Are you kidding me? If I could write a recaplet of silence in protest of this episode's outcome, well...
For this challenge, the designers are taken on a "field trip" to a Brooklyn warehouse, where they are introduced to a bunch of blue jeans hanging from clotheslines. The challenge is to create an iconic look with the jeans, while stick true to the spirit of 501 Levi's. Everyone has a short time to collect as many jeans as they want for use in his or her design.
At the workroom, things get interesting. Christian appears to have gotten on the nerves of every one of the other designers. They all think he's talented -- and immature. Chris in particular seems like he's had enough of Sister Christian, but is far too polite a guy to really let him have it. Or so it seems. Jillian gets herself in over her head by designing a super-complicated coat. Victorya kind of rips off Jillian's coat from last week, which seriously annoys Jillian. Chris rejects Tim's advice and Sweet P embraces it, with predictable results.
Things get a little testy in the sewing room. Jillian keeps stabbing herself and Chris tells her that she is not learning anything.
On the runway, Chris, Jillian, and Victorya end up at the bottom. The judges, including a VP at Levi's, like the work of Rami, Christian, Sweet P, and...Ricky. They love Ricky's dress and, to be perfectly fair, it's very good. But, when they compliment him, he starts blubbering. ON THE RUNWAY. I'm sorry, I've got feelings too, but that's just fucking pathetic. Have some dignity! Nina Garcia has the perfect "this is why I'm a journalist" look on her face when it's happening. In the end, Victorya is sent home. It seems pretty rare that a person who has won two challenges would be sent home this early in the competition. But really, she was kind of grating, so no big whoop.
The winner? Is RICKY. Why are they doing this to us? I say Sweet P shoulda won, but I don't get no vote.
Previously, the designers worked in the avant-garde. Christian won the challenge, while Kit was eliminated. Even though Ricky deserved to get his ass handed to him.
It's morning and Victorya calls Sweet P "Kit." Twice. This makes Sweet P sad. In the boys' apartment, they discuss that none of them have been sent home yet. At least not permanently.
On the runway, Heidi brings out the models of the winning and losing designers. Christian stays with Lisa, so Marie goes home. He blows kisses to Marie and says, "Thank you more than life." That's right up there with ReesEE's as one of those things that's just like nails on a chalkboard. It looks like a tiny part of him (though what part of Christian isn't tiny?) caught himself just as he was saying it.
Heidi sends the designers to the workroom to get their challenge from Tim, who tells them they're going on another one of those infernal field trips. Rami says that "field trip" could mean working with garbage or going to Paris. They have some pretty fancy garbage in Paris-- you might be doing both!! Can you imagine? You'd hate Europe forever.
So Tim takes them on this road trip. Christian asks if they are going to meet someone "fabulous," and Tim says they are fabulous and don't need to meet anyone! They go to a dock in Brooklyn, and Chris thinks they are going to be working on a boat or designing "cement galoshes." They end up at a warehouse on a pier. Tim introduces the designers to Caroline Calvin, Senior VP of Design at Levi's. Hmm, I wonder if this is going to be a plastics challenge! Or flowers?
The raw materials for the challenge are inside the warehouse, says Tim, and when the designers raise the door, there are tons of jeans hanging on clotheslines and one-yard bolts of white cotton. All of the jeans are 501 Levi's. The challenge is to create an iconic look of denim that captures the spirit of originality and creativity that is lived in the heart of the Levi's brand. I clearly don't know much about Levi's, because I didn't know all that stuff was living in them.
The designers will have three minutes to grab all of the materials that they will use for the challenge. The warehouse is really big, though, and the materials are set really deep into it. When Tim says "go," everybody runs. Sweet P loses a shoe, and and has to run barefoot through the filthy warehouse. In her interview, she shows the bottom of her foot, and I swear I saw some tetanus. Rami grabs all of the dark jeans that he can get. Jillian grabs light colored jeans and jean jackets. Christian went for dark colored jackets -- then just grabbed everything. Victorya was totally mercenary about the shit she was grabbing and claimed everything that was on the floor.
In the workroom, Tim tells them that they have a ton of "notions" from Levi's. I have to say that I didn't know that word! It apparently means all the doo-dads that are used on jeans- zippers, buttons, etc. They have until midnight that evening to work.
Ricky says that working with denim is fun for him. In fact, sometimes Ricky MAKES his hats from denim. Is that not the most disgusting sentence ever written? He says that he needs to make his design something that none of the other designers can do. No one can fit denim like he can. He's going to make a corset, which he says is iconic. Really? And, why do you need to make something iconic out of something that's already iconic? It's like making a Member's Only jacket out of a Chanel suit. What's the point?
Jillian says that she is making a coat. Isn't she worried about doing that two times in a row? She says she's going to make it futuristic. It should be interesting and forward. Sometimes, when Jillian is interviewing, I get scared. It's like she's staring through the screen of my TV and memorizing everything about my living room to make it easier for her to hunt me and kill me. For no good reason, just because she was programmed to kill. The mannequins are like, "Get new locks. At your new address." She's going to use the Levi's labels as an epaulette on one shoulder. That sounds kind of cool.
Chris and Christian say that Rami got the most stuff, but he says that he was behind all of them. Christian calls him a "greedy bitch." Rami interviews that he is not really an American designer. He's from Jerusalem. We see three kid pictures of Rami. You never would have known he was going to grow into such a beefy guy. Fashion designer? Yes. Beefy guy? Not so much. With the conflict in the area where he grew up and a lack of activities, he found his love of sketching and design. His point is that he's edgier because he's not American. He's making a skirt and a shirt, to show that Levi's can be refined.
Sweet P's jeans are all dirty. She asks for Chris's advice and he tells her to finish her design, then wipe a damp cloth over it. Christian disagrees-- she should wipe it with a dry piece of denim. Chris still thinks damp cloth. Christian is pretty persistent and, frankly, rude about it. Chris says he has been hired as a stylist before and Christian says he knows more than Chris. Chris interviews with an eye roll, "Isn't it great to see youth?"
Jillian interviews that Christian is very talented, but he's incredibly immature. It looks like everyone is pretty annoyed with him right now. He leaves for the sewing room, and Chris says that somebody needs to give Christian his bottle and send him to bed. We see Christian in the sewing room bitching aloud, which seems a little unfair, because we've heard them all do it. I've never noticed Christian talking more than anyone else, but maybe he does. Rami says that Christian is a cartoon character, just as we see him do this weird spastic arm movement like a dog. Rami continues that Christian is always bitching-- if he had hair, he'd want to tear it out. We hear Christian say, "I could die of barfness. Oh my God, this is not how fashion is!"
Victorya's idea is to make...a coat. She says that her inspiration was her mother. When she was a little girl, she would sketch things and her mother would make them. She knew that Jillian was making a coat too, but she tells Christian that she "wasn't going to change her concept." Or even think of an original one in the first place. Jillian's annoyed that Victorya is making the coat because they worked together on the last challenge and she was unaware of any interest Victorya had in making coats. She doesn't say anything though.
Christian says he feels very manly working with denim. They were given a Levi's look book and Christian saw a trucker jacket and decided to make an edgy motorcycle outfit for a woman.
Sweet P is making a wedding dress. We see photos of her wedding a year ago and she looks very pretty. Her husband's name is Sage and he has been supporting her while she has been pursuing design.
Christian says it's quiet with all of the designers having been eliminated. Chris says it's hard to see your favorite people leave, while Christian adds that some annoying people are still there. Cue Ricky entrance. Christian says "Blah" about something probably totally unrelated. However, he interviews that it's a joke that Ricky's still there. He thinks he should have gone home instead of Kit. His work has been the same and boring and Christian thinks that he has no vision at all.
Ricky interviews that, because he has been on the bottom so often, he gets looks from the other designers like he shouldn't be there. That's sad and all, but it's not the being on the bottom part that makes them look at you like that. It's the crappiness of the clothes that you made that got you on the bottom yet miraculously onto the challenge that makes them look at you like that. At this point, I'd be looking at him like, "If they try to kick me off before Ricky, I swear I'll mutiny." He says he's not a person who talks about how "fierce" he is (point, Ricky), but he doesn't think the other designers know about his experience. He was an assistant designer for the Valentino Lingerie. He worked for Oscar De La Renta. He was the VP of Design for Vera Wang Lingerie. And you know how people can't stop talking about Vera Wang Lingerie. I'm sorry, I know that's probably a big deal, but I don't know no Vera Wang Lingerie. Wedding gowns? Yes. Even freaking fine china, but not panties. He says that he knows he's a good designer. You hold onto that, Ricky.
With 4 hours remaining, everyone is in the sewing room except for Chris-- who is in the workroom. Christian says that he's probably talking to himself like a crack head. Then, we see a montage of Chris talking to his clothes. He interviews that he's going to make a "little blue dress" like a little black dress. "You're so cute," he says to his denim.
Tim comes in for consultation. Ricky says that he's working with his strengths. He thinks he's good with dresses. Tim says it's stunning and that he needs to deliver it. Ricky interviews that he really wants to impress the judges and he's thinking of how to finish it.
Tim thinks that the side of Chris' dress is incongruous with the rest of the design, but Chris says he likes it. They all do. Jillian explains her coat to Tim, and he says that she has "a ways to go." Tim really likes the zipper fringes on Rami's design. He thinks that Victorya's design looks "patchwork-y." He tells Sweet P that her dress looks "happy hands at home granny circle." He hates it. He tells her to "resolve the skirt," like her whole family will die if she doesn't.
Everyone scrambles for the last two hours. Sweet P respects Tim's advice, so she decides to shorten her skirt. It's not really a wedding dress anymore, therefore maybe not so iconic, but she thinks it's better this way.
Jillian complains about the lack of time to finish the design, and Chris asks her what she expected. She responds that she was just venting out loud like Chris does. He says that if she doesn't understand the situation by now, then she refuses to learn. That's pretty hardcore. Chris interviews that maybe it wasn't such a good idea for Jillian to undertake such a complicated design when they had such a limited amount of time to finish it. In the last 10 minutes, Jillian stabs herself with the sewing machine needle and has a TOTAL MELTDOWN. She says that she's bleeding everywhere, but clearly she's not. Rami's like, "I don't see any blood." She interviews that she's a mess. I feel bad for her. Sweet P tells her to "just keep sewing." Christian says that this challenge was really hard. He's glad that he has immunity.
The day, Christian says that the judges are going to freak out on everyone. He might strangle Nina, says Chris. At the workroom, everyone gets to work. Jillian starts jamming. She starts hot gluing everything. Tim enters and tells them that the models are on their way in.
The designers fit their models and send them to hair and make-up. Chris says that Victorya's design was very simple and could have been made in a couple of hours. Ricky, with tears in his eyes, interviews that his dress looked exactly like he wanted it to. I'm understanding why he no longer works for all these fancy people. If he couldn't keep it together enough to not cry over his own designs...Ricky's whack, ya'll.
Sweet P is happy with her dress too. Victorya is feeling pressed for time. Jillian is pissed that Victorya's design is so close to hers. Christian thinks that he should win because he made a jacket and a completely new pair of jeans, while everyone else made simple tube dresses. Actually, that's not a bad point. Rami has to glue stuff onto his design to finish. Then, Tim takes everyone to the runway, with Jillian working until the last minute. She finally gets that she should have simplified her design.
On the runway, Heidi says that going forward, the winner of the challenges will not get immunity. She introduces Michael, Nina, and Caroline Calvin. The show begins.
We start with Chris's design. It's a dark halter dress. I don't really need to mention that it's denim, do I? It's pretty enough, but mostly unremarkable. The fit is a bit off -- it smashes the boobies and puckers a bit at the waist. He used what looks like the bottom seam of a jacket to create the halter strap that runs down the right side of the dress. It is indeed incongruous. Always listen to Tim, people. How many times must it be said? Chris thinks it's really beautiful.
is Ricky's design. It's a dark minidress. The bodice is a tube and it flares into a short ruffled skirt at the thigh. There are buttons down the front of the dress that certainly add to their 501-ness. The neckline is cute, with two tiny folds at the bust. It fits well, too. It's a pretty dress, but not hugely more remarkable than Chris's. Ricky is very happy with it, though. He says that she is the girl that was in his head. There's always a girl inside of Ricky, isn't there?
Here's Sweet P's dress. It's knee-length and strapless, and she used different panels of denim in different shades to create what almost feels like a Mondrian effect. It also looks a little like sunbeams. It fits really well, too, and there are dark panels on the side of the waist and a small lighter panel in the middle of the waist -- very slimming, though Lea here doesn't really need any help. Sweet P's very happy with the end result. She feels it's very clean and polished.
Victorya's design is . I kind of like the idea, because I think a short, structured trench coat on a woman is super sexy, but this is completely amateurish. The belt is tattered and crooked. It's essentially a jean jacket with a weird skirt tacked to the bottom of it. She says she was happy with it, but she must be losing her mind to actually feel that way.
Here's Rami's design. It's pretty accomplished. It's a dark short skirt and shirt that is pleated with a flat pane in the middle -- also slimming. The bodice is a wrap and has a cowl neck that opens in the middle. There are zippers along the trim that create a very modern cool look -- and I guess zippers are iconic. There are also buttons on the waist. It fits really well, too, but I'm still getting bored with Rami's stuff. It's all the same butt-hugging, twisty, pleated, textured draping. It has lost its allure for me. Rami thinks his look is dressy and modern,
up is Christian's design. It's really tight jeans and a jean jacket. Jacket sleeves make part of the legs of the jeans. He says that he thinks it's pretty amazing what he did. He loves it. It looks good. So good, in fact, that I'm a little unsure what he did, since they started with jeans and jean jackets. It's very Christian, too.
Here's Jillian's look, and it's pretty true to her description -- futuristic. It's a coat that buttons on the left side and has a cowl neck. It falls into a flared skirt that ends below the knee. The sleeves are of a different, darker denim than the rest of the coat. She says that she likes her look, though she wishes that she would have had more time to finish it.
On the runway, Heidi says the judges would like to talk to all of them. All of the models return to the runway. Christian says that he wanted to make a trucker/motorcycle look. Okay, I couldn't see it during the runway show, but there's a helluva lot of detail going on on that jacket. Why don't you want me to see the details, Project Runway editors? Caroline really likes that he used the jacket for the jean. Michael loves the fit, particularly since they're not stretch fabrics.
Chris explains his little black dress idea. Nina says that the little black dress is timeless, but Chris's dress is dated. Caroline thinks that Chris had two ideas and not enough time. Heidi says that she noticed the frayed edges of the strap of fabric on the vertical of the bodice. That's the part that Tim said needed work. He says he left it that way on purpose, but Michael wonders why he didn't experiment with fraying all over the dress. Heidi thinks it looks home-sewn.
Rami explains his design, and Caroline says that it's creative and original. Michael really likes the use of the zippers. He also likes that Rami created separates. Nina is thrilled that Rami worked with a new material. She feels it was very sophisticated.
Ricky says that he wanted to make a denim cocktail dress. "Denim done up." That's cute, right? Wait, he's not done. The dress says something about him. "The little bitch in me." You know, when you say that over and over, it makes me...so angry. Everything is about the bitch in him or the girl in him. Well, I wish the girl in him would grow some fucking balls, and shut the hell up about the dresses that they want to wear. Heidi loves the styling. Caroline loves it. She has a really mannered diction that's starting to bother me. Oh God, I'm in that place now. Thanks Ricky!! Michael thinks the styling is very Amy Winehouse and he loves her. Michael says it's the first time he's seen the results of his lingerie work. Nina thinks it's impeccable and what they've been expecting from him. It's happening. He says thank you and, you guessed it, he's crying. Heidi asks what's up with him, and he cries and says this is all a roller coaster. You don't know if you suck or don't suck. Michael says that that feeling doesn't go away, which I think is such a generous thing for him to say. ["And kind of awesome because the second, unspoken part of that sentence is '...so get used to it and quit crying already.'" -- Joe R]
Jillian explains her design, and Heidi says that she doesn't love it like she loved her coat from last week. Jillian says that she thinks she may have been too ambitious with her design. Caroline doesn't like the label epaulette. I say eff off! I love that part! Whatever, she's just thinking about branding right now. Nina thinks that Jillian has good ideas, but perhaps too many this time. Heidi and Michael think the coat makes her model look chubs.
Sweet P says that she started with a long dress, but shortened it. Michael thinks it's very chic, and he loves the mix of fabrics. It's got "slimming voodoo" too, he says. Sweet P looks so thrilled. Nina says that any of the judges, except for Michael (though he says, "With the right shoe..."), would wear the dress and for many occasions. Caroline says that she's missing the 501s in the look, but he fit is very good.
Victorya explains that she essentially draped a skirt onto a pre-existing jean jacket and Heidi says it sounds like she didn't do much. Michael says that it looks like she glued a skirt onto a jacket. He also says something about the skirt being "reconnoitered," but I don't think that word was used properly. It means "to explore." Maybe I'm just not getting it. Nina says it looks like she wasn't inspired by the challenge at all.
The designers leave the runway and the judges start judging. They like Ricky. His work was impeccable, and it was the Ricky they had all been waiting for. We see Ricky shed another tear backstage. Nina liked Christian's design. Caroline liked his concept and Michael admires that he's the only designer to send out a new jean. They thought Sweet P's design was elegant. Nina loved it. Michael loved the zippers on Rami's design. They all appreciated that he worked with a new fabric.
Nina thinks that Jillian had too many ideas. Heidi thought her model looked like a marshmallow. They thought Chris's design was rough, but not rough enough. Michael thought it looked like Joan Cusack in Working Girl, which seems like the weirdest reference to me. She doesn't look like her. I love that movie. They thought that Victorya made a big mistake with starting with a jean jacket...as a jean jacket. Michael thinks none of it made sense.
The designers return to the stage. Rami is in. RICKY WINS?!? A limited edition of the dress will be sold on Levi.com. Ricky cries with joy. But of course. You know, he seems like a perfectly nice guy. The crying is just too much for me though. It takes over. He goes backstage and tells Rami that he's very happy. He interviews that the judges appreciating his work was winning for him. That's actually how everyone wins. Sweet P is in and burglarized of her victory.
Christian is in. Chris is in. It's down to Jillian and Victorya. Heidi says Jillian's work was unflattering, unfocused, and confusing. Victorya's work was dull and uninspiring. Jillian is in. Yay! I wasn't ready for her to go yet. She hugs Victorya and leaves the stage.
Victorya gets her kisses and leaves the runway. She interviews that she is a competitive person and believes in letting her work speak for itself. Christian hugs her before she leaves, but it doesn't look like anyone else is to torn up. She says that she has only shown a little of who she is as a designer. She intends to have a long and fulfilling career in fashion.