Okay, here we go. Heidi tells us this week is about being “picture perfect”.  The designers gather and go to the Marie Claire building, where editor-in-chief Joanna Coles joins them.  The challenge is to (in one day, with $150) design an outfit for a celebrity to wear on the April cover of Marie Claire.

But who’s the celeb? PR’s own Heidi Klum. This should be interesting.

The designers are reminded that this issue will air in April.  Let me say that I am SO excited for the trends this spring and am curious to see if the designers are on point, considering I’m not sure when this episode filmed. I’m hoping for flesh colors (even if this will be a magazine cover), military looks, and some good prints.  What am I seeing so far? Lots of solid blues. Pretty, but is it trendy enough for a magazine cover?

Some points of note in the workroom: Seth Aaron is annoying. (I still associate him with a serial killer, so I agree with them on this one).  Ben calls his dress “butterfly on acid”. Uhhh, what?  Jay Nicolas has some nude colored dress that I am looking forward to. Anna has never made anything besides a dress and is working on some shorts.  They don’t fit her model. Hysteria ensues.

It is only fitting that Joanna Coles is guest judging. Half the judges are from Marie Claire and one will wear the winning garment. I can almost feel the pressure FOR the designers.

Amy: Very springy. I love the flower appendage and the print. Figures she already has immunity.

Seth Aaron: Military pantsuit. Not for a cover, but on trend. And SO well-made.

Jesse: Cute, textured, simple.

Anna: SO boring. The vest and top don’t go together.

Anthony: LOVING the asymmetry (on the shoulder!).

Janeane: HATING the asymmetry (on the weird hem). And the dress has these wings. Dislike.

Mila: As much as I don’t want to like her clothes, I do.  The color choice is off however.

Emilio: Reminds me of his first dress (that won), but I don’t love this one quite as much.

Jay Nicolas: ILOVETHISDRESS. The flesh colors. The drama. Awesome. But maybe more for a red carpet?

Jonathan: Yes, rompers are on trend, but this is kind of superhero-ish.

Maya: Forgettable. Definite downgrade from last week.

Ben: I love the blue. And the belt. And the back. This guy is underrated.

For the most part, the designs were impressive. There’s only two people who I think absolutely need to be sent home at this point, and that is Anna and Janeane.

My faves? Amy, Anthony, Jay Nicolas

Least faves? Anna, Janeane, Maya

But what did the judges think?

Top 3: Ben, Anthony, Emilio (aka Let’s Hear it for the Boys?)

I’m glad Anthony won; I bet he thinks PR is fair now!

Bottom 3: Anna, Janeane, Mila

No hard feelings for Anna. Her inexperience got to her and it was just her time to go.

Tomorrow morning is the PR finale runway show at NY Fashion Week.  Apparently all the remaining designers are showing as an attempt at a guise?  If I weren’t working, I’d totally go check that out.

Um, lastly, next week they are designing for children? Oh, I’m sorry, is this “Toddlers in Tiaras”? Definitely some ambivalence on this one.  See ya then…

“We live not according to reason, but according to fashion.”

The show opened this week with poor Carol Hannah puking again and Irina not really caring. Quel surprise! Poor CH was really sick and had a crying jag in her helping designer Christopher’s arms and had Logan’s supportive hug to help her along. She perked up on the day before the show and was able to move ahead full steam. Her attitude was super strong and never faltered, even in the face of her exhaustion and sickness. Logan said he was impressed with and proud of her, and so was I.

Everyone was focused and the 13th looks seemed to really fit into each of the collections. No dogs here. There was very little drama between designers as we’ve seen in the past. Althea unfortunately had an uncanny ability this season to either steal or have almost exact simultaneous ideas with Irina, much to Irina’s chagrin. This week it was their vision of their models runway makeup. Althea told Tim her idea, Tim said that sounds just like Irina’s idea, and Irina said “That’s Althea”. Then Althea cried.

The day of the show the designers were a bag of nerves. They started the day at 3:00 A.M. and visited the show tent. As the show drew close, time slipped farther and farther away. Irina experienced a busted zipper and the models were out of makeup as Showtime arrived and passed. In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Tim Gunn lost it and yelled at everyone backstage. Meow, Tiger!

To start the show Heidi stepped out and introduced Michael as one of her favorite designers of all time, called Nina lovely and beautiful, and merely mentioned Suzy Menkes name. I guess everyone in the audience was familiar with Nina and Suzy, but it still would have been nice of her to at least mention their positions and titles.

Althea started with her Sci-Fi inspired collection of what “the woman of today will wear tomorrow”. The collection was chock full of pieces that I could see a lot of women incorporating into their wardrobe. Maybe they would shorten the sleeves of the garments, because, even in the future, women will need access to their hands. And I didn’t get the Sci-Fi connection.

CH was next with her Gothic fairy collection and her opening dress was stunning. The second look was my favorite look of all the collections. It was like a Punk Degas tutu. Sexy! The silver/grey crinoline number was not one of my favorites. Her collection was blah overall.

Next Irina showed us her protected warrior woman in NY. In all black. Just what Nina and Michael said not to do. It was much more edgy and modern than the designs we’ve seen from her this season.

All in all, a great show!

Now, I must say, the totally best part of the entire finale show was at judging time when the judges were seated and the camera cut to Judge Suzy and I saw it-the hair. Or what I assumed was hair. It was pitch black, darker than the rest of her hair and stood straight up from her head, then curled under just at the tip. I did a double take, re-wound the show and looked several more times. Was that a joke? At one point it looked like Michael and Nina couldn’t look without laughing. As fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, maybe she’s telling us that this is the latest European trend?! Yuck! All I could think is Ed Grimely, the old Martin Short character! I was totally mental!

Irina won, big shock, and I still don’t like her. However, her pieces are meticulous, well crafted and beautiful. Her Mom and Dad came out to the runway and her dad, who does not support her, just couldn’t stop crying. Perhaps now he will support her and I felt a little happy for her vindication. Nina was even crying!

So the long boring season is over and we can only hope that next season is far better. I hope it will be!

In this episode Tim visited all three girls-Althea, Carol Hannah, and Irina-to see how ten weeks of work and $9,000 dollars came together for each of them. And really, no matter what was thrown his way, Tim managed to maintain his composure and dignity. At Carol Hannah’s house he was forced to help make a Southern meal and he had to actually make biscuits. Yes, that’s right. They forced him to put on an apron and knead dough, touch flour. Trooper that he is, he did it, gingerly patting the foreign material before him in a very awkward and uncomfortable way and cutting out circles. Tim Gunn, I Heart You!

Carol Hannah’s collection does include one pair of pants, the first we have seen from her all season. Tim tweaked a few pieces and called her cape matronly. He also advised that she not add a sparkly belt to the silvery dress with the inverted triangle skirt made of ruffled tulle. We learned that Carol Hannah was gangly and ugly as a child and started at the feet of her grandmother, sewing up clothes for her dolls.

Next he visited Irina in her tiny New York apartment to view her progress. Her collection is a big thank you to New York City for allowing her and her family to move here and have the opportunity to live the American Dream. It is really black. And grey. And dark. And black. She included a graphic T-shirt with a Coney Island image and later Tim informed her that the image was not hers to use, so she was forced to come up with a new tee. Tim met her family and we learned that her mother is supportive beyond measure but her father thinks she has no future in design. Kinda sad.

Althea in Dayton was next. Our poor Tim had to make his way to her in a dilapidated old freight elevator that made him squeal like a girl as it lurched into action and gates and doors creaked around him. Trooper. Her collection was inspired by Sci-Fi movies and the women in them. More dark clothes here with a huge heavy coat and some sequins. Hmmm.

Later Althea and Irina meet up at the hotel in NYC, but poor tiny Carol Hannah had the stomach flu and was contagious and delayed. She arrived the next day, puny and tired, but with a good attitude. Trooper. Heidi and Tim arrived in the workroom later and informed the girls that, of course, they must complete one more look and in tramped Christopher, Gordana and Logan to help. Later the girls had a sit-down with Nina and Michael and were all googly-eyed to talk to the judges and the opportunity to ask questions.

None of the collections really seem super special. Irina wants to really pull of her all-dark/black collection, so we’ll see. It worked for Mr. Siriano. Let’s see if she’s a trooper!

The challenge seemed a little recycled. We’ve had this one before: designers in a museum. (Didn’t Chris March fall asleep there?!) Well, this time the designers toured the Getty with their muses/models for ideas and design inspiration.

Now, gentle reader, I know I sound like a broken record, but, again, I was let down. The points of inspiration seemed blah and I held little hope that any of the designers could have pulled off anything magical, no matter how lofty their original idea. I mean, Christopher was fixated on algae. And you know when push came to shove what we got from him was a cinched waist with an algae colored shirt. Just like every other week. Sheesh. And surprise, surprise! Gordana chose a really neutral grey color palette. Althea’s idea is to reference the architecture of the Getty.

After Mood, we saw two days of sewing and panic and worry. Everyone was bitchy and short-tempered this week as the screws turned toward elimination. Irina and Althea had a lot of tension between them and there were a lot of whispers at the work tables behind backs.

The lackluster designs were worked over. Irina lost the Scandinavian Rabbit road kill poncho, Gordana wept over her design that was so powerful to her, and Althea struggled with puckers and seams and ironing. And warding off Irina’s aggression.

At judging time we had no Michael Kors, but instead we had the lovely Cindy Crawford and designer Cynthia Rowley along with Heidi and Nina. The dresses were paraded out, and truly, I thought that I had missed the challenge. Was there supposed to be a total lack of color or excitement in the designs? Wow. Boring. For me, Gordana’s dress showed the most creativity and beauty. It was truly the only inspiring outfit of the bunch.

Everyone was then asked why they should go to Bryant Park and which two competitors should go with them. Christopher cried. Gordana and Irina said they were immigrants so they should go to the finale. Christopher cried. No one thought Gordana should go. Christopher cried on his model. And then he was “auf”.

Irina, of course, will be in the final three, as will little Carol Hannah and lanky Althea. Poor Gordana. Although her dress was head and shoulders above the competition this week, her lackluster performance in past weeks and inability to show the judges her point of view precluded her from the finals. I agree with the final three and at this point, think that Irina has the audacity and confidence coupled with the taste and construction skills to bring it on home. Only two more shows and we’ll know who has been holding their secret for so, so long. Finally.

Heidi appeared this week in another funky outfit. Were those red pants sequined as homage to this week’s guest, the great Bob Mackie? Ew. She reminded us that Gordana had immunity and that this week ended all immunity. The finale draws closer!

The designers ran off to meet Mr. Mackie and they were all in awe. A legend. Who else could have designed such memorable outfits as Cher’s controversial Indian get up or the great sight gag dress he came up with for the Gone with the Wind sketch on the Carol Burnett show. Classics. As if that weren’t enough, they were designing for the great Diva Ms. Christina Aguilera. Holla!

As the designers sketched, Nic was in heaven as this is his style, and Carol Hannah worried that she would really have to push past her normal design decisions. At Mood the designers snatched up anything that sparkled or was plucked from a bird. This is a perfect opportunity for Nic to show us why he is called the Feather Prince.

Back in the studio we got a little bit of flirting between hottie Logan and big-eyed Ms. Carol Hannah, although it was mostly high school giggling from her. And even though Gordana had immunity, she was super worried about her dress because the sequins kept falling off every time she touched it.

On day two, Gordana made the decision to start over with an entirely new dress. Shirin is sticking to old Hollywood glamour which we’ve seen Xtina in before. Tim told Nic that his design was too close to his Ice Princess look. Tim is very confident about Carol Hannah’s dress, yet tells poor Shirin that her garment looks like student work.

Oh. And talk about bitter! Irina made normally catty Nic and bitter ol’ me look like Mother Teresa with her diatribe about Shirin. She said that better designers had already left the competition, that Shirin’s design style was bargain basement, and that she really didn’t even see her as a designer. Well, the claws have really come out now!

So the models streamed in and the designers seem to be a little more hopeful about the more tragic elements of their designs and as day two closed. We also got a little more giggling from Carol Hannah over Logan and he asked her if he was distracting. Duh. She blushes and giggles and gets nervous each time he speaks to her. He’s playing it super cool. As the pressure of this particular challenge mounted and the stress of the long haul set in, we saw a little nutty behavior while the designers blew off steam. Irina was at it again and running her mouth about, of all people, Carol Hannah. Nic said Irina was a good designer, but a bitch! Go Nic!

For judges this week we got Mr. Mackie, Nina returned and (surprise!) Ms. Aguilera herself. Maybe before the show is over Michael and Nina will be together again. After the runway, Heidi told Gordana she was lucky to have immunity as her dress was horrible and Gordana agreed. Xtina said she could totally see herself in C-H’s dress, Nina called it glamorous, Bob loved the play of textures and Heidi called it a wow dress. Heidi called Shirin’s dress a Halloween costume and the other judges hated it, too. Althea’s dress was nicely made and well liked by the judges. The judges called Christopher’s outfit “done” although Xtina gave him an E for effort. Nic’s silver dress was especially loved by Bob and Xtina and cited for how well an entertainer could move about in the garment. Bob did want a little something extra along with it. Logan’s edgy Punk look didn’t push it quite enough for the judges. Christina was really nice and gave great feedback for all the designers. And when Mr. Mackie talked about hiking a dress all the way to the crotch and putting on diamond panties, his experience and costume savvy was so obvious!

Xtina proclaimed Carol Hannah the winner and it was down to Shirin and Christopher in the bottom two. Unbelievably, Shirin was booted. You, dear reader, know I love Christopher, but because of the last few challenges and his out of touch performance this week, I think it was time for him to go.

Irina was a little bloated with wins this week, much to the others dismay,. She got to pick first and went with the dress with the most yardage of lace. Logan picked the dress with the longest train and poor Shirin was stuck with a column dress with no yardage of fabric to work with at all.

Tim told them all that it was only a one day challenge but it offered immunity for next week. Pretty heady stuff at this stage of the competition considering they are working with 100% man made fabric. The models then flooded in and shared their dress dreams with the designers. Shirin’s model was an entertainer and wanted a Cher Half-Breed type get up replete with feathers. Really? In 24 hours for $25? In that case, take my Dodge and make it a Lamborghini!

Gordana, as a divorced mom with 2 kids, seemed to grasp the concept of transformation better than anyone. She really got it. We saw her try to phone home and leave a weepy message for her family. The pressure seems to be really effecting the contestants at this point as they realize that it will only take one bad judgment or one lousy draw of the button bag to send them home. But Gordana is nothing if not a strong woman and she did prevail.

During his rounds, Tim had his usual great advice. It seemed like Logan and Epperson missed the mark and had “a lot of work to do”. When he got to Shirin she seemed to be the most stuck. In a rare moment of despair we saw this tiny little power house weep. I wanted to hug her! Tim was wonderful and told her to clear her area and take it back down to the elements and start with a fresh eye. That must have worked because Shirin cleared her head of what the model requested and approached this challenge from her point of view. She added some perfectly positioned and sewn lines of stitching that really brought out the best of not much of a dress. At least it allowed her to get to the next week!

Christophers model was an actress and in a creation that Michael Kors called “a metallic bag” she could have been up for the lead in “Divorcees From Mars Invade Earth”. I half expected her to walk down the runway doing the Robot.

Epperson and Logan put looks on the runway that the judges called “Oktoberfest “ and “pirate”. They were very wench-y looking outfits featured cinched waists and boobs aplenty that landed the boys in the bottom two. Irina’s look was truly transformative and the color of champagne lace she achieved was divine. The dress was classy and elegant all the way. Gordanas’ dress was as MK said, “edgy” and you could tell her model felt like she could take on the world. Carol Hannah also put out a gorg dress with a tiny little jacket and feathery bits of fabric in a soft grey.

Gordana won and has the last immunity of the competition and Epperson was out. He was probably the most gracious loser ever on PR and was a noble and even-tempered contestant. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the guy. Good luck, Epperson! Everyone was super excited for Gordanas’ win. At least it wasn’t Irina and maybe that was her payback for throwing Gordana so ruthlessly under the bus last week.

Looking ahead to next week we get Nina back, but I wonder of the judges will see her as a bossy step mom? We’ll see. We also get the wonderful Bob Mackie as part of the challenge, so maybe Shirin can bring her divorcee model back for a Cher-inspired costume!

So it started out as usual, with Nic hating someone and this week it was Shirin. What she had done to deserve his ire was not apparent. Not to worry though, because we later learned that his hate had turned to one thing and one thing only- ruffles. He hates them. HATES them. Can someone get me his address? I want to send him a big bag of ridged potato chips.

Next we all met Marine Reardon, Executive Vice President of the I.N.C. line of clothing at Macy’s and she

wanted two designs all done in blue that fit into the look of the line. The winner will get to design a holiday look for Macy’s. The bad news was that it’s a team challenge. Eyes were rolled and teams were picked. Sweet little Chris said that it would be an honor to work with Epperson. I think it’s because Epperson’s dreads were wrapped up in elongated hat and he looked like a whirling dervish. Meanwhile Irina got all noncommittal and let Gordana and Shirin decide which one wanted to work with her.  Gordana volunteered but I bet she thinks twice about that in the future!

There was a mad dash to Mood during which Louise misplaced her money and I wished the producers had sped up the footage and added the Benny Hill music. The work began and we learned just how much Chris and Epperson liked one another. They were very caught up in how wonderful their designs were and how well they worked together. Strings practically swelled in the background music and Chris was certain that they had this challenge in the bag. Oops. At another table Irina was having a difficult time communicating

to Gordana and just wanted to do all of the work herself. Poor Gordana tried but was really given little input about Irina’s vision.

The morning of day two found the designers in their usual state of panic and then on the runway. Michael was back this week to judge! Yeah! And Heidi’s oversized white chain print T-shirt looked like something she would wear to change diapers or take her 27 kids to the park, not something that a former supermodel would wear to host the world’s premiere fashion design show. I’m just saying…

To sum up the looks the judges used words like “overstated”, “bridesmaid” and “shower loofah”. I simply yawned. Christopher and Epperson ended up in the bottom four and, unable to handle his dashed illusions, Chris cried on the catwalk. Poor thing. Irina did a fine job of throwing Gordana under the bus by telling her all of the things she should have told her, as team captain, in the previous two days. I considered liking her less than I like Nic, but instead decided there might be a chance that Nic will hate

her next week as much as he hates ruffles, so I let it go. Gordana sucked it up and smiled. No one noticed that Irina’s dress contained no blue.

Nic had immunity, Irina won and Louise went home. They tried to tease us that both Louise and Christopher would be off, but silly them! How can Christopher win the whole thing if they kicked him off

this week!? Carol Hannah had the winning designs to my eye, even though she used leggings.

Ho hum or a humdinger next week? Sadly, I predict another bland show , however, we are going to spice things up on this blog with a few words from straight talking Shirin Askari. Check back next week for our interview!

The designers were then given a dossier containing info on their chosen (or leftover) genre, thirty minutes to sketch, $150 to spend at Mood and a deadline of midnight to finish their costume. O.K. Time for a Logan The Hottie alert. Carol Hannah said she was distracted sitting next to him and giggled like a school girl when she said “He is really hot!” I felt that she choose her genre because she thought that she might be teamed up with him at some point. I could be wrong. Just thinking. Logan said she is the only female there that he has a connection to amongst the designers. This is definitely not the hot showmance I was hoping for when we first met Logan. Dang, we know from “Models On The Runway” that they are all panting for him. Oh, well. I’m resigned to not seeing any love action on PR. It’s a pity.

And speaking of pity, Ra’Mon stated that he is a total Trekie and Sci-Fi fan, so his lizard lady alien jumpsuit should be great. It might have been, but we saw him dye some green fabric in the bathroom that he gushed over and then never it saw again! I wanted to see that fabric. As it was, he decided to ditch his design (smart move) and in the last two hours produce a new dress. That worked for him in the past with the paint smeared yellow neoprene, but unfortunately it didn’t work for him this week. My poor creative Ra’Mon landed in the bottom two with what Heidi called “a hot green mess”.

Nikolas was again the self-appointed judge of the design room and fretted that Louise had a dress, but no character or story to go with it. But she should know her character because her genre, Film Noir, is exactly what she designs naturally. Besides, he needed to worry about himself. Louise would never send a model down the runway wearing tacky lace thigh highs! And for someone the show billed as “the feather prince”, I have yet to see a feather out of the man. In his defense, a $150 budget is not conducive to feather buying. He meanwhile spun a story of three sister queens who ruled the universe and created a silver and white sparkly Ice Queen costume that the judges ate up completely.

Wonderful Christopher chose Period Piece and gave us a beautifully bustled vampire bride look. I found it to be the most intriguing of the designs and one that really incorporated a modern feel. In my opinion it should have been the winning look, but it at least landed him in the top three. Again a great showing for Christopher. He might just be headed for the top three to show at Bryant Park. Fingers crossed!

Epperson, in his quiet and strong way, took a potentially lemon genre and made design quenching lemonade. His story of a strong woman running a ranch while her husband is away matched perfectly with his tough yet feminine ruffled denim and leather outfit. That costume really could bring a character to life and the judges gave it high marks putting him, finally, in the top three.

At judging this week we got designer John Varvatos, Oscar nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips and, again, Zoe Glassner. Nina better hurry back because I really like Zoe. Her critiques seem colorful and helpful. She told Gordana that her sewing was good but her design forgettable by saying “I see your hands, but not your eyes”. Brilliant. Arianne was a delight as well. Not snarky or rude like Jen Rade, just supportive yet honest and gave some great feedback to the contestants.

Well, Nikolas won and Ra’Mon was sent home. Last week we saw Tim Gunn give his opinion of Johnny’s deceit after the elimination, and we got even more emotion from him this week. He touched and actually hugged, or, well, sort of hugged Ra’Mon from the side as he told him what a fabulous person and designer he was. Thank you, Tim! You hugged Ra’Mon when I couldn’t and wanted to desperately. I think we saw the wrong designer go home, but oh well. There’s always next week, when Mr. Kors returns and the designers work in pairs again. Hold on, because as the competition grows hotter and more intense, there are going to be tears shed!

Heidi then teased us that the challenge would be in black and white so off the designers headed with Tim to the LA Times and met Booth Moore, fashion editor. She explained they were to create a dress using newsprint as their material. They of course go crazy shoving a bunch of newspaper into garbage bags and lugged that back to the studio. “Rats”, I thought. “No showstoppers here.”

So back at the studio everyone bemoaned the lack of experience in working with paper. That’s why it’s a challenge, people! Put on your creativity hats and let’s go! Of course Ra’Mon was at home with his quirky style and was ready to go.

On Tim’s usual rounds we got a glimpse of Johnny’s sad little dress and of Nicolas’ disdain for Johnny. It was a cat fight  the whole show, but not a particularly good one. Wow.  Nicolas’ comments  toward his fellow designers is just slightly less mean than last weeks Jen Rade.   And it is not pretty!

After getting a bad review from Tim, Johnny wadded his dress into a ball, pitched it in the trash, and started over.  Yes folks,  this footage will haunt him forever.  There was no sinister spitting of an iron that ruined his dress, as he later told anyone who would listen.  He tossed it and then lied.  What was he thinking?

While talking to Tim, Christohpher said, “I wanted, like, a showstopper.” What? Did someone say show stopper?!   “Ah, Christopher.   You little ever-grinning cutie!”, I thought.   “Go ahead, give us a showstopper!”  And he did give us a beautiful long flowing (paper)evening gown.

My favorite of the evening was Irina’s trench coat.  The proportions were perfect and it was full of paper details like belt loops and large patch pockets with created stich lines.  A classic.

And speaking of judges, this week we had Tommy Hilfiger, Eva Longoria Parker and once again,  Zoe Glassner of Marie Claire magazine.  They were possibly the sweetest judges ever when Johnny was “auffed”, waving and well-wishing him, but I miss Micheal and Nina.  They should be back next week.

Close but no cigar on a showstopper, but I have faith!  Irina, Chris, Althea, Carol Hannah and Louis all have it in them, I believe, we just need that magic combo to happen!

The challenge this week was to confer with their own model on an outfit to be worn at an industry cocktail event. Some models knew exactly what they wanted, some weren’t really sure and others wanted everything in one dress. One thing for sure is that, in the end, the designers that did the best were the ones that stayed true to their aesthetic and guided their model in that direction. Shirin did an excellent job of steering her model out of a royal blue and gold satin jumpsuit. Unfortunately for Logan, he felt it more important to respond to his model Kojii’s needs and work in fabrics he was unfamiliar with and in a style that was not his norm. Too bad he didn’t interpret her love of lace and ‘50’s chic into something that had his stamp on it, because the black and blue number that two judges called a prom dress left him a bit bruised and in the bottom two.

And speaking of Logan, I have been pining for some juicy love connections where he is concerned, but so far no luck. From watching Models On The Runway, we know that model Fatima is totally gaga for the guy but he has no interest. This week outspoken guest judge Jennifer Rade flirtatiously told him how cute he was and that she loved his jeans and shoes. It seemed like more than a compliment and she joked it would help him at judging time. Meow!

The producers haven’t given Gordana much screen time.  Maybe her accent is thick, maybe her personality is low key, or maybe her dresses are (gasp!)  “wearable”.  I would like to see more of her though.

The best part of the show this week for me was when Eppserson made like E.T. and phoned home. He cried several times, told his wife and children how much he loved and missed them and had to regain his composure before he went back into the design studio. On camera he said he never wanted to be away from them again. Don’t you just love that!

On the runway this week we got some wonderful dresses. Carol Hannah made a purple and black dress the judges called sophisticated and cool. Epperson’s dress turned out tight and sexy and the overlapping stretch bands were technically incredible. Althea took the day with a great black suit and grey shirt. Both guest judges Jennifer Rade and Zoe Glassner of Marie Claire magazine wanted to wear it immediately. I also thought Nikolas put out a glamorous satin dress that should have been in the top.

So this week Qristal finally went home. She has her own line and has designed for celebrities including Queen Latifah and I wanted her to succeed to help advance high fashion for larger women. Early on though, it was evident that she lacked the taste level to go far on PR and the judges called her designs safe and boring. The competition is better now that she is gone. As Nikolas said, “We need to weed out the talentless people”. We have a talented group this season and they seem to want to help one another instead of stab one another in the back. I do have my eye on Nikolas, though. He may end up in a cat fight very soon!