Suffocate with Love

Bravo: We have to say, this challenge was tricky. You had to individually draw from the past, modernize it, stay cohesive with your house, and then incorporate plaid. Where you impressed with what the designers turned out considering the parameters?

Iman: Beyond! Fashion challenges are challenging at the best of the times but this was difficult. The trick was not to make it costume-y and of course stay cohesive. It’s like story telling or vignettes.... but here you had to tell the story visually.

Bravo: If you had to pull a time capsule from any time to dress from, what year would you choose?

Iman: J'adore the '40s.....I loved the hour glass womanly designs, because they were sexy without revealing too much, the length was divine, and the cinched waists! So me!

Bravo: Plaid obviously conjures up a lot of visual imagery – uniforms, lawn chairs, grunge – how do you think the designers did adding sophistication to lambaste those stereotypes?

Iman: Amazing.... but don't forget plaid is also classic ... think Vivienne Westwood, Burberry etc...Both houses choices of the plaid colors were the most elegant choice. Some designers used it well, others not so good and the results looked rather shabby chic.

Bravo: Finally, The House of Emerald managed a win, what really put them over the edge against the House of Nami?

Iman: Like a phoenix they have risen from the ashes! Good for them to finally nailing it! It was the most cohesive, and they took the inspirations form the time capsule and embedded in their looks without looking contrived. It was chic and modern.

Bravo: Jeffrey pulls out the win this week, thanks to his voluminous 1989 dress. Why did you guys think it warranted the win?

Iman: It was on point with the era without being costume-y, and they also modernized it. It is the way I would have dressed the ladies from Dynasty, and Isaac was truly inspired ... how can you go wrong with that combo?

Bravo: Cesar managed to not only handle the tenuous challenge of working on a 2001 themed outfit, but he churned out an additional hand-painted dress. What did you think of his work this week?

Iman: Hail Cesar! He is back in full force and stamina. I loved the hand painted fabric and only Cesar would have the audacity to create 2 dresses AND create a fabric. It was ambitious but genius. Now, all he has to do is not get mediocre on us.

Bravo: Over at the House of Nami, the final two were Ro, for his safe and boxy 1969 look, and then David’s Michael Jackson/grandmother jumpsuit. What put them on the bottom, and what sent Ro home over David?

Iman: Ro seemed to be coasting for a while and hit a wall. His creation was awfully constructed and so bourgeois. Que'l disastre! It showed that he is not there yet in terms of the actual work of designing clothes, and he had no Cesar to save him.

David's on the other hand was "weird" and we didn't see any Michael Jackson reference, and no grandma I know would be caught dead in that jumpsuit! (Not that I know that many grandmas!) His design didn't have that elusive quality of chicness, which seems to elude him. What saved him over Ro is that his was more cohesive with his house.... he barely made the cut so let's see how he fares from now on.

Bravo: The contestants this year are very vocal, with Cesar self-sacrificing, and Calvin attempting to jump in for Calvin, and now Dominique defending David. What do you think of all the emotion?

Iman: Emotions are good as they are humanizing but I want to see more elevated designs and less emoting! Enough with the onslaught of emotions...after all this is The Fashion Show and not method acting! Having said that it was sweet to see the flirtatious moment between David and Dominique and how she jumped to his defense. But is that enough to help David step up his game? Is she going to go hands on and help him with his design in the next episodes like Cesar did for Ro? Will she be mother hen or suffocate him with love?