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Episode 10 - Viva Italia!

The girls arrive in the historical city of Rome which also happens to have a huge influence on fashion. They are of course all excited. One of their first stops is the coliseum where they mock pose for one another and take keepsake photos.

Whitney is the second plus size model to make it this far in the competition.

New Apartment

The model move into a new apartment filled with art and statues. One of the coolest features is a pool in one of the hallways, kind of reminded me of the Roman baths. There was also a lovely garden/sitting area.

Fatima developed a headache an complained of a fever. Anya was the only one who was compassionate toward her and even brought her supper in bed.

The Challenge

They arrived at a piazza where they met Claudio an assistant designer for Gai Mattiolo. Claudio taught the girls how to drive Segways (two-wheeled electric vehicles). Once they mastered the machines he took them on a tour of where the major designers were located and discussed the fashion of women of Rome. Italian fashion is sexy without showing too much skin.

After the tour he took them to meet Gai but before the official introduction they were taken to a showroom where they were made over with his Italians designs.

When they were finally introduced he announced that this was a challenge and had them each walk for him (I felt like they were on a go-see). He critiqued each girl:

Fatima - elegant
Dominique - sure of herself but not fresh
Katarzyna - a beautiful woman
Anya - so blond, so skinny, so fresh
Whitney - elegant, beautiful face
Lauren - beautiful legs

Alas, he only had one dress as a prize and it went to Anya. I can't believe Anya won again. Either could Whitney. Anya seems to be getting a lot of air time and I really wouldn't be surprised if she wins. She's had some great coverage and is building a wonderful portfolio.

Cover Girl Queen

The next challenge for the models was to make a 30 second spot with director Piersandro Buzzanca for the Cover Girl Queen Collection, specifically the Vibrant Hues Lip Color (the lipstick looked awesome by the way). Seems simple enough but they have to do it in Italian. They were given a script to practise while in make-up and also had cue cards; but seriously, I don't think this would happen in the real world. Each girl had 30 minutes to get in as many takes as possible to get it right.

Anya was hilarious. She couldn't fake the language and had the crew, including the director laughing. She did a little flirty thing at the end that probably saved her.

Katarzyna was amazing but a little flat. The director was most impressed by her.

Dominique couldn't make the Italian words work for her. The director described them as Chinese to his ears. She also came across as more sleazy than sexy a problem she's had in the past.

Lauren was horrified by the whole experience. She looked like she was squinting to read the cards and she swore during one of the takes. Jay took her aside and said, "Cover Girls don't say f*&^". She was very awkward and uncomfortable. Near the end she even looked like she might have been near tears.

Fatima complained about her voice to start with but jumped right in. The director likened her to a goddess and said her pronunciation was the best.

Whitney was not liked by Jay at all. He thought she was unbelievable, fake and disingenuous. I thought she was cute and Tyra said she liked her spot during panel.

The Judging

Tyra looked incredible tonight with wavy locks. She called Rome the birth place of high fashion/haute couture (I thought it was Paris). The director from the Cover Girl commercial was the guest judge this week. He tried to be as positive as possible with each of the girls.

The Bottom Two

Whitney
Lauren

Whitney was criticized for being phony and Lauren was criticized for not being able to cover up her real self. Both girls take beautiful pictures. I was worried but Whitney was saved for another week.

Lauren said she wanted to challenge herself and that she succeeded. She's seen a whole new side to herself and she's proud. It doesn't sound like she will be giving up the dream of modelling.

I think sending home Lauren was a good decision. She takes wonderful pictures but just can't seem to alter her walk enough for the runway.

Next Week

Tyra takes control of the camera!

Episode 11 - "We are Spartans!"

Five girls left!

* Dominique
* Katarzyna
* Whitney
* Fatima
* Anya

Fatima seems to be getting more conceded as the weeks pass. She thinks she has improved so much over the last few weeks that she has no competition left. Time will tell.

It was interesting to see the girls talk about one another this week. In general they pick out what they think is a weakness in another girl that isn't really there. I don't know if it's insecurity for hopeful thinking. Fatima's target this week was Katarzyna, probably because she's one of the stronger models.

Whitney has been feeling like she will breakdown every time she's in front of the judges. Anya suggested that she not fight it and show her real self.

Roman Ruins Photo Challenge

The models dressed in gladiator gear after seeing a demonstration at the Gladiator School of Rome. The demonstration was short but impressed the girls (except Fatima who I think feared for her safety). There was even a plus size female gladiator who kicked butt.

The instructor showed them five moves which he allowed them to practise but he wanted them to keep four things in mind because they are after all, models:

* Be Composed
* Be Elegant
* Be Fierce
* Be Tough

Some had an easier time than others. After rehearsal, in full gladiator gear they met up with Jay Manual and Miss J who announced they were going to do a photo challenge with a very big gladiator named Ferdinando. The catch? They only had 5 frames to get a good shot.

Anya was up first and instantly put to work what she spent the day learning. Later she was positively critiqued for taking direction well because she used the poses she was taught.

Katarzyna looked like a skinny waif unable to protect herself. In critique she was told her stance looked weak and it looked like the sword was too heavy and out of control.

Whitney started off fake but ended well.Dominique actually complemented Whitney (not to her face) on her good shoot. Jay and Miss J liked how she kept herself open to the camera and thought she did well overall.

Fatima totally failed at this challenge. It was like she was standing on a tight rope and couldn't keep her balance. She totally forgot about showing her best side to the camera. She's wonderful in a shoot by herself but if she has to interact with another model she falls short of perfect. In critique they sited she was all over the place and didn't take direction.

Dominique tried to be different but I think ended up looking awkward. They thought her face looked pretty but she forgot about the action aspect of the shoot.

Jay and Miss J thought it was close call but there could be only one winner. The prize for this challenge was 1000 Euros ($1556) to go shopping with in Rome. The winner could split it with a friend or spend it all herself.

Whitney won this challenge, finally! She chose Anya to go shopping with her. Anya thought it was really kind of Whitney but I honestly didn't think Whitney would take anyone so I greatly underestimated her.

Tyra Takes the Reins

The models visited a historical landmark with 600 year old Frescoes from the Renaissance period. Jay Manuel directed them in a modern Renaissance photo shoot with a surprise photographer -- Tyra!

I personally think Tyra takes amazing pictures and this is probably my second favorite episode after the make-over one.

The girls looked fabulous in frizzy multi-colored wigs and makeup. Tyra said she was going for an exaggerated Italian Renaissance woman.

The good thing about working with Tyra is that she'll get up and show the model want she wants and educate at the same time. It's an educational photo shoot for the girls and they should eat it up.

Katarzyna didn't seem to take good direction from Tyra who felt she looked more Egyptian that Italian.

Dominique nailed it! She walked in looking like Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmations) but she made it work.

Fatima started off on a low note but totally turned out fabulous and fluid.

Whitney got stuck. Tyra didn't care for the shoot siting too much sex and boob and not enough high fashion.

Anya gave the poses and was extremely comfortable with her body. I smell a winner.

Judging

Time to cut them down to 4!

I thought the girls showed up looking like models this week. Except for Dominique's hair. She constantly has that There's Something About Mary look.

Evaluations:

Anya - totally in control.
Fatima - amazing, like a ballerina.
Dominique - was ragged on for her clothing choices ("Mall in the middle of America") but had the most interesting shot.
Katarzyna - pretty picture but not strong enough. She has so much potential but is not pushing herself enough.
Whitney - beautiful but gets stuck and needs to break out of the sames booty boob modes she relies on.

After hearing the judges deliberate I had no idea who they would send home.

The Bottom Two

Fatima was the first one called back. It was like they totally disregarded the gladiator shoot. Followed by Dominique and Anya.

The bottom two:

* Whitney
* Katarzyna

Tyra said Whitney had a banging body and was otherwise stunning but she was "stuck". While Katarzyna seemed to be coasting along from week to week.

Whitney! was saved for another week but was instructed to control her booty and breasts. Katarzyna went home.

I really liked Katarzyna and am disappointed to see her go. She felt the judges didn't get to know her but she will continue to strive to do great things.

Next Week

Nigel takes control of the camera!

Episode 12 - "Ready for My Close-Up"

The final four:

Whitney
Anya
Dominique
Fatima

Being in the bottom two a few weeks in a row is taking its tow on Whitney. Like everyone else she was really surprised to see Kataryna go home last week.

The girls come back to the apartment to find new images hanging. Saliesha (Cycle 9 winner) is now decorating their walls.

Anya is still really positive and hasn't really done any backstabbing or talked harshly about any of the other girls which is refreshing; although she's losing patience with Dominique who is still trying her darnedest to psyche out the other girls but she is just succeeding in annoying them.

A Different Point of View

The final four went to a park today where a shoot was set up with photographer Francesco Licata and judge/model Paulina. He gave each model a camera so they could learn about composition. They practised taking pictures of one another until Ann Shoket from Seventeen magazine stopped by to talk the girls before they were allowed to start their challenge: 5 minutes photographing Paulina!.

The evaluation of the challenge was based on how well they worked with Paulina and how great the photos turned out. The winner of this challenge is awarded 50 extra photos in their next photo shoot.

Whitney gave great compliments and direction on what she wanted from Paulina and she thought she was a lot of fun to work with. Anya gave good direction and was really excited but she was all over the place and didn't seem to know what she wanted. Fatima was gentle and gave good direction. Dominique was quite vague in her direction and didn't have a vision of what she wanted to accomplish.

Surprisingly Fatima won the challenge. Personally, I thought Whitney was the best and Paulina is biased against her.

Night Shoot

The girls were styled like Italian 1950s movie stars and shot with a sexy male model while being stalked by the paparazzi.

This shoot was by the dashing Nigel Barker who Anya has worked with previously so she has developed a rapport and he's familiar with her angles. Fatima is still conceded (coping mechanism?) in thinking she's perfect but Nigel didn't feel she took control of the situation.

Whitney just couldn't control her posiness in the beginning but managed to come across as cute. Dominique was too staged and didn't follow Nigel's direction at all. Jay was on hand as creative director for this shoot and was not impressed with anyone.

Judging

The guest judge was the Seventeen editor who visited the girls on the composition shoot. None of the girls received rave reviews from the judges this week so it could have been anyone's guess who would be eliminated.

The Bottom Two

Anya was called back first (no surprise there). Followed by Whitney (I was so thrilled).

The bottom two:

Dominique
Fatima

Fatima was saved for another week!

It was weird to see Dominique hug Whitney good-bye. It's not surprising that Dominique is proud of herself. She rubs a lot of people the wrong way and comes across as insincere so I really can't see her continuing a career for long in modelling.

Next Week

Cover Girl Commercial / Final Runway
Yes! The Season Finale!

Episode 13 - And the Winner Is?

The final three:

Anya
Whitney
Fatima

The final three received the lines for their English speaking Cover Girl commercial shoot ahead of time.

They meet up with Jay Manuel and Brent Poer where they learn about the commercial, a matching print ad and a billboard in Time's Square, "the crossroads of the world".

Saleisha, cycle 9 winner, pops in to give some advice and support.

Anya breaks down from the stress for the first time during hair and make-up. This surprises Whitney who has grown quite attached to her.

Fatima looked amazing for the commercial shoot and she knew her lines. She just had a hard time getting them to sound natural.

Whitney fumbled a bit to begin with but she did ok.

Anya was beautiful and I thought despite her heavy accent she did amazing and had wonderful energy.

Photo Shoot

It went by quick and they all seemed to do well.

Elimination

Paulina attacked Whitney's commercial as too "beauty pageant", yet again. Every one loved her photo.

They didn't like Fatima's commercial either while Anya was naturally charming her commercial was considered a train wreck. Paulina thought she looked "stupid" in her photo. I thought her statement was unprofessional and totally unproductive.

Anya is called back first. Leaving Fatima and Whitney to come forward. I think overall Fatima is stronger print wise (they really shouldn't have made Whitney blonde).

Whitney was saved for the fashion show! While I think Whintey is beautiful she hans't been the most talented plus size mode so far and regretfully I don't think she' here because of her assets but because of her size. Yes... I'm talking about the token plus size model.

Fatima has come a long way since the beginning. She says "you will see this face." And I believe we will.

Whitney broke down during panel when it was announced she was safe. Anya thought it was beautiful to see Whitney's sensitive side and I have to agree.

Cover Shoot

Anya and Whitney met with Nigel to shoot the cover for Seventeen magazine that will appear in the July issue with an American flag.

Runway Madness - Versace

The final runway presentation took place on and imperial roman set and highlighted Versace dresses to a full house of viewers.

The judges opened the show by taking the runway to their seats. Saleisha was on hand as one of the main models.

Anya was fierce.

Whitney was too hippy.

The dresses were incredible!

No catastrophes.

Final Judging

Two blondes in the top two. The potential top models arrived at judging in dresses they wore on the runway.

The judges reviewed the photo shoots all the way back to week one.

And then the final moment came and Whitney was declared victorious. I think I might have even teared up.

Whitney will be a good role model for curvy girls as a "full-figured model" (not plus size according to Tyra).

Yeah! Whitney.

Last edited by M o e; 05/15/08 01:59 PM.

"There have only been five other full-figure models and none of them have even come close to the top five ranks no matter how much I hoped and shouted at the television. Despite having a terrible make-over (going blonde from noir) and constantly being referred to being too pageantee (or worse, acting like Anna Nicole Smith) Whitney was able to maintain control of her composure and learn new modeling techniques every week. She's probably one of the few models who have made it into the bottom two and survived to compete another week." read more...

Thoughts on Whitney

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