Hello, PR fans! I am beat tonight, and still have to do a bunch of reading, so I'm going to try to keep things short and sweet. (Ha. Like I could stop running my mouth--er, fingers.) Here's a little blogging party game you can play at home: Gordon is currently sitting in the living room with me. How many minutes do you think he'll make it before he gives up on watching the show and runs away?
We start in the hotel, and Austin bitchily says that Kara deserved to stay more than Jerell or Mila (but not to their faces, of course). Nothing much comes of it, and soon the contestants are off to their next destination: the U.N.! We see the classic view of the black slab building ringed by the world flags, and then cut to what I think is the U.N. Peace Garden. Angela greets them, standing by a table of six flags chosen from each of the six major world regions: Chile, Greece, India, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, and the Seychelles. Each designer must make a dress inspired by the colors of the flag, and the culture of the country.
Mondo chooses Jamaica; Michael chooses Greece and shouts "Opa!"; Mila picks Papua New Guinea because of the colors; Jerell picks India for its embellished ethnic flair; Austin picks the Seychelles and makes a dumb lispy joke I won't transcribe; and Kenley is left with Chile, but says she's happy with it. Looks like the designers also get a binder with some information about their chosen country as well.
Hello, PR fans! Don't know about you, but I'm still stinging from last week's results, and the generally disappointing judging over the last few episodes. Tonight's challenge is to create an outfit for the revival of Godspell. Now, I have a soft spot in my heart for this musical--along with Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar, it pretty much comprised my religious education. But that said, is there anyone who hears "Godspell" and thinks "glamour"? I mostly just picture mimes.
We open on Columbus Circle's Flatotel, where Austin is doing Kenley's hair, and all the contestants are reeling from Rami's dismissal. Then off they dash to Times Square (ish--Circle in the Square Theatre on 50th) to get their challenge. I think I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee here. Angela is waiting for them, and introduces their guest judge, the composer of Godspell (among many others), Stephen Schwartz. Now, that is definitely high-powered in the theatrical realm, but for fashion? I remain skeptical. But the contestants seem delighted, especially when they learn that the winner will have their look featured in the show, and they'll get a bio in the program. I wish to stop here and point out that Kenley's hair is apparently still up in rollers, because her head looks enormous and she's wrapped it in a giant scarf. Not the done thing, Kenley!
Ah, and here is the "glitz"--the actress they're designing for is playing a wealthy, ostentatious woman who has stolen her riches from others. (I'm scrambling to think of which song this goes with...maybe "All For the Best"?) Then I get confused because the director starts explaining that the whole cast should look as though they've assembled their own costumes from their own closets, or thrifting, or whatever. So...she's supposed to look like she's made her own costume of Rich Woman? Incidentally, the stills from the show indicate that a copious amount of confetti is involved in the production. Ah--the challenge is also that Rich Woman will have her costume assembled onstage by the other actors...so the designers must do separates, and they have $200 and one day.
Hello, lovelies! Just spent a lovely evening drinking wine with my best girls, and now am BUI for sure (blogging under the influence!). Probably the best way to deal with TV recaps, actually. Well, at least we can be reasonably confident that no one will fall off the stage tonight, barring any model mishaps!
This week's challenge begins with Angela onstage, looking like she's gone on a mad shopping spree. She's festooned with eight tote bags, and each designer must choose one. Of course they all vie for the most fashionable version--there's an orange leather bag, a green-and-white striped one, and one that's all faux fur--but in the end, it doesn't matter. Inside the bags are luggage tags with a season written on them, and the designers are to design a look for someone planning a weekend getaway in the season they've been assigned. Angela does the math for us--4 seasons, 8 designers--to explain that the two people on each season will be facing off against one another.
The designers are exposed to daylight, which doesn’t seem to
agree with all of them. Austin, naturally, is sporting a straw boater. I’m
amazed he’s not clad in a white flannel suit to go with it. Must have left his punting pole by the
Thames. Anyway, they’ve been trotted out to Central Park for some fresh air and
panhandling—though in this case, they don’t need money, they need a muse,
chosen from among the various people in the park. And of course, that’s not enough—they have to convince their
muse to give the designers their clothing! I don’t really like this
challenge—it stretches the designers’ skills, but I always become preoccupied
with how sad I’d be if one of my favorite outfits was chopped up into something
I didn’t like.
Anthony tells us in a talking head that although he’s often
dinged for his big personality, that will be the quality that puts him ahead in
this challenge. He’s right—I would
die if I had to approach strangers and convince them to give me their
outfits. “Excuse me, ma’am, would
you mind…oh, never mind, I’m sure you don’t want to. Sorry to bother you.” And
then I would auf myself and save
Heidi the time. (Sorry, Angela, you don’t have a good catchphrase, so I’m
casting Heidi in this scenario.)
Ha! Angela throws them a bone by saying that the budget is
$150, and the designers are allowed to use any portion of that to convince
their muse to cough up the threads. Of course, then they’ll have that much less
for Mood, so there’s some calculation at work. Rami observes that they’ll have a difficult time in New
York, because “we know that New Yorkers don’t take that shit very well.” Heh.
Mondo chooses Jamaica; Michael chooses Greece and shouts "Opa!"; Mila picks Papua New Guinea because of the colors; Jerell picks India for its embellished ethnic flair; Austin picks the Seychelles and makes a dumb lispy joke I won't transcribe; and Kenley is left with Chile, but says she's happy with it. Looks like the designers also get a binder with some information about their chosen country as well.
