Fashion Star, Episode 5

Catch Fashion Star Tuesdays at 9pm on NBC!

HOUSTON – So here's the thing about shows that focus on fashion design—they're about the clothes, right? Not about acrobats? Not about the importance of friendship? Not about the dangers of Botox and other kinds of plastic surgery? Huh. Well if that's the case, then Fashion Star has some serious self-reflecting to do.

You see, if this show is supposed to be about the viewers buying the designs just by watching the show, wouldn't it stand to reason that the designs themselves should get a bit more airtime? No, I don't really care that the designers had to work together to build window displays, especially since each display was featured for about… 13 nanoseconds. No, I don't care about the budding friendships the designers are forming with one another. No, I REALLY don't care what Jessica Simpson has to say to the designers in the work room. I do, however, care about what these clothes actually look like. Getting a 2.4 second glance at these designs as they barrel down the runway does not constitute a long enough look to warrant my spending real dollarz on them. Juss sayin, NBC.

Things that were good about this past episode of Fashion Star were, surprisingly enough, some of the actual designs! Nikki Poulos designed a fab vintage inspired maxi dress (I live for a plunging neckline) and, believe it or not, Ronnie Escalante put something down the runway I'd actually consider buying! Congrats. The fashion world rejoices. His exposed-back-little-black-dress would be perfect for a night out with the ladiez or to spice up date night, and I'm just as obsessed with an exposed back as I am with a plunging neckline. Huzzah all around!

It was an interesting bottom three this week. As the numbers dwindle, we're starting to see people in the bottom three that were once really strong contenders, i.e. Orly Shani. But ya know, we can't all be the Fashion Staaaaaah.

The bottom three this week included Orly, Barbara Bates and Edmond Newton.
So here's something I don't get: Barbara Bates. Is there something I'm missing? Everyone seems to think she's a talented designer, but I really just don't see it. Is it the awful fabric choices that inspire such confidence? Or maybe it's the matronliness/frumpiness of practically every single article of clothing she produces that makes the mentors/buyers swoon? Or perhaps it's her foundationless self-confidence and complete ignorance of what is trending that makes this woman such a prize. Even the two items the buyers purchased last week I thought were bizarre and, quite frankly, ugly. But the mentors must know something I don't, because they saved her from elimination.

Orly Shani, on the other hand, has demonstrated innovation, creativity and a great sense of style throughout the competition, with some of the biggest buys of the entire series under her belt. So the shorts she sent down this week weren't a revelation—whatevs. I didn't think she deserved to be in the bottom two. But in the end, all is well as the buyers saved her from elimination.

And alas, dearest Edmond Newton bid farewell to the Fashion Star runway this week for designing the world's most boring Oxford button down shirt. I mean. Who doesn't have that shirt? Men do. Women do. It wasn't a design so much as a replication. Sure, the black shirt with white pocket and shoulder detail was somewhat interesting, but I'm pretty sure I bought that exact shirt from JCPenny like 5 years ago. He was the clear choice for elimination this week, and hopefully Barbara Bates won't be long to follow.

Check back next week to see what was hot and what was distinctly not on Fashion Star!

Thanks for reading, and as always, thanks for watching KPRC Local 2!