Fashion Star, Episode 4: Here Comes the Raincoat Again

Welcome back, fashion fans! Previously on The Inexplicable Elimination Escaping of Ronnie Escalante, Ronnie Escalante designed yet another trio of clunkers, and yet he wasn’t even considered for elimination. Oh, and lovable Lizzie got the final cut over little-known Luciana. Yeah, I don’t know who Luciana is, either.

In ratings news, the third episode of Fashion Star dropped about one million viewers from the previous week. That’s about a 20-percent drop. Ouch. On a more positive note, the successful looks continue to sell like hotcakes, with many designs selling out. That mission seems to be accomplished so far.

This week, the designers have been dared to create two pieces: one high-end look and one low-end look with broad appeal. Both looks need a common thread. The stores can buy one or both (or neither).

John Varvatos talks with Sarah Parrott about what high-end fashion entails, and the sketch of Sarah’s red dress does not show that. Sarah starts over with no idea what to do. Orly Shani does not think of herself as high-end. She wants to do a pair of pants, but she’s not comfortable with the direction she’s going so far. Jessica Simpson thinks the low-end design looks more high-end than the over-the-top high-end design. Orly simply swaps the styles, going with a high waistband for her high-end piece and drawstring pants for the low-end.

After asking Orly for advice on her designs, Sarah creates a plunging V-neck for her high-end look and a toned-down piece for her low-end. Once again, she might not finish on time. Orly says Sarah always breaks down as part of her process, but it gets her bought. Sarah does indeed finish, so it’s time for the runway show.

To Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film,” this show starts with Orly’s trouser pants. I like both, even though they do not look like part of the same line. Sarah’s structured dress is next. I prefer the fuller red low-end look, but the white high-end piece with cutouts has its charms.

Jessica has been in trouble with high waistbands before, but she likes Orly’s take on it. The white pants are not her favorite, though. Nicole Richie loves Sarah’s white dress, thinking it would look great on someone like herself. John, however, believes the high-end dress looks inexpensive. He wants Sarah to raise her game. Jessica loves the red design, though.

Orly, unfortunately, loses all of the buyers. Terron Schaffer of Saks Fifth Avenue sees two different pairs of pants from two different designers. He says he would have had Orly use drawstrings in both designs. Sarah, once again, loses Macy’s and Saks. H&M, continuing Nikki Christie’s love affair with Sarah’s “commercial” designs, buys both designs for $60,000. Sarah is glad that H&M continues to buy her clothes, but she doesn’t know what the other two don’t see in her.

Ross Bennett is confident in his dresses, one of which will involve chevron pleating and lots of tulle underneath. Nicole knows Ross has an over-the-top aesthetic, but she is worried that this is too Scarlett O’Hara. Ross admits to being stubborn, and he won’t change a thing. Nzimiro Oputa wants Ross to shut up as he fawns over his dresses.

Luciana Scarabello (who?) is struggling with her gown – or rather, her patternmaker. The fabric ends up being too short for Luciana’s liking, but the patternmaker reminds Luciana not to get too snippy with him since she needs him. The two continue to fight, with Luciana claiming that the patternmaker is making all of her models fat. Luciana leaves in the middle of the spat. Ronnie Escalante puts some teal detail in his looks. He’s hoping to get a bid for the first time. Then design something more interesting, Ronnie! Luciana swears quite a bit before the runway show. Perhaps that potty mouth is why we haven’t seen much of Luciana yet.

To Rihanna’s ”S&M,” this show starts with Ronnie’s evening dress. The high-end dress is bland, and the low-end dress looks too much like a Chloe Dao design. Luciana’s high-waist dresses are quite lovely. Despite the complaints to her patternmaker, the beadwork is absolutely gorgeous. Considering this is the first time we’re actually getting a good look at Luciana’s designs, I’ll say this is a decent first impression. As for Ross’s strapless dresses, all I have to say is that those are beautiful tablecloths his models are wearing.

John doesn’t see high-end in the fabric Luciana is using, but he likes the chic low-end dress. Nicole believes a lot of the designers are so clear with who they are in their designs. She doesn’t feel that with Luciana. Elle Macpherson could tell which looks were Ross’s backstage, as could Nicole. She still sees too much Scarlett in the both dresses, but she knows this stands for who Ross is. Jessica may not be Katy Perry, but she would wear the black-and-white look to a garden party. John admits to being a fan of Ronnie at first, but he is completely disappointed now. Jessica loves the brooch and slit on the high-end dress, and the different color down the center of the low-end dress is slimming. She asks us if she’s crazy. Don’t make me answer that.