Make Me A Supermodel: (Episode 111)

Up for the vote this week were Shannon and Ronnie.  It was definitely a boys vs. girls face off, with Holly rooting for Shannon’s return and Ben and Perry for Ronnie’s.  Holly again made no qualms about vocalizing her dislike for Ronnie, but in a ballsy move, Holly also directed her anger towards Perry.  Going after the ringleader is never a smart move, and although Perry bit his tongue, you knew he’d strike back at a much more crucial moment.  Needless to say, Ronnie’s arrival back to the loft was a tense moment for the group, and more importantly, marked his fifth victory against the vote.

Tyson dropped by the loft to see Holly, Ben, Ronnie and Perry.  Announcing he had a special friend on hand, he introduced the mystery guest by saying, “When you look in the dictionary under ‘supermodel,’ this is who you find.”  And in strutted Naomi Campbell.  The models were completely stunned and literally had to pick their mouths up off the floor in order to greet the icon.  Tyson showed Naomi each of the models’ books, and Naomi complimented Holly’s hair and Perry’s Chelsea Hotel photo with Casey.

With that little confidence boost under their belts, the models headed to their very last photo assignment.  Renowned photographer and director Matthew Rolston (think of a celeb, and he’s shot ‘em) led this final mission and really pushed the envelope in a creative way.  The theme was natural elements—wind, fire, water and earth—and all the models were nude.  

Up first was Ben.  Veiled in a swatch of sheer black fabric, Ben was blasted with fans and told to hold strong, fluid poses.  Ben was uncharacteristically comfortable at this shoot and moved really well.  Matthew loved his power and sexuality (ah ha!  Ben does know he’s sexy … finally!) and was able to get many frames out of their time together.

Next up was Holly.  Totally transformed into an almost alien-like creature, Holly sported nothing other than turquoise eye shadow and long, press-on fingernails.  Laying on the ground propped up by her elbows, this was primarily a face shot, which worked to Holly’s advantage.  By no means chubby, Holly is best described as skinny fat.  She’s thin, but completely untoned.  No one else has commented on Holly’s physique this season until Matthew.  He laid it all out on the table and said she’s no where near as in shape as she should be for modeling, let alone nude modeling.

But regardless, Holly’s photo came out really well and Mathew was pleased with Holly’s performance.  After her shoot, the photo crew shot a mannequin’s head on fire and then Photoshopped the flames onto Holly’s head, making her looking like a firey Medusa.  Very cool.

In a stark contrast to the other elements, Perry depicted a very dirty, dark and frightening version of water.  They really roughed him up with black, smudged eye shadow, teeth made to look decayed and sharp and black, flat-ironed hair (which ironically looked a lot like Christian Siriano’s).  With an ice cube in his mouth, the crew covered Perry’s lips with glycerin to give the appearance of him salivating and drooling on himself.  They also tucked away his manly bits, making him look even more deranged and striking.  

Matthew was impressed with Perry’s strength of personality and willingness to go wherever the shoot took him.  However, Perry did make what I thought to be a very unprofessional request, asking to have an “A” tattoo on his wrist PhotoShopped out of the best shot.  He said he doesn’t want to look back on his last Supermodel photo assigned and be reminded of Amanda and the Adnan drama.  

Up last was Ronnie, covered in dirt, twigs and leaves.  Posing among trees and rocks, Ronnie shed all of his glamourous, beefcake posing and tapped into something very organic and almost dancelike.  Matthew complimented Ronnie’s ability to make very slight movements have impact and said that although he make look uber-preppy, Ronnie has the capabilities to achieve much more.  “Ronnie is masculine grace at its finest,” Matthew added.  

Post-shoot the models were taken to Mulberry St. and surprised with an open house of their Matthew Rolston photos.  Among the guests were Matthew himself, all of the Supermodel judges as well as other fashionites about town.  The best part?  Everyone loved the photos and showered the final four with kudos.  It was exactly what the models needed to give them a sense of purpose before their final catwalk challenge.  

For their last turn on the runway, Niki announced the following morning that the models would have to work three winning looks, each of which would make use of everything they have learned over the past ten weeks.  As their final surprise, Christian Siriano (Project Runway season four winner) came by to help them with their catwalk skills.  Christian also had a special treat for Holly—a custom-made gown to wear as one of her runway looks.  Yes, it was fierce.  And, yes, I was sad that Christian didn’t use the token word once during his guest stint!  

But what he did do was help each model individually with their three walks.  By the end of his time with the final four, Christian developed some dead on thoughts about each.  He doesn’t think Ben is ready for supermodeldom, but does think that he has a beautifully symmetrical face and would make a great model.  It’s just going to take an agency to really believe in him and push to make it happen.  Christian also liked Holly and her walks, but wished she had more personality and height.  He admitted he can see why America loves Ronnie, and said he dug Ronnie’s dopey, lazy eyes.  

With minimal practice, it was runway time.  The first round brought the models out in their undies.  For the boys, black briefs, accessorized with fake tattoos, scarves and sunglasses.  For Holly, a red wig, stockings and one-piece, cutout lingerie number.  It was as if this outfit was chosen to prove Matthew’s earlier point about Holly’s weight—as her lovehandles jiggled, there was no denying she needs to tone up.

Round two put all the boys in ridiculously preppy outfits.  Argyle socks, bow ties, cardigans, white Bermuda shorts … the whole nine yards.  Each added a little spunk to their walks with dorky dances, which was contrasted by Holly’s pass in Christian’s elegant and avant garde dress and hat.  The third and final round placed everyone in evening ear.  The boys in skinny suits and Holly in a gold, floor-length gown.

When the models returned to speak with the judges, Jennifer immediately applauded Ben, saying she thinks he’s sexy and is glad he appears to believe it now, too.  Tyson seconded Jennifer’s praise and said Ben has the best body out of the bunch, leading to critiques of Ronnie and Holly’s slagging workout regimens.  All the judges agreed that Holly has a beautiful, perfect face but that her body needs a tremendous amount of work.  It’s an almost unrealistic standard that models are held to, they told her, but it’s her job to be in the best shape she can possibly be.

The judges next asked Holly what she would do if Perry were named the winner.  Her deadpan reply was that she’d slit her wrists.  She followed up by saying that she doesn’t understand why the boys think she has no personality, because she’s has spunk (pepper this sentence with at least 7 mentions of the word “like” and you’ll have a better idea of how stupid she actually sounded).  Perry countered that he doesn’t think Holly commands attention when she’s in a room, and the judges conceded that Holly does indeed need to work on speaking with more conviction.

Joining the judges was Matthew, who added in his two cents saying he was impressed with Perry’s confidence and surprised at Ben’s stiffness on the runway.  He echoed the Ronnie/Holly weight issues and said something more needed to be happening with Holly’s catwalk.  In closing, all the judges were happy with Perry’s transformation from cocky to confident, Ben’s body (Jennifer said she’s book him in an instant for a fragrance campaign) and Holly’s gorgeous face.  Likewise, they were disappointed with Holly’s catwalk and lack of dedication to exercise, Ronnie’s lack of range and Perry’s off proportions (Jennifer and Cory think he has wonky shoulders).  But, at this point, it’s no longer the judges’ decision—it’s all up to America’s voice.

Next week is a Supermodel reunion, to be followed by the finale on April 3.