Tears, Tears and More Tears ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Blog (ANTM Cycle 15)

OMG, the tear ducts were working overtime in this episode.  Zac Posen was introduced to the girls by Miss J who seems to want to make a fashion statement with his exaggerated eyebrows.  They are very Joan Crawford…even his hat (or was it a scarf?  After a second look, I think it was his hair) seems to be a nod to Ms. No More Wire Hangers Ever!  The models are tasked with a Zac Posen fashion show for his new line.  The catch is that they will be strutting the runway with real professionals.  Of course Ann has reservations because she doesn’t think her runway skill set is quite at the level of the others...oh Ann, wait until they strap roller skates on your 6 foot and more body!

 

                Before the contestants were introduced to the pros Miss J told the professionals that he wanted them to rip a page out of ‘Mean Girls’ and bring the bitchiness to the forefront.  These women didn’t hesitate for a moment, since they are probably all very hungry, being so thin and all, they savored tearing the new girls (the ones who are recognizable due to their exposure on the show) a new one. {Complete and utter side track ahead}  It might have been just me, but I could swear that I had seen some of the ‘professional’ models on other reality shows and maybe even in other seasons of ‘Top Model’.  Please someone who has also seen this episode, tell me the truth, were my eyes playing tricks?

 

                It wasn’t hard to throw the newbies off.  Esther knows she has boobs so big they have their own gravitation field, and to her credit she handled the insult well.  Ann, on the other hand, freaked out internally.  I have both hate and love feelings for the way Ann presents herself on the show.  Sometimes I’m rooting for her because I think she personifies what Tyra Banks is often talking about the ‘ugly pretty’, but other times I just want Ann to give her self doubt a rest.  Lordy Buddha girl, you won top photo five times in a row and now you are stressing because Liz won it last week?  Can’t you just be happy for Liz and not analysis how it represents that you are starting to fail in the competition?  Ann couldn’t and there were tears. 

 

                Before I talk about the runway itself, I have to take a moment to ask where the show’s producers round up all of the people who sit in the audience viewing the fashion show?  Most of them look too corn fed to be actual fashion insiders while some of them resemble cleaned up versions of folks graduating from one of those Dr. Drew sobriety type of shows.  Thankfully this Zac Posen commercial fashion show was a non stunt production so none of the models had to fear being eaten by a live alligators.  I have to admit that they all looked lovely in their makeup and although the clothes were wearable they were a tad boring – overall cycle 15 women sold it much more than the discount professional models.  Let’s face it, if they were real-real models they wouldn’t be modeling in Los Angeles now would they?  With that said, Ann tripped; she looked like she was walking on stilts when she was wearing Posen’s blah gray slacks.  Esther did fine during her first walk, but she was then put in a coat and thought she would show off the personality that the judges the week before suggested that she lacked (more about this later) and man did she bouncy-bounce.  In the end Chelsey won the challenge and for her troubles got some snooze worthy Posen clothes.

 

                The next day as the girls were preparing breakfast Mr. Jay and Nigel Barker (noted fashion photographer) walk in and announced that the ladies are doing a commercial featuring them on roller skates kissing/having a moment with a man.  The set up was for some fictional sports drink (‘H to T’ – Head to Toe) that makes you beautiful inside and out.  I’ll get into details about how all of the women did in a moment, but I just want to add that in terms of commercials, no advertising firm would cast a commercial that involved a skill like roller skating without first knowing if the actors/models doing the performing could actually skate.  In fact, I’m sure that they would even have some actors/models on retainer if someone wasn’t fulfilling their role in actually being able to skate.  Thus I wish that ‘Top Model’ would stop with stupid challenges that could get someone hurt.  It’s insulting to the audience for the show to act as if these women have something to prove in regards on how to conduct themselves professionally when the whole thing would never take place.  Frankly, there was enough for them to do without having to skate as well…than again, it gives me something to blog about.   L  J 

 

                Chelsey did alright in her challenge.  Although I think her hair is striking dyed white blonde, the downside is that after two weeks her roots start to show.  When she is done up in hair and makeup it isn’t that noticeable, but during the casual shots, such as when Barker and Mr. Jay came into the model house, she looks run down.  She was very happy with winning the runway challenge.  She did well during her commercial, but she was styled in some yellow jumpsuit that was horrible.  Plus she has tattoos and they just looked cheap peaking out of her clothing.  Whoever was the stylist on the commercial, it was a major fail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                Liz did well with the runway challenge.  When one of the professional models said something to her she simply made the ‘she’s insane sign’ and went on with her business.  During the commercial shoot though, she ticked off Nigel.  Of course during her interview/confessional she talked about how confident she was because she knew all of her lines and so forth – this is usually a sign, the type of sign which makes no difference about what type of reality show competition you are on, that the confessor/contestant is about to go home.  Really, the first lesson about being on a reality show competition is to never sound too confident and talk about how you have an edge up on your competition because of whatever reason.  Her commercial was really bad and Nigel did have a point, it wasn’t as if she was taking it seriously (mind you, I don’t think she could take the skating seriously, but everything else).  She giggled too much and said her lines with little care.  I was surprised that she wasn’t in the bottom two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                Chris is starting to grow on me as a model.  I think she looks very model like when she is all done up, it is when she isn’t that I think she just looks average.  There is something blah about her hair when she isn’t modeling that persuades me that she is a cute girl, a girl next door sort of speak, instead of a model who can grace catwalks around the globe.  When the other professional models were talking trash about her at the Posen show she just brushed it off and went on.  Overall, I think this group is one of the more mature groups that have ever graced ‘ANTM’.  She was no drama, no tears, she did what she needed to do and made the audience smile.  Later in the commercial set she simply rocked it with her personality.  She related well with the male model and made the faux commercial for the faux drink sound and feel like fun.  For that reason she deservedly won the first call out. 

 

                Esther, poor dear; first she has to deal with the judges saying last week that she had no personality and this week when she had to really bring it she is put in the most unflattering purple bathing suit I think I have ever seen.  I know the term hood rat is offensive to some, but I can’t get that word out of my head when thinking about the look she had to sport for her commercial.  How could she feel confident in that outfit?  No one could.  It looked cheap and even during Cindy Crawford’s super model reign, she couldn’t have pulled that outfit off; so what little chance would Esther with her size triple heavy cleavage have?  As it turns out she had no chance because she was sent home packing. 

 

                Esther went further than I had imagined.  She had so many strikes against her as a participant in this show.  First, she was as Orthodox Jew who gave up the Sabbath, but not Kosher eating, to be one of the models.  Thankfully neither she nor most of the other models in the house were too over the top divaish to make her special diet an issue.  Second, Esther wasn’t served well by her makeover which gave her too dark hair against her rather pale complexion.  And of course, her before mentioned breasts could have prohibited her from wearing model sizes, although this issue didn’t happen on the show.  I think the final blow was being told that she didn’t have any personality.  The judges have done this before in past seasons and frankly I think they need to rethink saying that to a young woman.  These women are still developing their personalities, and in many ways they need to feel empowered to be able to say no and mean no or yes and mean yes.  In the past I have heard Tyra say to one of the contestants that they didn’t EVEN have a personality…how is someone supposed to respond to that?  If they say “I do too have a personality!” the judges then probably would say that they can’t take criticism well.  In the case of Esther the harder she tried to prove that YES she has a personality the more awkward she became.  I think trying to prove you have a personality can do that to a person.  When Mr. Jay advised Esther to look like she was having a grand time and then dissed her attempt to look like she was having a grand time, I thought dude, could you look like you were having the time of your life if you were dressed in the same crappy look that she was forced to wear?      

 

                Jane did great in the Posen fashion show.  No matter how the judges might whine that Jane doesn’t have a personality, as if they have actually gotten to know her, it is obvious that Zac Posen knew she was a good model.  She opened his runway show and did a fantastic job.  She also did a fine job on the commercial.  My only complaint about her was that she looked way too thin to be wearing the getup they put on her.  I’m pretty sure she will be one of the finalist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Dear Kayla was having a time of it before and during the commercial shoot.  She was fussing about the idea that she would have to pretend to be remotely interested in boys and I thought it was over the top until she tearfully confessed to Mr. Jay that it had everything to do with being molested by a man when she was eleven.  I’ll give Mr. Jay some props for being able to talk to her and suggest therapy because Kayla said that it was the first time she ever spoken about the situation – even her mother and girlfriend didn’t know about it.  Mr. Jay made valid point in regards to addressing the issues surrounding the molestation in terms of how it would affect her life professionally as a model.  If it put her in a position where she felt that she had to turn down jobs then for no other reason she needed to talk to someone about it.  I liked how he kept to the realm of professionalism and not go into other ways molestation could continue to affect her life privately – sure the molestation probably does affect other aspects of her life, but these issues should be addressed by someone in her private life and/or therapist because it is not the role for someone whose relationship with Kayla is more about nurturing the professional.  Way to show how that is done Mr. Jay!  I’ll also give some snaps to the judges who didn’t bring the molestation up during their caucus.  You know how in the past Tyra would report about something or ever was an issue during the shoot and the judges would spend five minutes chatting about it?   Tyra didn’t do that thus the whole molestation didn’t feel overly exploited. 

 

         As far as Kayla’s performance this week she did fine.  She did really well during the commercial shoot, even managing to skate better than most of the girls.  The part where she has a moment with the male model was awkward but no more so than with some of the other women.  I thought she looked good with the long brown hair, but I do think her nose is slightly big with a bump or two.  I don’t know if this mars her appearance or not, but I just noticed it his past week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Finally we come to Ann.  Poor Ann, she was in the bottom two this week.  She was crying throughout this episode.  If I was to guess I think she is having a hard time adjusting from being someone that people would make fun of because of her looks, ‘the ugly duckling’ syndrome, to being someone who for five weeks wowed the judges for reasons I don’t think she quite grasped to now being a Cinderella of sorts who is out after midnight.  Once again, I’m going to have to complain about putting these girls in skates.  Nothing was more frightening, and this being Halloween weekend and all, than seeing three story Ann on wheels.  Obviously she didn’t know how to skate.  I imagine that in her day to day life she isn’t very coordinated.  Once they put her on skates she had at least two very hard falls.  The kind of falls that if you when you were watching this show you felt some of her physical pain.  Of course Mr. Jay stated that the problem with Ann is that she doesn’t like to look foolish – as if looking foolish is something the rest of the world craves.  Yet, foolish like a sad clown she looked.  At the end I think she had one or two people holding her up as she mumbled her lines.  Her ‘moment’ with the male model was as ‘real’ as the idea that she was going to become a professional roller skater after the show.  Jesus, Kayla who was dealing with molestation issues seemed to have more of connection to the man. 

 

             The vibe I’m getting from Ann is that she tried out for the competition to prove that being six foot plus and super thin could mean something in her life.  I think that perhaps the main goal for her was to be on the show and then she found herself getting all of the top nods week after week.  I speculate at this point she would be much happier doing some print work (which she is very good at) and walking away from the rest.  She is intelligent, but she seems so shy.  If she continues modeling after the show she might build up the ability to not be freaked out if someone says ‘boo’ to her at a runway show, but I never really see her being able to deliver lines like many of the pros do for Covergirl.  Overall, I just wish she would stop crying about things. 

 

          Until later, happy modeling!  If you are interested in seeing past episodes, model portfolios, or anything else, check out the official website.   

  

Here is a listing of my past posts.

‘America’s Next Top Model’ Takes on ‘Italian Vogue’ ~ And a New Blog is Born

Models Who Live in Glass Houses ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ (ANTM) Blog

Fallen Angels in Uncomfortable Harnesses ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Blog (ANTM)

Models Sandwiched Between Water and Creatures of the Deep ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ (ANTM) Blog

Model Mania Mexican Wrestling ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Blog (ANTM)

It Has Really Turned into the Ann Show Hasn’t It? ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Blog (ANTM)

Manning Up Model Style ~ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Blog (ANTM Cycle 15)

 

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