Maybe it's the NyQuil talking, but The Fashion Show Ultimate Collection was almost entertaining this week: The designers go "mad plaid" and get stuck in a time warp.
We find out Calvin loves plaid because he and his trendy friends wore it growing up in Viet Nam, and guess what, Iman adores it too! Did she grow up weaing it in Somalia?! And Cesar doesn't outright say he has an obsession, he only sports plaid every freaking day of the challenge. Can we burn that blazer now please?
The Challenge: Iman calls the designers to the Museum of Natural History via Tyra mail, and they find her standing in front of a giant steel vagina time capsule, surround by smaller time capsules. Each of the designers grabs a toolbox and discovers a different year in American history for inspiration: "Your look must be fabulous on it's own, but also work within the collection," Iman says.
The Twist: Everybody has to use plaid. (Please tell us how plaid and time are related except for the fact that you hate the time you were forced to wear plaid for the family Christmas photo... Oh, is that just us?) Really, Bravo, first reversible, now PLAID?!
Spoiler alerts ahead...
House of Emerald tries to blend Golnessa's love for 1951 housewives. Jeffrey's piece of the Berlin Wall from 1989, Cindy's Marilyn Monroe blond moment of 1961 and Cesar's tragic 9/11 box from 2001. They decide to stick with similar plaids in neutral pastels and volume - because plaid, color, and volume do a collection make, right Isaac?!
House of Nami decides to take their collection in a different direction: Futuristic metallic inspired by times gone by. Eduardo wants to do yet another cocktail dress because he's got 1976 "Disco Inferno." Calvin's 1957 "Race to Space" somehow makes him think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday. You're only four years off in either direction, try Funny Face of Love in the Afternoon, maybe. 1994 makes Dominique think of a "grungy Japanese street boy or girl, and her loverboy David thinks 1984 is a cross between Michael Jackson and his grandma. Rolando jumps in way over his head and sketches a fitted, piped dress (a la the Jetson's) for 1969... but we quickly find out he's never done piping before and it's a hot mess.
Cesar's still the granddaddy guru, so everybody on his team pegs him with questions: "How do I pleat this fabric?" "Should I use this boning?" but he's more concerned that his "baby Ro" is struggling and David and Dominique are flirting over in the House of Nami. That is until he decides his team need another look and he starts a kindergarten craft project to turn his model into a can-you-even-call-that-sloppy-tic-tac-toe-burlap-plaid? ladybug.
Meanwhile, we want some of whatever the other designers are smoking. Jeffrey dons the Marilyn Monroe wig and becomes a firefighter in drag racing through the workroom saving lives. Dominique is so giggly and shy around David she can hardly sit still why he sews his shoulder pads on the collar of the jumpsuit she's wearing. And Calvin models his 50s apron-style skirt complete with high heels and a runway strut that rivals Iman's. Then nobody can find a wine bottle opener to open the giant jug-o-wine, nor can they come up with the word corkscrew. So much for designing...
Ro trashes his horribly piped dress at the last second and throws together a sloppy two-piece sheath that makes us really freaking nervous for the cute but-not-quite-as-talented Christian Siriano wannabe.
The Fashion Show: House of Nami's designs walk the runway without a hitch. The steel gray garments parade down the runway one after another looking pretty fierce, minus the sloppy jumpsuit from David and the last-minute mess from Ro.
House of Emerald on the other hand is in a bind, yet again. Golnessa's zipper breaks and even Cesar can't fix it. He's too busy trying to figure out if he can make the 90-second change for his model to go from ugly cocoon top and pants to even uglier ladybug shield dress. The four models strut out in the five looks and then strike really awkward looking poses on glass boxes.
The Winners: In a neck-and-neck race of who can make the least offensive plaid clothes: House of Emerald comes out ahead. Really, even with Cesar's home ec project?! Jeffrey's Michelle Obama-inspired sleeveless dress and Golnessa's 50s housewife zipper-less number are up for the win.
"I want to copy this dress," Isaac says announcing Jeffrey's winning design. "If you see it in my collection for this spring, you'll know from when it came."
The Losers: "House of Nami, time for you to see what it feels like on the other side," Iman says just a little too happily. You can tell she's been itching to tear apart her eponymous house.
Eduardo's safe with his immunity and his fourth cocktail dress fit for a dancing queen, and Dominique's grungy edge and Calvin's "perfect skirt" keep their butts off the chopping block. Ro's non-sexy non-1969 hot mess and David's grandmotherly MJ jumpsuit plus their total resignation put them up for elimination. Dominique has to cray and "be the man of the house" to get loverboy David to even defend himself, but it's enough. David's in. Ro's out. And we'll live to see yet another episode of contestants crushing on each other. Oh joy!
What did you think of this week's episode? Mildly entertaining or should we just plan on drinking NyQuil every Tuesday? P.S. CAN YOU EVEN WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK?! We're just excited the REAL HOUSEWIVES are on.
