[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

On this week’s episode of The Fashion Show, the designers were put to the test to find out if they really knew enough about seven iconic designers. In the Mini Challenge, they were quizzed on styles created by the designers until Anna was the only one left, so she was declared the winner.

[Bravo Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

She got a huge advantage because of the win. In the Elimination Challenge she got to assign the designers that each of the competitors would pay homage to in the designs for the runway. She was strategic and gave her friends the most suitable designers for their own styles and gave Reco and Merlin got the designers they weren’t even familiar with.

Merlin asked some of the others about his designer and did very well overall. But Reco, as expected, didn’t even listen to anyone else when they told him that his designer, Halston was all about being very unstructured and drapey. He made a corseted dress that the judges told him looked like it was straight from a Renaissance fair. LOL!

<p.Johnny won the challenge with an outfit that everyone simply loved. That’s good. He could use some success to give him confidence.

Haven had YSL, but she failed to put together a good design. She chose the wrong fabrics and made an outfit that looked sloppy.

It was a tough decision for the judges, but they decided to eliminate Haven. So Reco lives to design another day.

I have come to enjoy watching Reco more as the season goes on. What a character! I’m glad he made it to another week. What do you think of this week’s episode?

[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

On tonight’s episode of The Fashion Show, the designers will take on the challenge that many women face from time to time. How to disguise the “Walk of Shame.” You’ve heard of the Walk of Shame…it’s when a girl goes out partying the night before and doesn’t get home until the next day. I’m sure that none of my readers have faced this, but be honest, we all know people who have, right?

In their Mini Challenge this week, the designers will have to take 4 women and transform their look from the night before into something they can actually wear to the office. YIKES!

And the Elimination Challenge is no less difficult this week. They’ll be designing looks to fit into the runway show of their new boss…Isaac Mizrahi! Can they pull it off without killing each other?

[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Bravo Photo: ©2009 NBC Universal, Inc]

This week on The Fashion Show, the designers were told the Mini Challenge was going to require them to work on outfits to help a young woman with her campaign. They expected Sarah Palin or some such political person. But it turned out to be a girl named Guilianna and she was running for Student Body President. LOL! I love how this show has a sense of humor.

She told them that she needed to appeal to as many students as possible. So they were asked to design campaign t-shirts to win over the nine different cliques at her school. And they only had an hour to do it.

The assignments were hilarious! Johnny had to design for the jocks…Merlin ended up wearing the crown of the mean girls and Angel didn’t have a clue what a B-girl was.

Daniella won the challenge. She was given immunity for the week. The designers were then told that the week’s Elimination Challenge was to design a look for a twenty-something woman who had been in their assigned cliques from the Mini Challenge. That’s a tough challenge!
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[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Bravo Photo: ©2009 NBC Universal, Inc]

On this week’s episode of The Fashion Show, the Harper’s Bazaar Mini challenge was to create a new and interesting style of shoe. They got to start with basic shoes, then add embellishments to make their own signature style.

If you’ve been watching, you know that Reco has become the Diva Extraordinaire. He thinks he is far above all the others in talent and creativity, and doesn’t mind letting them all know. Truthfully, he is amazingly talented and I love his work, but he’s not making any friends among the designers…

Reco’s team won, and Johnny had the best design. A version of his shoe design will be available for purchase on Bravo’s web site.

Next, the designers were sent to Bergdorf Goodman. They were given only 5 minutes to choose the perfect pair of shoes around which they would design an entire look. Angel was the only person who didn’t get a pair chosen in time, so they assigned her a yucky red, white & blue pair. Yikes!

For the first time, the designers were on their own, not working on teams. It was obvious that they were all thrilled to be able to do things on their own.
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[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

If you have always been a fan of Project Runway, but haven’t yet felt interested in watching Bravo’s newest reality series The Fashion Show, what’s with that? I too originally thought it might just be a cheap imitation of PR, but now I’m hooked.

Yes, there are a few similarities. After all, there are some similarities in every reality series and the rest. But this series really is different enough to make it great, all on its own.

Here is a quick reference to the similarities and the differences in the formats, etc. for each of the two series:

The conclusion you should draw is that other than the fact that both shows focus on fashion design, they are not all that similar. And I think if you watch The Fashion Show, you’ll really enjoy the drama, Isaac & Kelly and their warm, understanding way of working with the designers and the runway show itself.

My recommendation is a very enthusiastic two thumbs up for this show. Why not give it a try yourself? The show airs on Bravo on Thursdays at 10/9c and is repeated during the week.

[Bravo Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Bravo Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

This week on The Fashion Show, the teams were given a Mini Challenge to do four different repairs to a garment in a tag-team competition. They had to repair a shoulder pad, a hem, a zipper and a button. None of these is brain surgery, but when the team is trying to do each one faster than the other two teams, it’s not easy. The winning team was Lidia, Merlin, James-Paul & Angel.

For the Elimination Challenge, the teams were told to design outerwear for each of the four seasons. And to add a twist, each garment had to have a way to transform into something else or into performing another function.

James-Paul made a coat that turned into a sleeping bag. Yikes! Reco created a futuristic jumpsuit that had a wrap that could be unfolded. Markus added a jewelry roll in the collar of his coat.

Andrew ripped off the entire idea for his garment from Daniella and there was, of course, resulting drama.

Keith said that he wasn’t a fan of the challenge because he didn’t need his coat to be a refrigerator. LOL!

The designs were fascinating. Some were wonderful and I could see them selling just as they are. Some were complete train wrecks. But the runway show was absolutely fun to watch.

Haven & Markus had the least favorite two designs. Both were awful. After all was done, the judges sent home Markus. My favorite was Anna’s coat, but the judges chose Andrew’s raincoat as the winner.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Do you agree with the judges about the winner and the loser? Let us know!

[Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

I apologize for being so behind in my reality coverage. I had a catastrophic computer disaster and just got my new Mac laptop today.

Bravo’s new show, The Fashion Show aired its second episode and it brought just as much fun as the fist episode. After last week’s challenge and the way that Kristin reacted to criticism, she chose to leave the competition. Wow! She must be pretty sensitive, to leave after only one challenge.

Even though she seemed like a very talented designer, and had the potential to really bring drama, I guess we’ll never know what she could have done if she hadn’t decided to leave.

This week, Isaac Mizrahi told the designers that they would work in three teams again this week. First, they were introduced to Laura Brown from Harper’s Bazaar who gave them the Mini Challenge.

Each team was given a box with budget items and high-end items. The team had to figure out which items were high end and which weren’t, and do it in the least amount of time. Cool challenge!

The designers proved that even when someone knows what they are looking for, it isn’t always that easy to tell the difference between the pricey and the budget items.

Next, in the Elimination Challenge, the teams were told to create various looks for New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer to wear to social events. They were given only $40 per look. The team that won the Mini Challenge got a bonus of $10 per look. They only got 14 hours total to complete the looks. Yikes!
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[Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

A lot of us were wondering just how the new Bravo show The Fashion Show would turn out to be different from Project Runway. We all know that the folks at Bravo were not happy to see Project Runway get yanked from their lineup, but it was unclear how they would create another show that would be just as much fun to watch. Well, Bravo didn’t get to be a great as they are at reality TV for nothing. I think they’ve done it.

After having seen the first episode, here are the differences and the similarities, as I see them. First, the two hosts, Kelly Rowland & Isaac Mizrahi act as hosts, judges and as the mentors. So there’s no real Tim Gunn replacement. (How could anyone possibly step into his shoes? There’s no one that could measure up to Tim Gunn!) Luckily, Isaac and Kelly are just as endearing in my opinion, so I think they will become just as beloved as the season goes on.

The next big difference is that the designers won’t be asked to create an evening gown out of gardening store supplies or stuff from the M&Ms store. This is more of a show to find out who can create sellable fashions. And to do that, each week there is an actual fashion show in front of a live audience of fashion buyers and they are judged on how wearable, sellable and creative their designs are. It sounds like a subtle difference, but it’s an important one.

The similarity is absolutely the collection of nutty, creative divas who are designing on the show. Let me tell you, they found some real characters! You need to watch for Merlin at the very least!
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[Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

Tomorrow night is the series premiere for Bravo’s newest show, The Fashion Show. So far, it seems to be an awful lot like Project Runway, but I guess we need to wait for the premiere to be sure. Even if it’s a total knock-off, I plan to watch it AND Project Runway…

So on tomorrow’s episode, the designers are given a challenge to make pices to go with harem pants. (Harem pants must be the big new thing because Fergie was wearing them when the Black Eyed Peas performed on Ellen yesterday…but I digress.) We see in this first preview clip that the designers waste no time in getting on each other’s last nerve. I just know it’s going to be a great show. Check out Daniella’s catty remark right at the end! Meow!

And watch the designers sweat as they get ready for their first runway show:

Be sure to watch the season premiere of The Fashion Show on Bravo tomorrow at 10/9c PM.

[Photos: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

[Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

Bravo’s highly anticipated new reality series, The Fashion Show, is getting ready to kick off its first season on May 7. We already found out that the show will be hosted by Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland along with judge and fashion expert Fern Mallis. Each week, the 15 designers will compete toward the grand prize of $125,000 and the chance to have their designs sold in the retail marketplace.

Bravo tells us that each week, the designers will compete in first a Harper’s Bazaar Mini Challenge, then in the Elimination Challenge. That formula works extremely well for Top Chef, so why not use a good thing?

Here are the photos and bios for the 15 designers for this season:

Andrew
Age: 31
Hometown: Fresno, Calif.; Resides in Los Angeles, Calif.
[Photo: © 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.]

Andrew has already conquered the world of designer underwear. He started his own brand, “Andrew Christian” in 1997 and his urban inspired collections are sold in upscale stores throughout the country, including Kitson, Patricia Fields and Fred Segal. A self-described perfectionist and “gaylebrity,” Andrew has been known to throw an entire rack of samples across the room if it’s not up to his standard. “Don’t be caught off guard by my cute smile, I’m a bitch.” While his underwear line has garnered worldwide attention and he’s known as the “Panty-Christ,” Andrew’s goal is to take on the world of women’s fashion. He says his inspiration comes from everyday life and modern art. He loves creating deigns that flatter the female body and make women feel good about themselves. He has a tireless work ethic and hopes to one day have a retrospective of his works at the MET.

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