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L'Oreal Makeover

This challenge is about creating a head-to-toe makeover on each of our five remaining designers. They will reinvent each other's look in two days and with $200. The outcome of this challenge will determine the Final Four, which in turn will be reduced to the Final Three. Daniel has immunity from the last challenge (season two's first and only immunity), so he moves forward whether his design is good, bad, or indifferent. So the real competition is among Chloe, Kara, Nick, and Santino.

Heidi determines who is designing for whom by drawing the designers name from our velvet bag. And our five designers will be the models, too. Here goes:

Chloe designs for Nick.
Daniel Designs for Chloe.
Kara designs for Santino.
Nick designs for Daniel.
Santino designs for Kara.

With celebrity stylist Freddie Leiba as guest judge, this was going to be a no bull#&* runway judging. Surprisingly, the menswear designs were the strongest work in this challenge. I say 'surprisingly,' because menswear involves tailoring and tailoring requires time. But I should also add that menswear was among the weakest work, too. Let's see:

CHLOE
Chloe WINS! She had never attempted menswear, so her win was especially meaningful. Her design for Nick was perfectly on the mark: impeccably tailored, expensive-looking, and with an edge. Her use of pink satin for the back of the vest lent a playfulness that balanced the seriousness of her craft. Add to this the challenge of a pinstriped fabric all those stripes to align and this was a sure contender for the win. Go Chloe!

NICK
Nick is OUT. Oh, I felt sick about this. Where to begin? I guess with the fabric, which was an unlikely choice: a single-ply, pale grey cashmere with a mauve tint that said, "feminine." I held it at MOOD, looked at Nick and asked while wincing, Sharkskin? Really? I understood his concept for Daniel 80s, tight-fitting, European, David Bowie, rocker but it needed to look modern and 2006, not like Saturday Night Fever. As Nick's design developed, I queried him about the soft shoulders of the jacket and the baby-hem lapel, plus the pants without pockets, and declared that it looked like a suit for -- a woman. Nick was steadfast and remained confident, "I've done menswear and I'm good at it. You'll see," Okay. But the most problematic issue was the sewing, an area that has never concerned me with Nick. The seams were puckering almost everywhere. Worse yet, the problem was accentuated by the fabric's sheen. There was nothing to be done. Even I was stymied by how he could make this work. Oh, dear Uncle Nick, we shall miss you!

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