Victorya Falls

It was a truly bizarre week for the show. Nina Garcia continued her war on sleeves, Michael Kors was way tan, and Heidi Klum's fashion choices still elude me. The goal for this week was to design a new iconic look using only denim supplied by Levi's. And for some reason they had to go to a Port Authority warehouse in Brooklyn to get the denim. That part of the show was not necessary.

Amidst all the controversy though, I was happy to see Victorya sent packing. I never got a feel for her aesthetic... it seemed to drift between modern simplicity and homemade amateurishness, never quite finding the sweet center. She also won for outfits that I just simply didn't get. Her Bitten win was even more bizarre than her prom dress win. If you recall, the Bitten winner was a black/charcoal dress with a oddly small vest worn loosely over it. The dress was billowy and full of volume, but the vest I think was this plaid number that was tiny relative to the volume of the dress. It looked proportionally out of place and I think plaid vests on a woman make them look like waitresses at a country club. Her outfit this week was pretty weak, it showed few signs of innovation and the inside out denim skirt looked wrong with the "jacket" top. And for all the talk the judges produce about things looking young, this outfit looked like it was for a much older woman. This elimination was a welcome one for me also because Victorya didn't add much to the show. Yes, she was icy and sort of bitchy, but just not that interesting overall. But let's take a look at this week's episode in further detail...

Ricky won. HUH? What was that about? Even Tim Gunn admitted in his Tim's Take blog that his "stunning" comment was completely out of context. Ricky's denim dress, although fitted well, was not exceptional relative to the other outfits that came down the runway. It had this dated looking ruffle skirt that evoked images of adolescent mallrat wear, or even worse, Kara Janx's Barbie outfit from Season 2 (minus the stripes). Ricky should have been eliminated a few times now (especially after the prom dress episode). His hats are ridiculous and as much as I am touched by his relationship with his mother, enough with the tears already! Back to this week... it just wasn't the best one out there and it should not have won. I guess they felt the need to to validate his inexplicably long run on the show with a win? I don't know. BTW, on the runway, standing next to his model (or anyone for that matter) Ricky looks pretty tiny... he's got a little of that Chloe/Grace dynamic going on. It's cute, but funny.

I thought Chris' dress was the cutest. It was nowhere near a costume and it didn't look dated to me. It looked finished and well executed. I love this guy, so I am biased, but I have no idea where the judges' criticism came from. I personally believe that they don't want him at Fashion Week based upon how he looks. I still think he should have won Week 1, with that grape number, and he was a very close second during Hershey's week. But what really won me over on him is learning all those costume pictures they show of his work were really HIM in drag. Totally ferosh, as Christian would say. Like Tim said in his blog, Chris (and Rami) both had more going on with their tube dresses than Ricki.

Something about the proportion of Rami's dress didn't work for me. The zippers were kind of neat, except for the fact that Jeffrey executed the idea better in his closing runway number from last season (although the green and white stripe fabric was way patio umbrella to me). I was hoping as they showed the progression of Rami's design during the show that maybe it was going to evolve into this denim pea coat sort of thing, based on how his buttons were located. Because to me that's more inline with the goal of making something iconic... a modern denim pea coat that fit well would be much more interesting that what he ended up with. And that collar? No thanks.

Sweet Pea's design was very unique. I am glad she chopped it down to a smaller length, it was more fun and youthful. And it made me kind of wonder why denim designers don't do this kind of patchwork thing more? Does it really always have to be one finish for the entire piece? But the downfall of Sweet Pea's design was the bust line. It looked wrong, sort of flat and ill-fitting, almost like someone roughly cut out some pot holders and stuck them on there. The rest of it was kind of chic though. She surprises me, I keep thinking she cannot possibly be a modern designer, but she certainly has shown me wrong. Her ready-to-wear number last week is a great example of that, she chose modern colors and fabric and came up with a sort of futuristic but not ridiculous garment. She is my sleeper to make it to the finals.

Jillian really blew it this week. I guess she was pretty flustered by Victorya's blatant copy attempt? Jillian's time management skills are now starting to become an issue as well. When you start whittling down to a handful left, any weakness is intensified because it's more invisible to the other designers, Tim, the judges, and the audience. I kind of liked how she was putting the red tabs on the shoulder early on in the episode, but they really didn't look right on the final garment. Jillian was very lucky this week, the master craftsmanship of her avant-garde jacket from last week carried her through. Although I am glad to see Victorya go, Jillian's (in hindsight) was the worst of the week. The whole look together just wasn't cohesive and flattering. I wish she would get a new model as well, I think her current one just isn't up to the task.

Christian's jeans I thought were very innovative and made denim look sleek and sexy. But honestly, who the hell could fit in them? I know high fashion is more about art than practicality, so in that sense he was great. But his top was weird and chopped up. Deconstruction, to me, is only cool when it has a point. This didn't seem to have a point. It almost looked like a pastiche of ideas he had and just couldn't decide where to go. The outfit, on the whole, fell in line with his previous designs. I hope he has another trick up his sleeve or Fashion Week may be a tough sell.

Prediction for Final 4: Jillian, Rami, Christian, Chris
Next eliminated: Ricky (no immunity this time)