12/10/2008

in

The contestants have to produce a fashion show as well as an editorial page.

Michael Pascua

The final four come back home after Kate's elimination. Ashlie feared that she was going home because she didn't edit enough at her last challenge. Johanna hopes that there won't be any sabotage for the rest of the competition. She talks to the other contestants about getting interviews and resumes in the fashion industry. Johanna only has a fashion blog as part of her resume (that relates to fashion). Megan thinks that Johanna needs to grow up (even though Megan is 22 and Johanna is 28). Johanna comments that everyone is younger and jaded.  
  
The morning kicks in and there is a phone call for the contestants. Anne wants the contestants at the Elle offices. When they arrive, they are given the challenge: They have to pick a replacement model for a Zac Posen runway show. There are 30 Elite models for the four to pick from and each get the same dress. Johanna is nervous and buried in pretty women. The first girl was on season two of *Project Runway*. Johanna instantly takes a plus on the Asian. Megan wanted a bustier model so she could fit into her dress. DyShaun picks Danielle. That's her name. Johanna ended up picking the Russian/Asian model. Anne shows up and judges. Each explain their motives for picking their models. Anne talks about being body conscious and congratulates Megan. DyShaun and Ashlie picked models that may have been too short. Johanna's was too thin.  
  
Back at the offices, the editorial challenge is an editorial New Designer page. There are some up-and-coming talent that they will meet the next day. There are a lot of criteria and it turns out that Anne does these pages themselves. Megan picks Ashlie and DyShaun as Team One. She pairs herself with Johanna as Team Two. DyShaun is a little miffed that her friend didn't pick him and now sees her as competition.  
  
There are six new designers that the teams can pick from. They will have to pick and debut the designers to the judges through their page. The twist is that they will have to put up a fashion show along with their page. Johanna is excited because this is a whole ton of firsts for her. They go to talk to the contestants. The designers talk about women, darkness, superheroes, and little girls trying to grow up as their influences. Megan is wearing a Lewis Cho outfit, so she is a little iffy about that designer. Megan asks some about who has a press kit and how much press they've actually had. Team Two sits down and eliminates contestants with too much press. Team One picks Jolibe, the same team that they like. Instantly Team Two walks in and tries to get Jolibe. The designers got to pick the team they wanted. Megan goes first with a business pitch. Johanna didn't talk much, even if she liked it. DyShaun and Ashlie talk fashion and passion. Jolibe decides to pick Team One because of their enthusiasm. They go with plan B, who is Richard. The two teams interview the designers with their remaining time.  
  
The contestants head to Elle's downtown offices and Richard shows the designs to Johanna and Megan. DyShaun thinks of the idea of masculinity shifting on to femininity for their styling. Johanna tells a girl wearing one of Richard's dresses that it's not pretty on her. Megan pulls her aside and tells her that her designer may have been uncomfortable with her opinions. Megan talks to the designer to make sure that his vision is translated on the runway.  
  
Megan talks to Richard and he mentions getting some shoes to see how the dress looks with some height. At the closet, Ashlie and DyShaun take all the shoes that would fit before Megan shows up. They talk about karma and drama. Megan hopes that she could get the scraps.  
  
While everyone is asleep, Johanna writes notes about the interview that they did earlier. The next day, two hours before the fashion show, the contestants arrive at Arena. Anne introduces Jake, a makeup designer, who is their consultant today. Our shameless makeup company is Max Factor. They do a short consult that turns into a long commercial for different Max Factor products. Team One gives a "Boy George" look. Team Two attempts a boudoir look. Ashlie stresses out about the accessories. Megan, on the other hand, becomes the taskmaster. With one minute to go, DyShaun wants to make sure that the girls go slow enough to get some good photos. The judges sit in the front row.  
  
Team One starts with the Jolibe collection and instantly get a plus from Anne about the hair and makeup. One dress in the back has a zipper-jam so there is some awkward time out where there is no model walking. Ashlie quickly sends the next model who was ready out. The order was thrown, but DyShaun was confident that they did well. With Team Two, Johanna was put in charge of the timing of the models. The girls struggle with making sure that the clothes are on quickly. There are some compliments about the clothes, but they get dinged for questionable boots.  
  
Back at the offices, one of the contestants voice-over about having 90 minutes, but the clock starts with 60. Team Two really collaborates together well and probably benefits from Johanna. DyShaun and Ashlie are time crunched and have to split the writing. With the deadlines, DyShaun is nervous. Team Two talks about design and Team One struggles with the number of pictures. Time is called.  
  
Back at the apartments, Johanna talks to family and is confident about winning. She will become upset if she goes back to her normal life.  
  
At judging, Ashlie is excited by Zac Posen. He is the guest judge and was apparently found by Anne Slowey herself. Team One goes first and explains "The Alchemist." The husband/wife team displayed the beautiful construction of the fashion. Anne loved the styling of the fashion show. Zac liked the clothes, but didn't like the shots put on the layout. Anne and Zac are confused by the layout and the typos. One sentence has the word "has" instead of "as." There are also too many photos on the page, *again*. There may be too much information on the page. Team Two explains that Richard Ruiz loves prints. Anne dinged the styling choices but loved the focus. They talk about teamwork. Anne compliments the design. Zac disliked the fact that the first shot didn't have the models wearing clothes. Joe thought that the layout was too white and the title was confusing. They want the contestants to think out of the box.  
  
The judges talk about the reviews. Team One had a good design for the runway. The black and white layout was good. The title was a positive as well. Some of the photos lacked any design and felt like it was all crammed in. Team Two was the opposite. The page text was focused and they showed what the strongest part of the designer was. The first photo is a missed opportunity. The design of the layout was a snooze though.  
  
Team Two is the winner this week. I guess being defensive and not thinking out of the box saved them. Ashlie and DyShaun head to Anne's office. Anne loved the fashion show but they messed up the page, which was a sign of bad editing. Anne dings Ashlie about editing down and it meant that she didn't listen since last week. DyShaun had good styling but lacked an attention to detail. Anne selects DyShaun as the survivor of the two. Ashlie gets her box and hugs everyone. She feels more confident about the industry. She's happy for the next step.  
  
Next Week: It's the season finale and previous contestants come to help. Eve shows up to hopefully bring this show up a notch. Megan finally melts down.