Maya and Mila are seriously like the bestest friends ever. For now. That happened at the apartment. Heidi tells the designers that there will no longer be immunity for winning the challenges. The designers meet Tim Gunn at the top of the Atlas building, where he is joined by a Garnier hairstylist. And, naturally, the challenge is to create a look inspired by one of the four natural elements. Each of the designers randomly select an element. Anthony is on fire. Heh. They all laughed too. Ben, who has water, decides to make a shark suit. Maya has water too and decides to make some lady coming out of the water, by way of a dress. Anthony's preacher's house got burnt down, so he thought of the ruins as an inspiration. Everybody is really tense and quiet, per usual. Ben's suit clearly becomes a problem from the beginning. Jonathan believes that none of the other designers think that he is a threat. However, Tim thinks that Ben is on the right track with the suit. So, Tim was wrong about Ben. His slacks are a disaster. Ben's married to Bobby, his beau of a year and a half. They get to talk on his old school T-Mobile Sidekick. Oh my God, Jay totally helps Ben on the day of the runway show. Seriously. He finished his work and offered to help Ben. Unexpected. Amy is nervous that she made a mistake. She, as Anthony characterized it, decided to give her model "hairy tits." It's true. Roland Mouret is the guest judge. They hate Mila's outfit, which I guess I understand at this late stage, though it isn't horrible. They hate Amy's look, though I think they should have given her a little credit for such a bold concept. Ben gets slammed for his suit. Heidi says it looks like the model is wearing underwear over the pants. Jonathan's giant headpiece gets kudos. Jonathan wins the challenge! Ben and Amy are in the bottom two. They keep calling Ben's pants "jock strap pants." Ew! Amy is...in! Ben is out, which is sad. I don't feel like he really got to excel.
Previously: The designers had to create looks from materials purchased at a hardware store. Things looked pretty doomed from the beginning. Jay created an amazing faux-leather look with garbage bags. Jesse, meanwhile, got slammed for an amateurish tin man look. He left the show with all of his clothes on.
It's morning at the Atlas building. Seth Aaron is pleading with someone to get out of the bathroom. Jonathan is applying lip balm. Emilio says that he got spanked by Michael and Heidi during the last challenge. He says that he has learned his lesson. What lesson would that be? There are so many lessons that have not been followed when one creates a look of metal washers and string. In fact, he went so completely wrong during the design and execution of his look that it almost seems like he schooled us. That lesson would go as follows: When you have fudged your look and there's nowhere to run, LIE YOUR ASS OFF ON THE RUNWAY. Seriously, he deserves a bit of a hand of applause. The way he played off that disaster like he was just trying to think outside of the box? A swimsuit instead of a dress! Come on. Not to mention the way he had his girl styled over the top and acted like it was a part of his initial vision. Kind of brilliant when you think about it. Frankly, I think that's part of the reason he wasn't eliminated. The notion sort of plays against the stated mission of the show, but sometimes the fashion world is about faking it until you make it. Emilio says that he hopes that he never sees another hardware store. He adds that the part of the last challenge that really bothers him is that he was in the bottom two with Jesse, who was his roommate. But, as the old saying goes, somebody had to leave and he's glad it wasn't him.
Maya and Mila are sunning in the window of their apartment. Maya says to Mila that, during the beginning days of the competition, she was intimidated by the other designers and their talent. Now, though, she has begun to see everyone's humanity. Mila interviews that Maya is an old soul. Though Mila is almost twice Maya's age (her observation), they learn something new about each other that they share in common every day. If Mila were out and Maya in, she would be happy for her. She acknowledges that, though they are not hyper-competitive right now, that might change, but I think these two are going to remain good friends.
Jay says that the remaining men are like the Victoria's Secret Wonderbra. They lift each other. That was a pretty laborious way to make that point. And, I'm thinking, so does it change -- the people that are the boobs and the people that are the padded bra cups? Whatever, I just think that was a stupid thing to say. Perhaps it's dumber to dedicate so many sentences to that joke. Touche, Jay. Ben says that he thinks it's great the four of them have survived the competition, because they all have different points of view. Ben interviews with hesitation that he was glad he was safe again. He's glad that he has been consistent, but...he was hoping that he would have really impressed the judges by now.
The guys recall that Tim is always telling them to "Trust your gut." Anthony says, "Oh, my viscera!" Jay asks him what part of the body the viscera is. Anthony isn't sure. He looks at his belly and says that he has been searching for his viscera for days. Anthony, don't ever leave me.
At the runway, an ever-expanding Heidi greets them. She reminds Jay that he has immunity for this challenge, and he's the last one who's going to get it. From this point on, there's no more immunity. Maya interviews that the competition is getting tighter and everyone is starting to become aware of that. Obviously, Maya. I feel like each week one of the designers is required to say the stupidly obvious repetitious stuff that is used as filler. It seems like Emilio has had to be the bitch for the first part of the season (what with the, "When Heidi said that, I didn't know WHAT to think!" crap he has been spouting), but now, Maya, the mantle has been passed. Yes, this is a competition and there are now fewer people, but I think you already knew that.
Heidi explains that Tim will be meeting the designers on the roof of the Atlas building to help them "channel" natural creativity. Oh, and Jonathan gets the privilege of saying how they don't know what she means. He guesses that it could be an eco-challenge or perhaps related to the view from the rooftop. Not bad guesses, but just walk five blocks and find out.
Tim greets the designers on the roof. Tim is joined by Philip Carreon, celebrity hairstylist for Garnier. Philip would be adorable save for the stupid facial hair he is sporting. Dear world, we must stop it with these little patches of hair. They are distracting. They suggest hormonal imbalance. They are not doing what you think you do. Unless, of course, I'm the idiot with symmetrical facial hair or no facial hair and no one is ever going to love me. That's going to be a hard lesson to learn. Tim asks the designers to take a look around. Their current environment is the quintessence of "man-made," but for this challenge they are going to take a step towards nature. The inspiration for the challenge will be one of the four natural elements (fire, earth, water, air). Philip adds that Garnier Fructis combines the natural elements with the latest in beauty technology. He implores them to find their inspiration in nature and he and his co-horts will find a hairstyle that stands up to WHATEVER elemental force they can imagine. Wow.
Since Jay won the last challenge, he gets to choose the element he wants to work with. He goes for air. , Tim says that there are 8 cards, with each element written on 2 cards each. Now, I can't really tell here, but it looks like they get to choose which they want. There is, however, chance involved with Tim choosing the names from the lovely velvet button bag. He chooses Maya first and she goes with water. Jonathan's name is chosen and he interviews about how each little choice, whether it's shopping or whatnot, is of huge consequence now. He chooses air. Ben is and chooses water. Mila is and chooses earth and says really dorkily, "I'm an earth sign!" I actually kinda like her for being her age and still sort of weird and awkward. She interviews that her designs are not typically something you would think of as earthy, but she's going to try to think outside of the box. Anthony picks his card and Tim replies, "Anthony's on fire." Everyone laughs as Anthony fans himself with the card. Amy chooses fire also. Emilio chooses earth, which leaves Seth Aaron with air. Seth Aaron interviews that, when he thinks of air, he thinks of happy shit, so he's very confused. Poor baby thinks he can't be the dark prince and wants everyone to know how difficult that is. Hello, tornadoes.
Back at the workroom, they have 30 minutes to sketch before they go to Mood where they will each have a $150 budget. Ben tells us that water is too fluid for him, so he sketches in the direction of sharks. He decides to build a suit. He is aware that it takes expert tailoring to create a suit (and that's not where his talent is), but he feels strongly that he needs to show the judges a different side of himself as a designer. But, where are you going to get the tailoring? He himself seems to not know the answer but is going through with his idea to make this suit. I'm already worried.
Emilio, whose element is earth, reminds us that Monique, his model, is a woman of color. He's going to create a strapless gown that compliments her skin tone. Anthony is worried that this challenge may spell doom for him, because he wants to include a lot of elements into his design. As he has told us before, failure is not an option. For her design, Maya thought about water, which made her think of Sirens: Vixens of the Water. She's going with that. Jonathan uses a lot of words. He says that he's going to do a very "Jonathan" thing and create his own textile. He's going to do a lot of cross-cutting of combined fabrics to create the feel of opacity, thus giving his look the impression of a swirl of laughter. Sold. Dat boy sure makes dem words sound mighty pretty. Mmm hmm, french fried potaters.
Tim enters to drag everyone to Mood. Jay, who apparently gives air a lot more latitude for personal expression than does Seth Aaron, believes that he will try to create something to emulate a tornado. He tries to find fabric with a lot of movement. Seth Aaron is running all around. Tim asks Anthony about a gray palette that he sees -- he mentions that this is a departure for our colorful pageant-ready Anthony. Anthony explains in an interview that he doesn't think of red when he thinks of fire. Someone deliberately burnt down the home of his pastor, so he thinks of the color of ashes. That's horrible. As Anthony is rushing around Mood, he says to Tim that he's trying to think outside of the box. Tim says that he should remain himself though.
That brings me to a point that bothers me. Has anyone else noticed that Tim just...doesn't seem like Tim this season? I've found his advice to be fairly rote, to the point of redundant. And speaking of opacity, Tim is the chief purveyor of the advice that doesn't really have substance. "Be yourself." "Use your time wisely." Even, "Make it work" is starting to ring hollow. There used to be real content to his criticisms, but now they almost seem to do more harm than good. They seem designed to shake the designers confidence almost, which I still don't believe that Tim would really do. I've mentioned before that Tim often seems afraid of this crowd, so maybe it's just a matter of bad chemistry. I don't think it's entirely that though. Jonathan, for instance, seems like a fairly classic contestant to me. He's got mad construction skills and untapped potential as a creative mind. To me, those are the people that really benefit from this setting. But, Jonathan seems like he's just been lost in the crowd for the most part. He's showing signs of just throwing caution to the wind and I imagine that's what you'd have to do in the real world anyway, but this isn't the real world. The pressure cooker aspects of the program are fun, but so are the greenhouse parts. I mean, Anthony seems like the designer who has gone through the most change so far and that's merely from restraining his instincts. That's somewhat satisfying, but I like to see someone's talent explode as well. It's fun to watch someone grow. I don't know what the problem is, but I'm seeing a lot of examples of it in Tim's mentorship this season. I feel like I just spit on my uncle.
Everyone scrambles intently around Mood getting what they need. As Seth Aaron checks out, we see that he made it 72 CENTS under budget. Nice shopping!
Back at the workroom, Seth Aaron tells us that he has decided to be inspired by midnight air in New York City. That's pretty interesting. He says it's black with stars and he can do whatever he wants, so now he's happy. Amy, who has fire, wants to build a structure with an explosion happening within it. Tim enters to tell everyone that they will have until midnight to finish the design, with a little time the day. Maya interviews that everyone is starting to get nervous. With fewer people, you have to do something better than you did before. She says that even Anthony has been quiet for a change. Mila says that the concepts have been vague, which makes everyone feel unsettled. I'm not sure if she means for this particular challenge or is including recent challenges.
In the sewing room, Jonathan mentions to Amy that she's being awfully quiet. She responds that it's because she's doing something really annoying. She interviews that time management is becoming a real issue in the competition (so maybe that advice of Tim's has substance?). Ben says to Jonathan that he realizes that he's taking a big risk by trying to create a suit in a day. Jonathan asks him if he's as tired of being safe as he himself is. Jonathan interviews that being safe is "a big ol' question mark." He wonders what the judges are waiting to see from him. He mentions to Ben that the week he was like, "I'm taking a chance. I will be in the top or bottom!" he was in the bottom. He interviews that it's getting to the point in the competition where he doesn't believe that the other designers consider him a threat. Do you remember when I was all, "Jonathan's gonna be DRAMA!" I was wrong. He's funny and smart. I like him almost as much as I like making snap judgments of people. He adds that the other designers are just blind to the fact that he's going to win this whole contest.
Tim comes back to the workroom with Philip Carreon. He takes them all to the Garnier Salon for consultations. I'm sure the designers are LOVING taking time out of their work schedule for this. We get a minute ad for Garnier exhibiting how their products can do anything any of these designers could want. Ever.
Back in the workroom, Tim enters for consultations. Jonathan explains to Tim that he's doing the laughter idea, which Tim seems to think is pretty clever. He tells Tim that cutaways in his textile will reveal different colors. Tim sees that the textile really was created by Jonathan and tells him to get back to work and that it's stunning. Tim tells Seth Aaron that his concept is true to himself, pushes the envelope, and is believable. Amy explains to Tim that, for her fire idea, she wants to portray a controlled chaos. She says that she's considering having the model's hair fill this bowl of a neckline that she's creating. Tim tells her that it's a very interesting idea. His advice? To let it "distill" within her and see where it takes her. I don't know. That doesn't seem that helpful to me. Ben explains his shark suit idea. Tim says that he's worried about Ben because the subtleties of his work don't seem to make an impact on the judges, to which Ben says that's why he's making a suit. Tim says that the concept practically demands it. Does he just mean the shark part demands a suit? I no know.
Mila explains her concept -- she's going with a mineral inspiration. A bunch of shiny grays. She's making a vest, turtleneck and slacks. Tim tells her that she should make adjustments as she continues. Maya explains her idea and says she wants it to be glamorous and sophisticated. Tim just says that he has faith in her and walks away. OK, when a super young person uses adjectives like that, they're often talking about something with which they aren't completely familiar and they end up risking being derivative.
Tim leaves and the models enter for a fitting. Everybody seems to get what they want out of the experience. Jonathan tells his girl Cerri that she is part of his inspiration, because he responds to pale people. OK, confession time. Though I said I wouldn't do it, I've caught a few (read: almost every one) of the episodes of the model show. It's pretty irrelevant, except Cerri is a total badass. I want her to do my taxes and shit, that's how much I trust her badassness. Do Irish girls have a rep for being tough? I've never heard of that, but she's so naturally imposing that I have to believe that Irish girls can kick ass. I mean, seriously, Cerri does NOT do drama. And, she doesn't even need a weapon. Not even her fists. She can just stare at you. And, this is all a very good thing. Jonathan's a little worried that the judges will think he's being too literal, but he reminds us all that he's inspired by laughter, not air.
Emilio's fitting goes well and he interviews that he's enjoying the spirit of the competition. Mila gives us some bad news: Ben's work isn't going well. She says that she can see that it began with a great idea, but the pants that he has made look awful. They do nothing for the model's crotch. What a horrible statement. Yuck. Ben says that he's nervous. This is the first time that he has made pants. Ever? That would be the most wrongheaded thing! At least make a skirt with the suit or something. His model is being very positive and he's thankful for that. Amy's still mulling around the hair idea.
The models leave and Anthony interviews that he's happy with the direction of his dress. He takes issue with being characterized as someone who doesn't use dark colors. He says that black is "beautiful and officially presidential." I need to have lunch with Anthony. Mila notices that there is some "color blocking the pain" going on in Anthony's design and he says that he's liking it. She asks if he's doing air, which of course worries Anthony. Jonathan interviews that the other designers have taken interpretive liberties with this challenge. He's seeing a lot of dark opaque designs. Amy steps in and points out that Anthony's design resembles smoke or steam, which actually makes both Anthony and Mila correct.
With 2 hours remaining, the designers are feeling a lot of pressure. Mila points out that it appears that everyone is behind schedule. Maya, who is behind, says that it makes her feel better that everyone else is behind as well. As
they are wrapping up, Ben says that the day was stressful. But, everything is cut out and he has no fabric left. There's no turning back.Back at the Atlas building, Ben takes a call with his husband, Bobby. They've been together for a year and a half. This is the first time they have been apart for more than three days. We don't hear much of the convo, but Ben emotionally interviews that he really misses Bobby. This is not a good sign. I recall Janeane having a little phone call with her husband right before she got the boot.
The morning, Emilio and Jonathan are lying in their beds, completely clothed, with their eyes closed. Emilio says that he can't remember the last time he was as tired as he is now. Jonathan, without opening his eyes, wanly fist pumps the air and says that Emilio can do it. Mila and Maya are performing their morning ritual of side-by-side hair ironing. Mila says that the runway show is going to be brutal. Amy says that she won't regret her design, if it ends up not biting the big one. She interviews that risk takers are the only people eligible to be America's great designer and she is proud to call herself a risk taker.
At the workroom, everyone is of course trying really hard to finish. Seth Aaron says that this is the first time in the competition that he is pushing it to the last second. He has to cut pants with only 2 hours to go. Ben is also scrambling. He still has to put sleeves on his jacket. And, listen to this, Jay really lives up to his whole Wonderbra analogy. He finishes his design a half hour before everyone else, so he offers to help Ben finish. I'm really touched by that. I know we all want to win stuff and people make you feel stupid if you show compassion for others, but there's something to be said for karma too; not to mention building relationships. You can't do everything alone, especially in the fashion industry, so it's frankly smart to work to create relationships and establish yourself as someone others would want to work with. At least that's how I'm looking at it. Ben gladly accepts his help. He interviews that Jay is one of his best friends there and he is glad to have his support.
Tim enters and asks everyone how they are doing. Anthony replies, "How do we look?" Tim's response is that they all look like they're in the middle of a "make it work moment." He gets an amen up in there. He sends in the models for fitting and hair/make-up. Mila interviews that, not only does she have her regular hem work to finish, she also has to finish her pants. Anthony interviews that Seth Aaron's look doesn't seem like something women would want to wear, which he reasons is because his work can seem intimidating. Jonathan is worried about Amy, not because she can't make the design, but because he isn't sure she had the time to engineer it properly. Amy is worried as well, because the dress is not standing the way she intended. Nothing is working as she intended. She has gone with the hair idea. Anthony interviews that he's not sure why, at this moment, Amy has chosen to give his model "hairy tits." Because she's a fucking genius, is my answer. He did want me to answer that, yes? He says, "She needs a Nair Affair Up There." Tim enters to find everyone sewing, which startles him. He's worried. He takes everyone to runway. Dead Designers Walking.
Heidi greets everyone. She reminds us that the challenge was to create an innovative look based on one of the four elements of nature. She says that the parameters were broad so that they could really express themselves. On that note, I'd like to add, we've clearly been set up to believe that this challenge is going to be a big disaster. Perhaps that will be true. But, it seems that these guys really did commit themselves to creating something innovative, judges be dammed. They were thinking about bringing something creative into the world and, before the slaughter ensues, I think they accomplished that; at least on the design level. Heidi introduces Michael, Nina, and designer Roland Mouret. He used to come into a place where I worked and he was awesome, nice and funny.
The show begins with Maya's look. It's a short dress of light gray, with long sleeves. The sleeves have what appear to be gills that float in the air like waves. The waves are on one side of the dress as well. It's really pretty. The model's hair is pulled back with a Veronica Lake-esque bang situation. It's a strip of long hair with a quasi-spit curl. Maya says that she feels she accomplished setting forth her design.
Jay's look is . It's a high-waisted dress with tights underneath. It's got a lot of asymmetrical layers and does resemble a tornado. The colors are black and light brown with a striped print used on the bodice. It is also wrapped around the legs, as well as on the hair of the model. The effect is a ton of motion. Well done. Jay is happy as well.
Here's Ben's suit. I get the design. It's a suit of pastel, with a shimmering champagne-colored camisole underneath. The jacket is short and has several sharp points to it at the bottom. There are little shark tooth buttons on the cuffs. The pants. Are not good. The seat of them is a mess. Ben feels like he stayed true to himself.
Now we have Anthony. His is a floor-length dress with a slit to the thigh. The skirt is black and the bodice is voluminous with folds of gray and black fabric. He is really happy with how his model walked. The dress looks pretty cool and is clearly an innovation for Anthony, because he doesn't usually do this sort of thing.
Here's Mila's look. Remember that she's earth. She uses all earth tones, naturally, with the mineral-style shimmering on some of the fabrics. She matched a wide-legged pant with a turtleneck and an asymmetrical sleeveless vest. The vest seems the wrong proportion, but I kind of like the pants a lot. She is happy with her design and how she took a step outside of what she usually does.
Jonathan's look is up . It's a short dress of white, with a voluminous strap on one shoulder that rises to the top of Cerri's head. There are little patches where the fabric is cut, revealing warm pastel fabric underneath. It's beautiful. Jonathan is ecstatic. He says that, if you were to look up "romantic" in the dictionary, you would find a picture of his dress. Maybe in the Published Before It Happened edition. The Psychic edition. The Dictionary With Pictures edition.
Here's Amy's look. It's a strapless jumpsuit. The bust is shaped like a boat and, inside of it, is hair that matches her model's. So, clearly, this is a disaster. But, what an amazing disaster. I think it's fucking rad. This sounds so stupid, but it just seems so...elemental. Her girl looks like Jerry Hall right now. Amy is not happy with it. The top is not standing correctly and the hair is messy. She keeps calling it a dress, which is weird. Nina looks like she just lost a contact. Amy, though acknowledging the shortcomings of the look, thinks that it was an original concept and true to who she is as a designer.
Emilio's look is . It's a strapless dress of shimmering green fabric. The skirt has a lot of asymmetrical bunching and it reminds me of moss. I feel like he nailed his element. He's very happy with it and feels that Monique looks great in the dress.
Seth Aaron's look is shown . He made tight black trousers topped by a black leather coat. The coat has shiny metal buttons on it (stars!) and the back has this bustle/train thing that is pretty spectacular. He says that he is showing exactly what he intended.
After the show, Anthony, Emilio and Jay are called. They are safe and moving to the challenge. They leave the runway as the models for the others return. Mila says that she was inspired by minerals. Michael says that he has seen such ambitious work from her, but this is not it. He also thinks that her use of geometry is getting tired. Nina thinks that another designer did it. Heidi says that the vest is the only interesting part of the look, which I guess is true. Michael's always harping about separates though. Rol
and thinks that she went in the wrong direction -- she should have created a show piece.Seth Aaron explains his midnight concept. Heidi says that black leather isn't her idea of air, but she is astonished by what he accomplished in a day. Michael says he liked his girl's entire look and Seth Aaron responds that he designed with emotion. Nina commends him for being consistent. All of his stuff looks like him. Heidi points out that the bottom of his slacks are tapered with shimmering strips of fabric on them. I thought they were boots! Roland thinks his idea for trousers is really original. Seth Aaron thanks him and says that it means a lot coming from him.
Maya explains her concept and that she was going for an Old Hollywood style. Roland thinks that it is a very personal and easy to achieve runway look. Nina thinks that it is "perfectly beautiful" but worries that Maya may be too referential. She thinks this dress resembles Nina Ricci, which Maya says she doesn't believe he did. Roland warns her that, if she is compared to other designers, it will spell doom for her.
Amy says that she was shooting for controlled chaos and Heidi says that it looks like a cat in a baby sling. She shoots, she scores. Bravo, Heidi. Or, rather, Lifetime, Heidi. Oh, God, they all hate it. Nina thinks it's weird. Heidi asks her to remove the hair, which she does. They think it looks much better. Nina thinks that it's still only OK and says she's not impressed. Jesus, she's tough. Michael thinks that she got too caught up in her concept. Roland tells her to analyze her level as a designer and be happy with that, to which Michael makes an "Ehh, OK, I guess" face. Did he just tell her to be happy with the fact that she's not good enough to pull off a hair dress?
Ben explains his shark idea. Michael says he had no idea what it was but sees the shark teeth now. He does like the hair and make-up but that's it. Heidi thinks that you shouldn't make a suit unless you can. Ouch. Nina thinks it's a mess. Heidi says that it looks like she's wearing underwear over the pants of his suit and we see a close-up. Yeah, it's bad. She finds it "bizarre." Michael names them "jock strap pants." Heidi asks Ben if he thinks this fits in with the beautiful work he has made in the past. He concedes that he bit off more than he could chew.
Jonathan explains his laughter idea. He also says that he worked with Cerri's skin tone, which Nina applauds. Michael loves the textile he built, while Roland loves the draping. Heidi asks Cerri how she feels about the dress. She says that she was in awe of the detail as well as the consideration he paid to her own skin tone. Jonathan replies, "Pale understands pale," and both of them laugh.
The designers leave the runway and the judges confer. Roland thinks that Maya really accomplished a lot. Nina still thinks she's working from inspiration, but Michael doesn't know if she knows who she is. Heidi thinks Seth Aaron showed his superior tailoring. Roland thinks his clothes speak for him. Michael felt that Jonathan did beautiful things with color, which Nina agrees with. She thought it was poetic. Roland loves that Jonathan is a romantic and adds, "But, hey, I'm French." Ha!
Now, for the bad kids. They felt that Ben really failed. Nina hated the shark teeth accent. Heidi thinks it's odd that he did so poorly. Nina felt that Amy's look was weird. Michael thinks that she chose a concept too ambitious for her to achieve and ended up with a weird mess. Nina wonders if she's trying too hard. Oh God, really? Can you try too hard when faced with a life-changing opportunity? Heidi felt that Mila's look was boring. Michael says it was "Mila Designs for a Mall Walk." That's brilliant. Heidi wonders if it's worse to be too ambitious like Amy or boring like Mila. Nina then mocks Mila for not knowing what to do if she couldn't do her traditional black and white stuff. They have made their decision.
The designers return to the stage. Seth Aaron is in. Jonathan is the winner! He thanks them, Roland in particular. He grabs Amy's hand before leaving the runway. He interviews that winning gave him the power to get to Bryant Park. Power meaning confidence. Maya is in, as is Mila. That leaves Amy and Ben. Heidi says that Ben's suit was an amateurish mess. They hated the pants and the shark teeth. She says that Amy's look was not beautiful or elegant. Amy is...in. Poor Ben. Amy hugs him and leaves the runway. Ben gets his kisses and thanks the judges for the opportunity. He gets very tearful backstage and tells everyone that he wishes them the best. He interviews that he wouldn't change a thing. Tim enters and says that he's sick that Ben has to leave. Ben says that fashion is a passion that you can't get rid of -- we haven't heard the last of him.
Jeff Long is a writer/actor in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com