HOUSTON – On this week's second to last episode of the first season of Fashion Star, the pool of designers was cut in half, with three advancing to the finale next week, and three going home. Every one of the six remaining designers was up for elimination, regardless of whether or not their clothes were bought this episode.
This week was Buyer's Choice, and each contestant got to meet with the three buyers to find out what exactly had been missing from their collections thus far, and what they could do to make themselves more appealing as overall, well-rounded designers.
The night started off with a showcase from Nzimiro Oputa and Kara Laricks. In his talk with the buyers, Nzimiro was tasked with creating a safari jacket—a pretty specific request from Terron at Saks. But it is Buyer's Choice after all, so a safari jacket it was, as well as a pair of casual trousers. I actually really dug the safari jacket—I thought he modernized it and really played into his "stylish world traveler" brand very well. The trousers were, well, trousers. Nothing super special but good looking nonetheless.
Unfortunately for Nzimimi, none of the buyers bid on either of his looks.
Kara Laricks' directive from H&M's Nicole Christie was fairly simple: sex it up. So, with that in mind, Kara created a "sexy" little dress for H&M and a trench coat more on the level with Macy's and Saks. Now if this is Kara's intepreration of sexy, all I have to say is: oy. Essentially, this dress was a bag with a bow in the front and a short hemline. Not exactly my idea of flattering. Her trench coat, however, was FABULOUS. Beautifully constructed, great color choices, and perfect for any woman, any where.
The "sexy" dress went to H&M for $50,000 and the trench coat to Macy's for $60,000.
Next up were Orly Shani and Luciana Scarabello. The buyers wanted to see something more structured from Orly. I think it's really unfortunate that she was forced to leave the convertible, reversible, innovative ideas behind. I really liked those designs and thought they set her apart as a designer and as a brand. Orly created a structured, color-blocked dress as well as a blazer and wide leg trouser. The dress was phenomenal, something everyone woman needs in her closet—incredbily flattering and sophisticated. And her blazer and trouser combo was FIERCE with a capital FIERCE. The blazer had this awesome back lace detail and the way she styled her models was just… fierce. That's really all I can say about it. What? I always go topless under my blazers. Don't you?
Saks picked up Orly's dress for $60,000 and H&M took home the blazer and trousers for $100,000.
Caprice Willard from Macy's wanted to see what Luciana's woman looks like when she goes to work. I actually really appreciated that challenge since I'm always on the hunt for something I can wear both to work and to play. Luciana played it incredibly safe by sending down pretty much the same cropped jacket she'd put forth a few weeks earlier with a pair of shorts. The shorts were utterly and completely heinous. Like really bad. And the cropped jacket wasn't much better. The jacket was a bit too cropped and the pattern was unfortunate. I did, however, like Luciana's high waisted skirt.
No one made a bid on any of Luciana's designs.
Wrapping up the night were Nikki Poulos and Ronnie Escalante. Nikki was given the challenge of creating something structured and tailored, and for someone who does swimwear, those are two things that do not come naturally. Therefore, it was no surprise that the trousers and blouse she designed were a mess. The pants were too short and weird in the front and the blouse was nothing special. Nikki also sent down an asymmetrical dress that I personally hated but apparently the buyers loved.
The dress went to Saks for $50,000.
Since Ronnie has designed pretty much nothing but eveningwear this entire competition, all of the buyers had the same suggestion: design a daytime look. And so it was done. Ronnie did a women's suit in ivory and the weirdest print I've ever seen on a suit. That said, the ivory suit was beautiful, and incorporated his signature double lapel. The menswear inspired dress was cute and fairly universal, and the buyers went CRAZY for it. I personally thought it was pretty uninspiring, but hey, to each her own.
The ivory suit went to Macy's for $50,000 and the dress went back and forth between H&M and Saks until finally, H&M won out at $110,000, the highest bid of the night.
In a very quick and dirty elimination, the buyers chose Kara Laricks, Ronnie Escalante, and Nzimiro Oputa for their final three, sending home Nikki Poulos, Luciana Scarabello and Orly Shani. I would have liked to see Orly in the final three but, alas! That's fashion for ya.
Check back next week to see who will be crowned the first ever Fashion Star!
Thanks for reading, and as always, thanks for watching KPRC Local 2!