The BeDazzler: Secret Weapon of The Fashion Show
Episode 10: Blood, Sweat and Sparkle
-by Eric Walter
The stakes are raised on this week's The Fashion Show when Isaac and Kelly announce that the loser this time will miss out on the chance to present a collection in the season's final fashion show.
I love the mini challenge: Make a dress with two yards of silk and 12 pins. It's super esoteric, yet simultaneously something that every lay person one can understand. Isaac pontificates about draping and the relation of fabric to the human body, but even I can see that this is the basis of a dress.
Professor Mizrahi presents Fashion Design 101: The Drape.
Frankly it's mystifying to me that this is challenge to any of them. Isn't this something they learned in design school kindergarten? (But we saw what happened when we assumed these kids knew how to sew!)
It's a good introduction to this week's challenge: the evening gown. And for good measure — and some glamorous integrated marketing — let's throw in $30,000 worth of Swarovsky crystals for a bit of the old razzle dazzle.
After weeks and weeks of tepid drama, The Fashion Show goes back to its roots and pulls a Project Runway-style coup by bringing back five eliminated designers to be paired with the remaining five contestants!
Andrew, Keith, Angel, Haven, and ... ta-dah! Merlin.
It's fun to see the familiar faces we hoped to see so much more from but who were gone so soon. *sigh*
(Plus, the producers had to get them back for season 1 before the show aired and any of them had a chance to see how they actually look on TV!)
The experiment has mixed results. It's hard to see that the pairings have any effect on the final design.
Daniella and Haven are like old girlfriends, but they begin to clash when Daniella begins to overthink her choices. She brushes off Haven's fear of gray and dives into her original concept.
Merlin sees getting James Paul in the final four as a form of revenge against the women he seems to hate so much. He at least has the grace to step back and not interfere too much with James Paul's work.
We don't see a whole lot of influence from cutie-pie Keith, but he is a good little assistant to Anna.
Reco, totally disinterested in any sort of help from his partner Andrew, goes it alone. Andrew finds solace in the magazine racks with some light reading instead. Poor Andrew! Just a pretty face, after all.
And Johnny does NOT want to work with Angel, fearing her inconsistency will drag him down. He's all a-flutter in the workroom, but calms down some after retreating to the safety of a dress he once saw on Maggie Gylenhaal for inspiration.
What Worked
In the end, Daniella (left) sticks to her gloomy storm-cloud guns and comes out on top.
Anna (center) makes a bold choice with a bombastic floral print and a slimming, graceful tulip-shaped silhouette.
Johnny suffers an ironic end. Despite his panic attack earlier, he shows real talent and pulls off a fun young-Hollywood design. And it would be a favorite. But the judges have seen this dress before! Is it just too close to an existing design, or is it a knock-off?
What Didn't
Not even Merlin has the power to transform James Paul's ugly duckling (left) into a swan.
And Reco's recangular gauzy gown doesn't say "evening wear" as much as "eccentric ballet teacher."
Best Gay
Reco is just in it for the eye candy. He has no intention of letting Andrew actually assist him. He just wants a cute boy to look at. And who could blame him?
Best Line
After four of the returning contestants are revealed, each one of them greeting the final five with a simple "Hello, designers," Merlin, dolled up as red as a devil, drops a satanic "Hello, bitches." It's predictable, but no less delightful.
Worst Line
In an effort to be funny, guest judge Glenda Bailey, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, calls Johnny's yellow silk draping mini-challenge a "banana drama." (Oh, those Brits and their short A's!) Leave the cattiness to Laura Brown, honey.
I thought the mini-challenge would be a cinch for Johnny, because we know he can't sew! It's funny that Bailey took the time to point out the pinholes ("It looks like he's assassinated the mannequin."), but no one seemed to care that there was no bottom to the garment, which struck me as a rather larger problem. Oh la la!
Best WTF Moment
However talented these folks are as designers, they are not very well skilled in tact. Johnny takes every opportunity to show his dissatisfaction with his partner. "Process of elimination," he shrugs, when Isaac and Kelly greet the pair in the work room. Translation: "Don't look at me. I didn't choose her!"
Next week, I don't think we can expect many surprises. But I sure am looking forward to the parade of final collections. Looks like we're gonna see some fireworks!
Daniella and Haven are like old girlfriends, but they begin to clash when Daniella begins to overthink her choices. She brushes off Haven's fear of gray and dives into her original concept.
Merlin sees getting James Paul in the final four as a form of revenge against the women he seems to hate so much. He at least has the grace to step back and not interfere too much with James Paul's work.
We don't see a whole lot of influence from cutie-pie Keith, but he is a good little assistant to Anna.
Reco, totally disinterested in any sort of help from his partner Andrew, goes it alone. Andrew finds solace in the magazine racks with some light reading instead. Poor Andrew! Just a pretty face, after all.
And Johnny does NOT want to work with Angel, fearing her inconsistency will drag him down. He's all a-flutter in the workroom, but calms down some after retreating to the safety of a dress he once saw on Maggie Gylenhaal for inspiration.
What Worked
In the end, Daniella (left) sticks to her gloomy storm-cloud guns and comes out on top.
Anna (center) makes a bold choice with a bombastic floral print and a slimming, graceful tulip-shaped silhouette.
Johnny suffers an ironic end. Despite his panic attack earlier, he shows real talent and pulls off a fun young-Hollywood design. And it would be a favorite. But the judges have seen this dress before! Is it just too close to an existing design, or is it a knock-off?
What Didn't
Not even Merlin has the power to transform James Paul's ugly duckling (left) into a swan.
And Reco's recangular gauzy gown doesn't say "evening wear" as much as "eccentric ballet teacher."
Best Gay
Reco is just in it for the eye candy. He has no intention of letting Andrew actually assist him. He just wants a cute boy to look at. And who could blame him?
Best Line
After four of the returning contestants are revealed, each one of them greeting the final five with a simple "Hello, designers," Merlin, dolled up as red as a devil, drops a satanic "Hello, bitches." It's predictable, but no less delightful.
Worst Line
In an effort to be funny, guest judge Glenda Bailey, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, calls Johnny's yellow silk draping mini-challenge a "banana drama." (Oh, those Brits and their short A's!) Leave the cattiness to Laura Brown, honey.
I thought the mini-challenge would be a cinch for Johnny, because we know he can't sew! It's funny that Bailey took the time to point out the pinholes ("It looks like he's assassinated the mannequin."), but no one seemed to care that there was no bottom to the garment, which struck me as a rather larger problem. Oh la la!
Best WTF Moment
However talented these folks are as designers, they are not very well skilled in tact. Johnny takes every opportunity to show his dissatisfaction with his partner. "Process of elimination," he shrugs, when Isaac and Kelly greet the pair in the work room. Translation: "Don't look at me. I didn't choose her!"
Next week, I don't think we can expect many surprises. But I sure am looking forward to the parade of final collections. Looks like we're gonna see some fireworks!
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