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.

Although he is a nice guy, Ronnie is easily my least favorite designer. Deservingly, he gets no offers for his snooze-fest. Nikki likes color-blocking, but she believes Ronnie should design with more abandon. Ross also finds himself in the offer-free zone. Terron sees a dated design that Olivia Newton-John would wear in Grease. After three weeks of not even getting a proper introduction, Luciana finally gets $50,000 from Macy’s. Saks, however, ups the offer to $60,000. Terron and Luciana speak in Spanish to each other, though what they actually say is not important. Caprice Willard of Macy’s likes how Luciana is figuring herself out, but she won’t raise her offer.

What time is it, boys and girls? Why, it’s needless montage time, of course! Nikki Poulos has never created a high-end garment or used a fabric like lace before, so she is visibly shaken. Edmond is trying not to go too high-end with both pieces. Nzimiro is confident in both his high-end and low-end designs, even declaring himself a genius. Nzimiro’s confidence bites him hard as both he and Edmond lose the buyers. Nikki starts a bidding war between H&M and Saks for her colorful maxi dress, with H&M winning with a $70,000 bid.

And now, for the final group. Barbara Bates is a high-end designer, yet no store has bought her designs so far. Not even Saks Fifth Avenue. This challenge is her chance to do something more mainstream. She’ll create a pleated vest for her low-end look and a dress-vest (drest?) for her high-end look. The backlessness of the high-end is unexpected, she hopes. Barbara is confident in this design, but she remembers that she felt the same about her last look.

Lisa Vian Hunter will design a coat she loves for her high-end look and a sunshine yellow number for her low-end look. Sunshine yellow? Uh-oh number one. She is hoping Saks will buy the high-end look because that was the last store she shopped in with her mom before she died. Sappy backstory? Uh-oh number two? John thinks the yellow color is too Paddington Bear, but Lisa doesn’t see that problem. Uh-oh number three. Lisa’s gone, isn’t she?

Kara Laricks is doing a waistcoat with tails for her high-end look and a shorter jacket for her low-end look. She wonders if the tails are too over-the-top, even for her.

With Jessie J’s “Domino” blaring, the final show begins with Kara’s tuxedo jacket. The low-end look I don’t quite get, but I can dig the high-end piece. I would wear that, and I’m not even a woman. Barbara’s high-end halter dress has some strange pockets again, but the dress-vest melding is quite cool. The low-end look is even more awesome. Buyers, give this woman an offer now! Lisa’s high-end car coat is not that bad, but the low end is obviously a raincoat. You could easily pick one up for $15 at True Value. That’s about as low-end as you can get.

John thinks both of Lisa’s jackets are nice, but the high-end look doesn’t look high-end. Nicole thinks Lisa has accomplished a good look in both markets. Jessica may be price-point conscious, but she loves both of Barbara’s looks. The “drest” is sophisticated and the shorter style is hip. Elle loves Kara’s designs, and John believes she is on a roll. Both looks are home-runs to him.

Barbara is looking for her first offer ever, and she finally gets one from Macy’s for $50,000. Barbara feels like she can breathe as Caprice shares her impressed thoughts about Barbara’s evolution. Both dresses will be sold at Macy’s. Despite Nicole’s love of the coats, Lisa is fully rejected. Thank you for agreeing with me, buyers. Terron is surprised that Nicole and Jessica would both wear yellow. Both Macy’s and Saks offer $50,000, and both bump it up to $60,000. Before Kara can make a decision, Saks goes up to $70,000. Caprice mulls it over for a while, but eventually takes Macy’s out. Terron is so proud of the direction Kara has taken. Elle reminds Kara that she has sold $230,000 worth of clothes now. That’s quite the improvement from nearly getting cut over a complete jerk in the first episode.

Speaking of getting cut, six of the remaining eleven designers face elimination this week. My bottom three would be Edmond and his back-and-forth between baffling and dull, Lisa and her raincoat, and Ross and his “Gone with the Wind” looks. Since Ronnie is the only offer-less designer left, he should be cut if you ask me.

The buyers’ bottom three end up being Lisa, Ronnie (finally), and Edmond. Another montage designer in danger? He’s safe. Nicole says the mentors have to look at this as a competition, and a lot of the looks are just not right for this part of the competition. The mentors’ choice will save someone who will need pushing and pulling, but Nicole knows this person can bring it. That person is… Ronnie. Ugh and a half. Bye, Lisa.

Nikki wants to see more innovation from Lisa. Caprice is sorry to see Edmond in danger, but she’s not seeing Edmond evolve. Terron announces that the designer going home is… Lisa. That was easy to predict. It’s painful, but Lisa is at least proud to have been bought once. Lisa believes she can now take her designs outside of her one boutique.

Next week, the top ten work in teams. Oh, great. Either get out while you can, or I’ll see ya then!

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Tyler can be reached at tejayes@yahoo.com. What do you like? What do you hate? I mean, besides yellow raincoats.

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