Finally it’s Santino. He starts of by screaming out “New York Cityyy!� to the crowd, a sure sign of a tourist (ooh, look at me getting all bitchy!). You can tell from his speech that he really is rattled by the whole “I’m a villan� personality that the show has turned him into. Dude needs to chill. It’s reality TV, that’s just the way it goes. If it makes him feel any better he can be one of my Myspace friends! Him and Daniel Franco, but I want him to invite me just so I can reject him, cuz that would be funny. Santino then gives a sweet little shout out to his mom who is in the audience and the show gets under way. The first thing I notice is that the runway music is Santino himself singing, or rapping. Oooh. Bad choice. I can’t emphasize how much of a bad choice that is. The Crazy Frog ring tone would have worked better. The guy is still sewing buttons on an hour before the show starts but he had time to put together 4 minute crappy rap song for the runway? I will say however that some of Santino’s pieces are really well done. Much better than anything else I’ve seen of him so far this year. The only downside, which I actually didn’t notice until it was pointed out to me later by Michael Kors, was that none of them really fit the models very well. That and the whole thing just looked kind of safe. Where are the crazy ruffles? Where are the shards of felt?

After the shows are over things are still pretty electric backstage. Now that the contestants are being interviewed by press they whole enormity of it starts to take over. Santino with his arm around his mother even starts to tear up a little which was kind of sweet. Oh who am I kidding, I love the big lug! Let’s all go to Red Lobster!

Now its time for the judging. The final runway critique of the year. Debra Messing starts it all off by asking Daniel what was the “story� he was trying to tell. Merging the military and Asian influences with silhouettes, he says. Kors just says that it looks like it has nothing to do with the military, and all he wants to do is rip that patch right off the front of the dress. You se Daniels dress has a giant breastplate on the front. With a tassel hanging from it. Yeah that’s right. A tassel. It looks like one of those old style doorbell pull things, which is apt since its right near the models knockers. ZING!! They all agree that his 13th dress was great and brought his collection to a new level, but they also still feel that the collection lacked a cohesiveness.

They think Santino’s collection was very different than what they are used to. It was much quieter. They think he was going too safe. They all start ragging on him for his fit. Heidi has problems with their tops. “The boobs were never where they are supposed to be�. And if Heidi Klum knows anything, it's boobs.

Chloe’s collection is all about evening wear and dresses. She says she does a lot of sportswear, but her dream collection is evening wear. Heidi doesn’t like the matching shrugs (A new word I learned). Debra messing loves her thirteenth look.

They then ask them what each of them has that the other doest. Santino says “I know beautiful things�, as Daniels eyes roll. He declares that some of the things he’s created for this collection are things that “quite possibly, are forever�. Whaaa? I’m sorry my friend, but only Diamonds are Forever. Chloe says she is a real business woman and runs a successful business. Daniel says the one thing that he has that they don’t have is his ‘point of view� and that it is something the American people want to relate too. Which is true. Just yesterday I was thinking “Man, we need more dresses with tassels�.

After some deliberations, which are edited in such a way that we hear good and bad about everything, they bring the three contestants out. Its time to crown the winner. But first, we must dump a loser. The third runner up if you will. And, amazingly, since I thought he was going to win it or at least get second place, Santino is out.. They felt they didn’t see enough of him. Then Santino gets his auf wiedersehen cheek kiss from Heidi and a rash instantly breaks out all over her mouth.

Its down to Chloe and Daniel. They feel Daniel has impeccable taste, and that Chloe truly understands how to dress women. They pause, the music swells, the camera does a dramatic pan shot, I get way too excited and then look around to make sure no one can see me, and they announce the winner….

It’s Chloe! And she can’t believe it. She is stunned. Daniel gets his auf wiedersehen and as he’s walking of the runway Michael Kors tells him that if he ever needs a job he should give him a call, he’d love to hear from him. Hear that Daniel? Someone’s just got a job making coffee for the Michael Kors! Everyone’s a winner!

Posted by EdHIll on March 10, 2006 11:49 PM