Friday, January 20, 2006

At Last...The Walk-off

In the episode #8 preview on the Bravo site we see Zulema ask for the "walk-off." She says, "I would like to have a walk-off between the following three models." (I knew that line was edited. I'm not crazy.) And sure enough, that is Rachael and Shannon up there on either side of Heidi. Rachael has hair extensions and Shannon has false eyelashes I believe. Something is making her look really different.

Anyway, the models in the walk-off are Danyelle, Tarah and Shannon. Danyelle is Andre's model, Tarah is Nick's model and Shannon is Emmett's model. Who will she choose? Is it Tarah? Is this why Nick is outraged?

The funny thing is that as the "chosen three" are walking for Zulema, they don't seem to be trying very hard. Even Shannon (who will be off, unless Zu chooses her) looks just kind of ....blah. Tarah looks mad. Danyelle makes an effort at least...barely.... It's funny. And what is with this mincing tippy-toe routine? Is this how models walk barefoot? Are they walking AS IF they were wearing heels? I don't get it. Just walk naturally, ladies.

Personally, I like Grace and Rebecca. They seem like they are really out there to win. Anyway...

So far, the model selection has been predictable. Everyone sticks with the same one. Boring. Thanks Zulema for shaking things up. Perfect timing too - just when everyone is feeling comfortable with their model and they are thinking as a team - surprise!

What will happen now? If Zulema is working with Tarah in the next episode, will Tarah cooperate? Will she be as professional? Will she try as hard? Maybe she'll even like Zulema more. Not.

If Zulema takes Tarah, who will Nick take? (Please take Heather, Nick, Please take Heather - just for the drama!)

Isn't this fun?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so awesome! I can't wait. It looks like Daniel V. helped Heidi with her hair, doesn't it? ;-)

ABC said...

I don't think Nick's model will be very happy to switch. Nick landed that girl on a Barbie box! What can Zulema do for her?

And what was up with Santino's model whining like a baby about the "wedgie" situation. She sounded like a 9 year old (which she might not be much older than)

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping that the 'bitch' comment from Nick came in response to Zulema picking Tarah to be one of the walkoff three, and not because Zulema picks her. I mean, come on, she picked the two models who have the deepest personal connections to their designers*cough*#1 fanboys*cough*! If she wants someone who's a better walker than Rachael AND someone who is going to be happy to be paired with her (and therefore want to do her best), she would be wise to pick Shannon.

christopher.john said...

well it is a compition, and in a compition you will do anything it takes to win. in fact...i would have done the same thing!

Anonymous said...

Okay, so what are the pros and cons of switching models at this point, in the manner Zulema has chosen?

The only positive is that she gets a better body to drape, koay and maybe a better walker. Although, I'd argue that the walking is contingent upon the mindset of the model. (Exhibit A? Heather this week compared to all the earlier weeks)

I see more negatives if she picks Tarah or Danyelle. A) She'd better staple that favorite form of hers to her body, is all I'm sayin'. 2) I think the best models are confident ones - and I don't think she'll get that from either Tarah or Danyelle because they'll be pissed they got a worse lottery number and/or because they now know she has no loyalty to them, and they could be swapped the next time she wins.

I'm hoping all of this is a mindf**k to the other designers more than anything else - say she picks Shannon in the end, what has she done? She's gotten a better walker, she's gotten someone who is happy to still be there, PLUS she's freaked out the other designers and put the bee in their bonnets that someone else could steal their models while making the other models wonder 'hmm, would my designer sell me out when they win'?. I like it!

Anonymous said...

I hope she picks someone other than Shannon, too, so there will be a shakeup. The drama! It's so predictable each week when nobody picks a new model.

I just feel bad for Rachael - to be the only model to get snubbed by her designer must sting. I wonder if another designer would have switched if they got Rachael, or if it's just Zulema's perfectionism from her own modeling background...

christopher.john said...

as do i...and if you completely watched Emmett's exit video, he says that he belived the Zulema's was beautiful and was going to be the winner.

eric3000 said...

Am I the only one who doesn't give a rat's ass about the models? A good outfit will look good even if the model falls face first off the runway and the most elegant woman in the world can't make a pile of chicken feathers look good.

JJS III said...

My co-blogger Katey made a great observation about Santino's color-scheme for next week's design in comparison to the dress that got Austin Scarlett ousted.

http://totesumbrellas.blogspot.com/2006/01/forgive-me-its-another-proj-run-post.html

Anonymous said...

I think Zu will take Tarah after the walkoff, prompting the long previewed "I can't believe that b**** did that" comment from Nick.

I'm not convinced that this move will result in a domino effect for the designers and models. Heidi mentions that Zu "can switch" models. That doesn't necessarily mean the designer whose model is taken gets another choice in the matter. I'm predicting Nick ends up with Rachael, and they send Shannon away.

Great catch by aj this week noticing the hair extensions on Rachael. That's what threw us off on the ID's in the "Final 7" screen cap.

Kathleen Bolton said...

This has the producer's hands all over it. What better way to goose the stakes. I predict Zu will 'take' Nick's model, and ignite a feud. Zulema will be auf'ed, Nick will win and be able to get his model back. Justice will be served. Viewers will be placated after the Santino-boffing we've had to endure.

Anonymous said...

My prediction is this:

Zulema snatches Nick's model Tarah, and Nick gets stuck with Rachel. Zulema promptly loses the next challenge and gets aufed. Chloe wins the next challenge, but opts to stay with her model Grace in episode #9 and poor Tarah goes home. Sad, but that's the way I see it going down.

Anonymous said...

I could swear Heidi specifically said that should the winner pick a model other than their own or the losing model, ALL designers will re-choose models in the order that Heidi draws their name. So if Zulema picks Tarah (which its looking pretty likely she will), everybody will re-pick for models. Now, I can't imagine any of the other designers wanting to switch models and I can't see Nick stealing anyone's model either, so he'll be stuck with either Zulema's model or Emmett's model.

Should Nick win a challenge (and I'd imagine once he loses his model he'll be determiend to win), he can obviously reclaim Tarah and all will be well with the world.

As a side note, I'd love to see an alliance to get Zulema auf'ed. Steal her fabric. Cut up her dress when she's not looking. Hell, get Tarah in on it. She knows Zulema is not going to be loyal to her (and should know by now Zulema has no shot at making it to Fashion Week), she could completely throw the runway show. It'd be brilliant!

eric3000 said...

Wow, I was expecting to be dressed down (so to speak) for not caring about the models. You people are just too polite. I feel so out of it that I love the show so much but I don't know any of the model's names or have a favorite or anything. What's wrong with me?! But I wanted to follow up on my earlier comment anyway.

I realize the models are important; I just find it really funny that the designers take the choice of model so seriously. I'm sure the model's ability to "work it" (as the kids say) can help a little but I don't think it actually affects the outcome. To demonstrate this I propose two experiments, which you can conduct from the comfort of your own homes:

First: imagine the models for the winning and losing designs switched in any of the episodes (or just imagine all the models switched around). Would it have made any difference in the final judging? I don't think it would.

Second: look at the still photographs of the outfits on the PR website. Do you feel any differently about them than when you saw them "being worked" on the runway? I don't; I still like and dislike the same ones so, clearly, walking well doesn't make that much difference.

As people have noted, the important thing is that the model is happy to be with the designer, which is where loyalty becomes more important than walking. The only time it's interesting is when a model refuses to wear something or when a model simply doesn't show up at all and Jay still thinks she's the best!

And just one more note before I stop boring you. I feel the same way about hair and makeup. I don't think it affects the final judging so there is only one reason for it: product placement!

I realize all this stuff is important in some couture shows in Paris but the point of those is not the clothes, which are mainly ridiculous; it is to use spectacle to create excitement for the label. It's the same way people don't go to a Madonna concert for the music. But on Project Runway it really should be about the clothes.

The Scarlett said...

Here's my guess:

I'm thinking Zulema takes Tarah.
That means that Nick needs to chose a new model. I'm betting he goes for Rebecca. That means that Daniel needs to select a new model. It's a domino effect. If someone finally selects Zulema or Emmett's model, it stops.

AJ said...

I agree that Zu will take Tarah, simply because she's one of the best models out there. On some levels it does matter to have a better model. If you are looking at two equally stunning, not-so-stunning or average designs and need to pick one to be better, a really talented model can make that decision easy.

Don...it's actually amazing how much being in a room for hours on end will affect your mood...lol

I was in school for fashion design for 18 months and once spent about 30 hours over the course of 4 days working on a project that ended up hideous...I cried every night! (and this was on top of other classes) The amount of stress that comes along with design (even without the copmetition aspect!) is staggering. But when you do get it right...it's so worth every stress-filled moment.

eric3000 said...

I agree that the depressing, windowless spaces must have an affect on the designers. I don't think most studio art students are forced to work under such conditions. When I was in design school we also had to work in horrible, windowless spaces (and our break room was even worse) and when crunch-time came at the end of the quarter we were similarly hysterical, with people breaking down and crying, shouting "I don't have time to help you right now," and fighting over the irons and the overlock machines (though I think they were always working). Sure, it's easy to get like that anyway when you're under pressure, but I agree that adding tomb-like working conditions cannot help.