The Fashion Show Ultimate Collection Episode 1

Iman

Well dear hearts, now that Project Runway is over, we didn't know how on earth we were going to spend our free time. I mean, where on earth would we be able to find another show where self-proclaimed fashion designers attempted to tear each others' eyes out while established people in the industry made everyone feel like no-talent hacks week after week? Fortunately for us, Bravo has filled the void with their newest Project Runway replacement "The Fashion Show Ultimate Collection". Although this show is technically in its second season (I think I was one of the 5 people who watched the first season), it seems to have been completely retooled. Not only has Kelly Rowland been replaced by Iman (great move), but the new season feels much, much closer  to emulating the magic of Heidi, Tim, Michael and Nina than any other fashion survivor show we've seen (this doesn't mean it's anywhere near as good as PR--it just means it follows the show's format most faithfully).

1. Let's meet the players, shall we?

Iman is playing the role of Heidi Klum. She seemed a bit stiff in this inaugural episode, but we think this gal's got some serious promise. Although we're slightly afraid of the statuesque beauty after this episode (which is strange because we always kind of thought of her as a soft spoken, kind woman), she is certainly not boring. No cutesy Heidi "hellos" from this Somalian model, but we trust her fashion sense as Iman truly is a fashion icon.


Isaac Mizrahi is playing the role of Tim Gunn. We don't think Isaac is as successful as Iman in mimicking his PR counterpart. He just always seems so bitchy. But, bless his heart, we really think he's trying to be a mentor to these folks and we noticed he gives them a LOT more advice than Tim Gunn ever has. And if these designers know what's good for them, they will listen, as Mr. M is also judging them.

Laura Brown, is  the Features/ Special Projects Director at Harper's Bazaar. Hmm. Not quite so impressive as Nina Garcia, but she seems to have a lot to say during the judging sessions.

Isaac Mizrahi

Tonight's guest judge was  fashion designer Rachel Roy. She was a very, very good judge, with lots of very specific critiques. Well done.

2. The premise. The Fashion Show is only different from Project Runway in a couple of ways. First, the designers do not get to show at NY Fashion Week (which let's face it, always seemed to be the biggest reason people went on PR), but they do get a nice wad of cash at the end of it all.

Second, the designers are not competing entirely as individuals. Indeed, right after Iman tells the 12 designers that their first challenge will be to design a look inspired by her awesomeness, which, of course, all of the designers are thrilled by,  she then immediately bursts all of their bubbles by explaining that these looks must be designed as a collection  as they will be competing as two teams--the blue team and the green team.

Cut to the workroom, where the designers must come up with a name and a game plan.

The Blue Team decides to name themselves Team Nami (Iman backwards). The Green Team decides to name themselves the Emerald Syx. Even if we had never seen the episode or seen the clothes, we would have been rooting for Team Nami, based on names alone. Emerald Syx? Really? But we digress. Onto the contestants.

3. The workroom.

Laura Brown

The Emerald Syx team quickly runs into problems. Calvin is an evil bitch. Seriously. We believe his brand of evil. He is no Ivy. He means it and we're pretty sure the guy has never had a friend in his life. And like most over the top villains, he does not produce a very good design, but we will get to that a bit later. Needless to say, we pity the rest of his team. Interestingly, Calvin ends up helping his teammate Francine finish her dress, which has a big ruffled, flower on the front (although he lets her know he's only helping her because it helps him and it doesn't stop the two of them from screaming and cursing each other out before the runway show).

Although Emerald Syx has a hard time coming up with a game plan, mainly due to Calvin, they are able to decide on a color palette, which consists of bright yellow, purple, hot pink,  and navy and a yellow and purple print. They say they are inspired by Iman's beautiful skin and believe the bright colors will look fab on her. OK, we guess. Isaac's consultation with the team is interesting as he is clearly floored by Calvin's refusal to play well with others. He also explains that their designs are all over the place and they can't win without a cohesive collection.

The members of Team Nami, unlike their competitors, get along with each other much better. They decide to go with a safari-inspired collection in white. OK, we guess. Cesar, on Team Nami, is clearly the hero and seems to be the leader of the team. At 44, he's older than most of the other designers, and lost his partner to colon cancer. Very sad. But Cesar is taking this show as an opportunity to reintroduce himself into the fashion world after such a devastating loss. Cesar quickly distinguishes himself by finishing his garment super early and then helping all of his teammates finish theirs. We also think Eduardo is a front runner as his designs are complicated and beautifully made. Isaac's consultation with this team is productive as he tells each designer which elements he thinks do and do not work in their sketches.

4. The Runway. Another interesting aspect of this show is that the designers get to create their runway shows with lights, music, etc.

Emerald Syx. Emerald's show begins with each model on stage covered with a sheet. Each model is then "revealed" when the sheet is removed and they walk down the runway one by one. Of the six looks, we like Cindy's purple jumpsuit the best and Calvin's yellow dress with crystal trim and white flower bustle detail the least.The judges mostly agree with us. They praise Cindy for the effortless front of her draped purple jumpsuit, but hate the back, which includes a series of twisted yellow fabric strips that could not look more tortured. They hate Calvin's yellow dress because of the crystals and flowers and call it cheap. Iman even calls it a fashion emergency. It's pretty bad. Calvin tries to explain that you can hook things in different places to create several looks. The judges tell him that his fashion should speak for itself and Calvin basically says "not if you want to sell it." The judges are somewhat amazed by this guy's attitude problem, but we guarantee it will keep him on the show for at least a few episodes. As such, poor Francine is cut as her black dress, with giant poofy ruffled flower is cut. We don't love her look, but it's not the worst thing out there. Francine is "out of fashion."

Team Nami. Team Nami's is almost entirely white. We love Eduardo's short, poofy dress. We also also like Cesar's one-shouldered black and white gown and David's knee length white cowl neck dress. Overall, we like their collection the most as do the judges. And Iman chooses Cesar as the winner as the look captures her elegant side. Well done, Cesar!

Overall, we like the show and we intend to keep on watching it (for the time being anyway). So, until next time, ciao.

The Fashion Show Ultimate Collection is on Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Bravo.