Picking Designers

OK, here we go. Episode 8. This just keeps getting harder and harder and I am still sticking with my initial strategy which is basically not to humiliate myself on national television. So far, I haven’t been in the bottom and everyone else has so … yay for me! The Mini Challenge was a quiz which got me nervous because it has been 10 years since I took any kind of fashion history course and a considerable amount of time since I researched any of those designers. Not to mention the fact that I am a teacher and I couldn’t go back to my class having been knocked out in the first round. My students would crucify me and I really can’t have that. Lucky for me I hung in there and ended up beating out someone who just graduated from school. Age before beauty I guess ….

The whole process of picking the designer I wanted and assigning the others to the other designers was daunting and in the end only Reco had a problem with it. My strategy really consisted of this: I knew Daniella would be fine no matter who she got. She is going to the final no matter what. Haven wanted and got YSL because she has totally been a support system for me, and last week when she stood up and said all those nice things about me to the judges. I knew I would have to return the favor. Johnny wanted Versace and I gave it to him. He is really supportive of me too and right now, living in this bubble away from my family and friends, you got to give love to get love. Johnny has also been in the bottom so much I think he needed something he could thrive on. James-Paul ended up wanting Pucci which worked for me because I didn’t and he is just going to make boxes anyway. Merlin - his taste level is questionable so something simple but elegant might be a challenge. Both he and Reco have a tendency to add lots of crap to a garment to make it look “expensive” and it ends up looking gaudy. Halston could have worked really well for his glamour aesthetic if he had kept it simple.

I loved my piece and apparently the audience did too but as usual the judges didn’t. There was a very blurred line between how much “Chanel” it needed to be and how much “Anna,” and how I felt like if I had put as much of me in it as I did I wouldn’t have liked it as much. Regardless, the audience loved it and they are my customers. I also did not think it was cheap-looking comparatively. I was happy for Johnny. I love him and I really hope he does well here and in life.

And then it was down to Haven and Reco. I love Haven so obviously I am biased. She has great taste and style and for me that counts more than being able to sew. Reco is a very good person but he absolutely needs to realize that he does not know everything and he has a lot left to learn. I think that I have a lot to learn and that a person can learn and grow for the rest of their lives. Reco has a certain amount of naivete that is endearing but also irritating. He has big plans for fame and fortune but really needs to take smaller steps, focus less on fame and more on what he loves about what he does, and be much more critical of his own work. That Renaissance fair dress was one of the worst things I have seen yet since I have been here, yet he loved it. I think this experience may give him the humility that he needs. Regardless, I miss Haven already. Who is going to make me laugh now? Johnny has a lot to live up to I think. Two more eliminations!