tickles Kevin, which makes Christian laugh too. Christian interviews that there's so much that is important about this challenge -- the fit, that it's appropriate for a prom, that the client is pleased. He has never worked with someone who had so many demands. "I am not feeling fierce right now."
Jillian asks if people feel that her hair is bigger than usual that day and Christian answers that it's looking "pretty Tina Turner." She interviews that she has never designed a prom dress before, but she has made a lot of dresses. She wants to make a dress that looks like a mosaic and the inside of a jewelry box.
Chris asks if anyone there was Prom Queen. No, but now Kit thinks it would be a great idea if she were Prom King and Christian was her Queen. The coronation ceremony would be fierce. Then, we see a picture of Kit at her prom. She was so cute! And, brace yourself, she's not a natural blonde. Her date was kind of foxy, too. Ruddy but kind of foxy. She was a Prom Princess and her date was a Prom Prince. It was "very Orange County." The dress she is making is "unconventional" but she wants it to be pretty.
Chris has a joke: "What would you call The Flintstones if they were gay? Fags." This joke, it makes me laugh.
Ricky says that while he's making his dress, his thoughts are of his mother. Oh, sweet Jesus, you know where this is going. I can already hear it in his voice. His mom was a seamstress and she made all of his sisters' prom dresses. She was self-taught. He learned technique from watching her. Then, he goes to another room and calls her on his Sidekick 3, and they have a conversation in Spanish. He interviews that, when he was growing up, kids weren't allowed to be creative because it wasn't "gainful employment." So, your whole modern dancer/fashion designer career path must be a real hit with the Madre. His eyes are watering. He says that if you win Project Runway, "every door opens up," and now he's officially crying. He does that "Oh God, I'm getting choked up" face, but it's not like he ever stops himself from blubbering. Ever. It would be the best thing if he won.
Sweet P is having problems working with Nicole's design ideas, so she re-interprets her wishes. She says that she's not going home because of listening to a teenager.
With 2 hours remaining in the day, everyone's scrambling. Christian feels that he made the dress that Maddie wanted and that it's very tacky. He says that he can't let a 17-year old girl overpower him. I mean, he doesn't really have a choice there. Maddie could take him.
The day, everyone returns to the workroom. Christian greets his dress, "Hello dress, how are you doing? I hope you're well. I'm fucking dandy." Except, he says "randy." I'm assuming he meant dandy. I got the gist with "fucking." He interviews that he is doing some intricate beadwork that's more his point-of-view. Kit is nervous that her model won't like the color that she chose.
Victorya doesn't like her dress. She interviews that it looked like something an "Italian older divorcee" would wear, so she decides to change the silhouette. Christian consulted with her on that decision and it looks like he gave her some valuable advice. "I trust your judgment," she says to him.
Tim enters and brings the clients in for a visit. They all enter with their mothers! Kevin's client's mother feels that the front of the dress makes her daughter look pregnant. "Thanks for calling me fat on national TV, MOM!" Kevin says it's that "new baby doll style that just came out." New? Kevin says that he had to sell the dress to the mom. Funnily, the mom is wearing a top that looks almost identical to the dress. Maybe Kevin's client is getting a baby sister or brother for graduation?
Victorya is nervous that her model is not going to like the changes that she made to her design. She tells Jessica and her mother that the dress is unfinished. Jessica's verdict? She loves it.
Erika's mother loves the color of the dress that Chris is designing. Erika loves it as well. He asks them what they were thinking when they looked at his portfolio, and Erika's mom replies that it was very cool. Then, we see more pictures and he tells us that HE WAS WEARING THE COSTUMES IN THE PHOTOS!! Did anyone know this? I did not know this. Crazy. Erika and Mom are stunned.
Sweet P says that she didn't cut the dress as low as Nicole wanted because she was afraid her parents would have Sweet P arrested. Nicole's mother loves the color. They both love it.
Sounds good, right? Everybody seems pretty pleased, yes? Wait, here's Maddie. Hates it. Hates the back. It's too short. She's being really difficult. Sweet P is sitting and watching and tells them that it's "very couture" and that Christian is the "wonder kid" in the workroom. You know, they seem to really care about Christian. I found his bitchiness to be that poseur-y nonsense that you see from so many people on reality TV, but I think his cattiness may be just one side of his sense of humor that we see. They wouldn't care about him enough to stand up for him like that if he were just a jerk all of the time. "With a little help from me," adds Maddie. That's annoying. Christian finds it annoying. Rami thinks that Christian should have steered more with Maddie. He says that he's a designer, not a dressmaker. Rami and Jillian are talking about the hard time that Christian is having. It's really interesting to see them feel for him. I don't know, it's captured my imagination.
With 5 hours remaining, several of the designers are in the sewing room. Sweet P says that she feels like the underdog and she would really like to win a challenge. She says that she's been "on the bottom." Victorya says that she has too. "I've been voted off," says Chris. Ouch. He belly laughs, and Sweet P mimics him. He does not like this. Dude, she cried when you left the first time. Don't get mad.
Later, Tim enters and starts mentoring. Kevin tells him that the mother had some reservations about the gathering at the front of the dress. Tim asks the hem of the dress and Kevin says that he is not going to finish it. "It has to be exquisite," he tells Kevin who is not convinced. Tim says that Nina will notice it, but I'm not sensing any urgency from the KMan.
Tim thinks that Rami's client might look like she's wearing her mother's dress. I don't think Rami understands the question. He says that some young girls are interested in high fashion. Not what he said, Rami. He thinks you've made an old lady dress, not something that's impossibly sophisticated. He says that it's a risk, but having immunity encourages him to take a risk. That's very true and it's cool to see someone approach it like that. It means that maybe we'll see something totally far out every once in a while without a danger of never seeing the designer again. But this dress? Eh.
Tim doesn't have much advice for Victorya. She tells him that she's adding some jewel trim to her dress. Tim approaches Christian and tells him that he's very concerned about him. He wants to know why he's so doom-and-gloom. Christian tells him that Maddie was nit-picky about her dress. Tim says that he doesn't hate the dress and he does see Christian in it. He wants to know what he's doing to mitigate the problem. He tries to encourage Christian, but Christian says that someone has to be eliminated, so maybe it will be him. Tim is NOT having this. He says that Christian is too talented to just fall off like this; he has to make it work!! Oh my God, this is totally Rudy for homosexuals. I feel like crying or fighting or something. "Rally!" he demands of Christian.
With a "Make it work," Tim is out of there. Kevin says that he doesn't want to hem his dress. Chris reminds him that that would make his dress look unfinished, but Kevin's still not going to do it.
In the sewing room, there's some tomfoolery surrounding Kit's name. "That Kit Pistol," says Jillian in a falsetto. "What's her mom's name, Machine Gun?" adds Chris. Kevin laughs it up at this. "No it's Uzi, asshole," replies Kit. Touchy about our fake names, I see. Everybody scrambles to the end. Sweet P summons Victorya and Jillian as "Little Korean Girl" and "Little Tiny" respectively, and they make their way home.
Chris says that Christian is losing it. Then we see Christian in his pj's with a towel wrapped around his head. Chris names him "Erykah Bad-don't." Seriously, that's so funny. Christian says that they are all going to miss him after tomorrow when he's eliminated -- they tell him not to say that.
The day, in they boys' apartment, Rami says to Chris that he thinks Heidi should have made a prom dress too. I wonder if they hate her. Chris decides that lederhosen would have been the style that Heidi would have used. Rami tells us that he was raised in Jerusalem, where there is no prom. So no prom pic for Rami. That stinks. ["But also: what a missed opportunity for the designers to throw Rami the prom he never had. That's what a real TV show would have done. Maybe they hate him." -- Joe R]
At the workroom, everyone puts the final touches on their dresses. Christian has a better attitude and has decided that he will do the best that he can -- he will work it out. Tim enters and sends in the clients.
The girls enter. Ricky tells his client that she shouldn't be nervous. Then, he tells us that he made his girlfriend's prom dress in high school. "That should have been a clue," he says. Why yes, that should have been. Sweet P tells Nicole that she thinks they are going to be in the top. Ricky tells his girl that she looks like a doll. He interviews that his only concern is that he color doesn't pop enough.
The girls are all practicing wearing their heels and booty dancing with each other. Jillian said that all of the noise was a little difficult to tune out. Maddie tells Sweet P that girls that go to Catholic school are "really wild." Oh yeah? Sweet P tells them that she went to Catholic school. Enough said. She interviews that she was a rebellious teen. We see her prom picture and it is the freaking cutest thing I've ever seen. Her date was a total hot rod with long blond hair. She was so tan and cute and young, with a white dress to offset her color. They're standing in front of a sunset backdrop. Cutest thing ever. She says that she had a great time at her prom and that's all she's saying. Then she blushes! Damn, I want to know about that prom.
Chris asks the girls what they want to do. One girl says, "Public relations." Another says, "Absolutely Nothing." You're not supposed to say that when you're that young, are you? Oh God, I'm turning into dust. Chris says that he didn't go to prom -- he stayed home and watched old movies and got drunk. That is the saddest thing I've ever heard, yet it's almost funny. Except I'm laughing, so it must just actually be funny. Come on, that's so pitiful you have to laugh.
The girls look like they love hair and makeup. Kevin put a stitch in the bottom of his dress, but there's no stitch. Chris says that he warned Kevin about that hem. Christian is still having problems with Maddie. She doesn't want to sit still for her fitting. Chris says that Maddie is outspoken, but that the dress is adorable. Christian tells Maddie that they are going to ask her about the dress and whether or not she likes it, and he will have to defend himself. She should be prepared. She says, "Admit it, you love me!" She doesn't get it, that Maddie. Tim calls everyone to the runway. Commercials.
This week's question is, "Which designer would you take to the prom?" A. Christian, B. Jillian, C. Kit, or D. Rami. I'm gonna go with D, but I'm not going to say why.
On the runway, Heidi introduces Michael, Nina, and "renowned designer" Gilles Mendel of J. Mendel. I thought they made jewelry. Whatever.
First up is Sweet P's dress. It's a lovely floor-length number in champagne-y charmeuse. It has a high waist and a halter-top. It's not terribly low-cut, but it's not demure. There's a little bit of pleating at the waist, which allows the dress to move beautifully with Nicole. There's a vertical pleating on the bust and it's so flattering. It's backless and there's skin to well above the waist, so it's still fairly tasteful. Sweet P is thrilled with it.
is Victorya's dress. It's an electric blue dress with a panel-less halter neck. The hem ends several inches above the knee and has a bubble shape. This dress is very very Serena vander Woodsen, and I mean that in a very good way. There is a V-shape at the neck that is covered in multi-colored jewel pieces. It's so cute. It's the perfect dress for a girl that age. Cute and young, but sexy enough to make the girl like it. Jessica gives a dorky peace sign at the end of the runway that almost makes me take all of that back. Victorya says that she would wear that dress.
Here's Chris's dress and, geez, not to pick on these girls, but...is modeling really this hard? Krista is charging down the runway like a linebacker. I'm assuming linebackers charge, but you get the picture. His dress is a floor-length green satin dress. It's basic shape is a wrap, with two thin straps at the shoulder. There's a plunging, though tasteful, neckline. At the bottom of the neckline is where the two sides of the dress meet and it's knotted. There's a long sash that's created by the tie. Also, the tie creates pleating along the bust and waist, pulling everything in. It's very flattering on Krista, except when she walks down a runway. There's a thigh-high slit that's really fun and cute. This is a pretty dress. Chris loves it. The back has a train that's connected to the rest of the dress with a metal circle. Interesting.
Michael thinks Victorya's dress is chic. Nina loves the color and that it's modern and appropriate. Jessica says she loves it. Christian says that he had a hard time because Maddie was opinionated. She acts like she's insulted. Heidi likes the dress!! Gilles thinks the conflict between Christian and Maddie is apparent. Nina thinks there's too much. Christian says that she wanted lace and rhinestones everywhere. Maddie tries to act like she wanted a sprinkling of the stuff, but Christian's not having it. Nina says that Maddie is right to want whatever she wants, but Christian should have more finesse while working with the client. She says she doesn't like that he's blaming Maddie.
Ricky says that the girl inside of him would wear the dress that he designed. Would that girl cry as much as you? Gilles thinks it's cute, but has problems with execution. Nina also thinks it's a little sloppy. Heidi thinks it's boring and washes the client out. Michael thinks the "volume" of the dress needed to be turned up. Rami says that he made a "draped cocktail dress." Gilles doesn't like the color, and Nina thinks it's too sophisticated. "May I respond to that?," Rami interjects. "My work is always sophisticated. This is my belief." He was a little scary just then. Michael says that she looks 35 and old-fashioned.
The judges like Sweet P. Sexy and elegant. They also like Victorya. Nina thinks it's what a modern prom dress should look like. Those were the only two they liked. They thought Rami's was too old. Nina says that he was designing for Rami. Nina also says Christian shouldn't have blamed Maddie. Gilles thinks it was "too worked." To Michael, Ricky's dress was a "non-event." They thought Kevin's dress looked cheap and old.
The designers return to the stage. Commercials. The answer to the question is: Rami, with 50%! I win!
And as to the challenge, Victorya wins! She has immunity for the challenge. Sweet P is safe too, as Heidi let them know that only two dresses were in their favor. Ricky is in. Rami is in. It's down to Kevin and Christian. Kevin's dress was cheap and unflattering, and Christian shouldn't have blamed his client. Kevin is out. Christian pats Kevin when he leaves. Kevin, who is tearing up, thanks everyone and says that they will see him on the market. This has been a great opportunity, and he says that he will still show at Bryant Park one day! Bye Kevin!!