The Cut, Episode 13: And the Winner Is...

It's the final episode of The Cut. Tommy starts the program refreshing our memories with flashbacks of the previous assignments, which mostly highlights the segments involving the final three designers. He tells us, "On day one, the designers were taught a lesson on First Impressions." Amazingly enough, the first three designers chosen to be team members are also the final three. (Wow, how did I miss that? Well, I'll be dipped!)

The first assignment was for each team to design a giant billboard in Times Square. Chris C., as Team Leader, receives the first Tommy lashing and warning, due to his team's failed concept.

In the second challenge, the contestants redesign two Lincoln Navigators for rap singer Fabolous. Chris redeems himself by taking care of business and focusing on the customer, while Princess receives her first verbal Tommy spanking. Fabolous had found Princess' personality to be a little too aggressive.

Now Princess' erotic "Juicy" poetry at a party in the Hamptons is featured, and once again, she is teetering on the edge of the Style Forum.

The next assignment has the designers making bold dress designs. Liz walks away with the winning dress, as Princess receives criticism for not seeing her vision through.

When half the designers are sent out West, and have to communicate design visions via the telephone, personality wires cross, creating a communication meltdown between Princess and Liz, which costs their team the assignment.

In the Rock and Roll challenge, teams have to makeover, and live with, two punk rock bands. Liz and Princess are forced to work together. Princess is upset that Liz picked her for the team last and shows it when Liz needs to rely on Princess' sewing skills in the desperate final moments.

Now, Tommy describes the remaining designers’ most monumental task yet. The designers have to paint two giant G3 airplanes. Princess opts to take an invitation to redeem her social skills. This time she wins praise for her efforts.

Three days later frustrations over Elizabeth boil to the surface and erupt in a full fledged confrontation between Liz and the other designers.

The designers finally get to work on their own during the Iconic Photo Shoot assignment. Liz wins the assignment with her American Flag design and photo. Princess also receives praise for her urban chic image.

The next challenge has the six remaining designers paired into teams. They have to drag mannequins throughout the five boroughs of New York City, while bartering and begging for clothes to redesign for judgment in the Style Forum. Princess and Chris are a team and get congratulated for their bold look, while Liz who is paired with Felix, gets scolded for her bad choices.

Finally, we see a brief flashback of last week's episode, with the final four having their most difficult assignment to date. The designers were to make clothing from old trash they found on a garbage barge. They have to make something beautiful out of nothing. Liz, once again, receives high praise for her classically designed dress. Chris, too, received kudos for his miniskirt and jacket. Once again, Princess disappoints Tommy with her pleated skirt and reversible jacket, but it's Felix that is deemed out of style.

Tonight, Liz, Princess and Chris will face their greatest assignment yet. At stake is a $250,000 job, and a chance to design a line under the Tommy Hilfiger umbrella. Tonight, the look of the future will be unveiled and a winner will be crowned!

At the SoHo loft, Liz shares that being part of the final three has, in a way, bonded them, but this is where real game begins. Chris sees Princess as his biggest competition. He thinks Mr. Hilfiger likes her a lot, and because of her design experience she has a bit of an advantage. His stomach is doing back flips right now! As normal, Princess is on fire! She can't believe Liz is still in the competition and she's pissed. "You can't sew, you can't pattern make, and you can't sketch. Go run a magazine!" Princess is "up to here" with it!

The three designers meet up with Tommy Hilfiger near the escalators of Macy's. He greets them, saying they have all impressed him during the competition, but unfortunately he can only choose one. He shares that today is going to start their most difficult assignment yet, as he welcomes them to Macy's, where he launched his menswear collection twenty years ago. He explains how he built his collection into a lifestyle brand, which also includes perfume, women's wear, home furnishings, and, literally, everything. “Macy's is where it all happens for a designer. It's where the customer connects with the product."

In this assignment, Tommy is going to give the designers an opportunity to put their product in front of thousands of customers. He is going to give each of them a window on 34th Street where they will introduce their brands to the world. Tommy shares that at least 7,000 people pass by these windows every hour. This is a tremendous opportunity. In these windows, the designers will unveil to the world, their own lifestyle brand. He tells them it can be clothing, handbags, bedding, whatever they want, but the collection has to be all tied together by a common theme or style. The style they present is what the winner will be bringing to his company. Tommy points to the escalator, as the rest of the original designer hopefuls glide down the stairs. Pointing to the group, Tommy explains, "These are the people who will be helping you on this assignment."