Previously: Kate went off on Dyshaun in front of the panel. Her design was deemed too busy. She was finally sent home.... weeks after she should have been.
It's the final four, which Ashlie obviously states. She thought she'd be getting the ax last week for her inability to make editing decisions. Johanna, who clearly doesn't understand the fashion industry, hopes that there won't be any backstabbing now. Ashlie talks about how she's struggled and been waiting for this opportunity for her whole life. All 22 years of it. Johanna says it is hard to get interviews with her resume, since she has no experience. She did actually start a fashion blog, which is somewhat proactive. Megan basically calls Johanna too old to be starting out in this industry. She says that if you work in fashion, you start to hate shopping. Johanna thinks that the 22-year-old kids are all too jaded.
Malina calls them and tells them to get their asses over to Elite modeling agency. Dyshaun interviews that models tend flock to him. Anne needs the wannabes to cast a replacement model for a shoot with Zac Posen. Would an assistant be allowed to do this task? I'm skeptical. Ashlie flips out because she loves Zac Posen, he's her favorite designer. There's a selection of 30 models and they each have to pick one and put her in one of four identical dresses. Johanna's never been around a model before. She's intoxicated by their beauty. The dress is a pale golden yellow. Dyshaun smartly says that he's looking for someone who isn't too pale. Megan's looking for someone voluptuous. Ashlie goes for the eenie meenie miny moe approach. Johanna chooses the skinniest, palest model of the bunch. Anne comes in and says that it is for a body conscious story. Megan's got the best model. She thinks the honey-colored hair compliments the golden tone of the dress. Ashlie and Dyshaun get compliments from Slowey, but she says their models aren't quite statuesque enough. Johanna is told that she can't always just pick the slimmest person. Anne grabs Megan's model and heads out.
In the Elle office, Malina tells them they have to actually do something that involves writing more than a blurb. They have to do some reporting for a New Designers layout. They are sent to a showroom, where some of the best up and coming talent will be congregated. Way to have them do some investigating there. Not like they actually had to make an effort to seek out actual new designers. They've got three criteria to keep in mind. 1) Choose a designer who is on trend. 2) Pick clothes that represent their collection and 3) Convey who the designer is through the interview questions. Seems pretty obvious for basic journalism. Then Malina gives them a warning: Anne typically creates these pages herself, so they'd better bring it. They are split into teams of two, and Megan's in charge. She pairs Ashley and Dyshaun, and puts Johanna on her team. That's actually pretty shrewd, since Johanna does have some writing experience... even if Megan does consider her too old for this job. Dyshaun is hurt that she didn't pick him because he thought they were besties.
Brett introduces them to Lee Trimble, who runs Gen Art, a showcase for designers. They've chosen six designers for them to pick from. Brett informs them that not only do they have to put together a layout, but they also have to do a runway show with their chosen designer that the entire Elle staff will be attending. Johanna's excited, she's never met a designer. Oh good lord. I see this going badly, and Megan's gonna toss her right under the bus.
The finalists are sent off to talk to the designers. Megan shows that she's wearing a shirt by one of the designers. She says that Lewis Cho is great, but he's been around forever. She's looking for a rare gem. Megan doesn't want anyone that has had too much press. Dyshaun and Ashlie choose Jolibe, because they mix interesting fabrics together. Ashlie interviews that they are probably going to have to fight for them. So they put in a bid for them. Sure enough, Megan walks over and tries to convince Jolibe that they should go with her. Brett puts the onus on Jolibe to decide. Guessing the other five designers are feeling like chopped liver now. Dyshaun thought it was first come, first serve, he's mad that Brett let Megan butt in. Megan gives a business pitch, which Johanna disapproves of because she's passionate about these clothes, but she quietly stands by and says nothing. Dyshaun and Ashlie are all about the passion for the design, and all of their uniqueness. Jolibe goes with Dyshaun and Ashlie, since they enjoyed their enthusiasm. Team 2 heads over to Richard Ruiz, their second choice. And everyone commences with interviewing the designers. And Brett tells them they've got to get to work on their shows.
At Elle downtown, the designers are there with their Fall '08 collections. Megan plans to start with brighter clothes and move to darker ones. Ashlie wants to make sure to end with pretty dresses. Megan keeps Johanna from putting her foot in her mouth, when the decrepit 28-year-old says she doesn't like one of Richard's designs. Miss "I've Never Met a Designer Before", needs to learn some etiquette. Megan pulls her aside and tells her that you have to stroke Richard's ego and they have to work with the designer's vision. Johanna says she's learning that it isn't always about what she likes. They are this far into the season and she's just figuring that out? Meanwhile, in the fashion closet, Ashlie is taking all the shoes that will fit their models. She does not feel bad about this one bit. Dyshaun tells Megan she can have his leftovers. This is why you don't stab your bestie in the back. Megan and Johanna bitch about their backstabbing. She didn't expect Dyshaun to take every pair of shoes in the closet. Which is far from the case. It looked like there were at least 30 pairs left on the shelf. I hate these people.
Back at their apartment, they are all sleeping, except Johanna who is busily typing up notes. She feels that hard work will help them get ahead. Interesting theory.
The morning, they head off to Arena to produce their runway show. At this point, a pop-up add comes up on the screen that says "Kill or Be Killed." Appropriate, no? It's for that 13, Fear Is Real show, but it works here too. Malina introduces Jake Bailey, who is a Max Factor makeup artist. He's there to help them with their looks. Which is something I'd think would fall to the designers, not the coordinators, but all I know from fashion is Project Runway so who the hell knows. There's some product placement about 3-D makeup, which sadly does not involve cool 3-D glasses. I think that's false advertising. Johanna describes their look as "a boudoir, Victorian, sexy kind of thing." Team One wants Boy George in the '80s with the fake brow and strange lips. Dyshaun gets all panicky under stress and can't answer Ashlie's questions when she wants to know where the accessories are. He thinks she's the one who doesn't cope with stress. Over on Team 2, Megan's all bossy. Surprise, surprise. Johanna tells the models that this is the first fashion show she's even been too. They do their best not to look horrified. Ashlie and Dyshaun bicker about how slow their models should walk, but inform them no matter what, they need to take a good picture at the end of the runway. Anne and the rest of the panel file in to the front row and Team 1's Jolibe show begins.
I am not a fashionista, so I won't try and explain the outfits to you, but Anne says that she likes the hair and makeup. Yay, Boy George! The first two outfits are in this gorgeous shade of green that exactly matches the scarf I'm knitting right now. I'm trendy without even knowing it! That's a change of pace. Joe Zee seems impressed. But then there's a big pause, when a zipper breaks. Their order gets a little out of whack because of the technical difficulties, but it seems to go OK, at least to hear Dyshaun tell it.
Team 2. Megan puts Johanna in charge of when the models should go out. Megan's busy stripping the models and redressing them. Joe Zee complains about some of the shoe choices. That's gonna be a big fight come elimination time. Johanna gushes about how much she liked Team 1's show, because she really liked Jolibe's clothes. We freakin' get it. But Johanna, who I used to actually like, doesn't get that liking to wear awesome clothes, and working in the fashion industry are two different things. Oh my god. Did I just agree with Megan? Crap.
Back at the Elle offices, the teams have an hour to put together their layout. Team 2 writes together and chooses pictures together. Megan says it is 50/50. Things don't seem to be going so smoothly for Team 1. Dyshaun is flustered. Ashlie's mad because he won't make any decisions on what pictures to use. They split the writing, and didn't have time to go over their work, because there's a tight deadline. I feel for the person at Elle who has to manage the "winner" of this series. Megan comes up with the title His Egyptian Imprint and "his" and "im" are little, because the designer is inspired by Egyptian prints. Clever? No. Dyshaun is yelling at Ashlie that she's using too many damned pictures again. And then time is up.
They go home and Johanna talks to her mom on the phone. She thinks she's got a shot, because she doesn't have experience, but she's a quick learner. She starts crying that she doesn't want to go home and back to her other job.
The morning at Elle, Anne and Joe Zee walk in with the guest judge, the adorable Zac Posen. Ashlie nearly loses it. She does a hyperventilating giggle. Anne notes that Ashlie seems excited. Way to notice the obvious there Anne. But still, Slowey goes through the motions of introducing him. Ashlie is beaming. Beaming. Anne takes all the credit for discovering him and making him famous. Which I guess could be true, but it seems a little bit braggy. She reminds them of the fabulous prizes that they are working towards.
Team 1 is up first. They were drawn to Jolibe because their clothes are so beautifully constructed. The Alchemist is their title, because he "takes unlikely fabrics and makes them into beautiful pieces of artwork." OK. Anne says they had a strong designer, she loved the hair and makeup. Ashlie did the layout. Zac says he loves the fashion, but doesn't like the way the clothes look on the page. Joe Zee wishes some of the pictures had been bigger. Dyshaun takes credit for writing all the copy, and then passing it on to Ashlie. Zac says the whole thing blends together and they are totally lost. Anne and Joe love the title, but Anne finds mistakes in the copy. Zac says the focus isn't there, and poor Ashlie looks like she's going to cry.
Team 2 is up. Megan says they "ended up" with Richard Ruiz. Lovely, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that. They liked his custom prints. Anne says that she didn't love the styling choices during the runway show, but she likes the layout. Which is white and clean and looks almost identical to the examples (read: Anne Slowey's designs) that were shown. Anne compliments then on how they did some great editing, by taking a designer who didn't have a cohesive collection and making him shine. Again, I'm sure Richard Ruiz is just thrilled he was a part of this show. Zac complains that he can't really see the print and since that was their title, maybe they should have done a close up on the print. They get called out for having a picture of their designer surrounded by models that were wearing their street clothes. Apparently the photographer showed up too late. Zac says they should have used their own camera. Fabulous idea. Why didn't they think of that? Anne is baffled by the headline. Joe Zee does credit them with being able to explain Richard's vision, but says the layout is too safe. Zac encourages them to take risks and then he looks at Ashlie and smiles. She happily nods along with him.
Anne retires to her office, leaving the minions to stew in the conference room. They say Team 1 scored a coup getting this designer. Joe Zee liked the show a lot and thinks the layout has "dynamic possibilities." Zac loves the title. Anne says it is the strongest element on the page, but it is too overstuffed. Anne thinks Team 2 delivered a focused story, but the headline drives her crazy. Joe Zee says they gave it a point of view and made an editorial decision. Zac says their layout is a bore. It is "a snooze page," per Joe Zee.
Team 2 wins. Which I don't get. Anne and Joe keep saying they want them to take risks and be original, but give the win to the people who play it safe. Thank God this show is almost over. Brett escorts team 1 to Anne's office. Ms. Slowey tells them they have good taste, picked a great designer and put on a fabulous fashion show. Unfortunately, their layout was too cluttered. Zac looks down sadly. Anne says that Ashlie has been a "force to reckon with." But she was warned to edit down pictures, and apparently she doesn't know how to listen. Dyshaun demonstrated good styling abilities, but his copy didn't show a strong attention to detail. Dyshaun gets to stick around. Ashlie's not the right fit. Zac looks kind of sad about this, or he at least puts on a fake pout. Either way. Sweet of him. Now the three people I hate the most are left in this competition. And I don't really care who wins. Ash tries to put a positive spin on the whole thing and wishes them luck, she says it's not the last we'll see of her.
time: It's the season finale and the minions are getting some help -- from recently axed minions. Oh, please, please, please let Dyshaun or Megan get stuck with Kate!!! That'd be so incredible. The clips show Megan doing a "talk to the hand" to the camera. And we'll find out who will become the first (and likely only) Stylista.
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