Cycle 15, Episode 2: Diane Von Furstenberg

Location: Venice Beach, CA

Opening Credits

Yes, it’s the same song and intro style as past cycles.  There’s no mixing it up here.  But we all know Tyra has to use and re-use her opening a minimum of 5 cycles before she will consider re-doing it.  Personally, I think they are pretty cool. I’m not sick of these yet.

Time to make it hot!

The House

Can we just talk about the house for a minute? The location is SICK!! Right on the beach!  

"Oh my god, it is like a glass palace!  I live in a mobile home, so this is brand new to me." – Mo' Chocolate

"My favorite part about our house is the runway right in front of the window." – Chelsey

Giraffe (Ann): Self-Proclaimed Weirdo

I loved the moment on the balcony when Serena (Chris) and Giraffe (Ann) take some time to get to know each other better. They seemed liked they were being very genuine.  No drama here, just good times.

Serena (Chris):    After this, we gonna find you a man!  You laughin'!  I’m fo' real! I got some homeboys. What's yo' type?

Giraffe (Ann):    Hobos are kinda hot.

S [in diary room]:    Anne’s different.

S:     What’s the oldest you’ll go to?

G:    [after some thought]  Sixty.

S:     What kinda man do you want?!

G:     He has to be a warlock. And he has to spit fire. And he has to know how to make sushi.

S:     You gon' be single.

Challenge: Runway Show for Diane Von Furstenberg

Can I just say – HOLY CRAP!  Walking in a Diane Von Furstenberg runway show as the first real challenge – WHAT?!!  Not to mention on a runway that is 4 stories in the air – WHAT?!?!  ANTM is really raising the bar here!  This would normally be on the level of a final challenge!  Also, the models also must do their own hair and makeup before the show! They are really forcing these girls to step up or step out.

The Js and models barely visible from below the 4-story high runway
The J's open the show - but how can you even see them from up there??
The runway from the model's perspective. Of course, it HAS to be glass!
View from the crowd of Giraffe (Ann) strutting her stuff
Re-Run (Kacey) right before she gets on the runway without her glasses

Tyra's Rules for Winning: Follow them if you wanna stay on top

Rule 1) The bitch always loses.  Don't be a bitch. Don't gossip.  Don't talk about people behind their backs.  Once Anamarexic (Anamaria) breaks this basic rule, she pulls out the pin in the grenade that will send her back home.  It's just a countdown until the end ... tick tock tick tock...

Anamarexic (Anamaria) Trash Talking Highlights

"All of these girls are my competition now. I’m more high fashion. I’m more versatile.  I'm not like a small town little girl.  I guess it's my New York attitude, but I think I'm fuckin' awesome."

"All the girls here to me don't really have, like, the potential to, like, continue this to the next level. So I don't need to worry about these girls. They are nobody to me."

"The other girls, to me, had, like, a busted walk. So, I'm not even paying attention. Like really."  [Then guess who fell off the runway at the end? That's right: Anamarexic (Anamaria)!]

"I mean, they're pretty girls, but they're just small town American girls. I wouldn't look twice walking down the street.  Like, I'm not trying to be mean you know, it's just true."

Photoshoot: Teen Bullying

Goal: To show how one word does not define who you are as a person. 

Mr J was once a "Band Geek" but didn't let the word define him. He is now a Creative Genius!

In the photo, Mr. J wants the models to "show how you have shed that negativity [of the 'bully' word] and that you are a strong, empowered person.”   Deborah Anderson, the photographer, explains that she wants the girls to "reveal who you really are inside through your eyes and through body language."

Whenever Tyra does this kind of shit (imbuing the photo shoot with a PSA-style message) it feels like she is taking left-over content from her talk show and using it in Top Model.  On the plus side, this experience may help reduce drama in the house by bringing the girls closer together and making them vulnerable in front of each other.

Mop Top (Kayla): Out & Proud

"There has never ever ever been a lesbian win ANTM. And I would love it so much if I could just be the first one." –Mop Top (Kayla) 

During the photoshoot, Mop Top's (Kayla's) issues with being bullied because she is "queer" really touched a nerve.   It’s sad that in 2010 people cannot be open about their sexuality without fearing people will see them differently, that they might lose friends and family, that their safety could be jeopardized.  Haven't we evolved past this narrow-minded thinking? 

Mop Top (Kayla) was clearly affected by the bullying in her past. She even had to change schools because it got so bad.  She admitted to Tyra how difficult it would be to see this word written on her body because that was the same word which caused her so much pain.  By choosing her power word as "free," Tyra was right to say Mop Top (Kayla) was "taking the power back."  It was a touching moment, and I struggled to hold back my tears.

The only potential downside to Mop Top (Kayla) as a contestant on the show is that it now gives Tyra leeway to create a PSA-style photoshoot about homosexuality in a future episode.  Don't be surprised if Tyra has a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" shoot.  Tyra loves to combine tough social issues with current political topics.  With Lady Gaga stepping in the ring, Tyra will likely jump on the bandwagon too.

What We Learned

1. Diane Von Furstenberg is President of the CDFA
2. CDFA = Council of Fashion Designers of America
3. Colon vertebral = spine in French

Final Thoughts: Can a Model be Too Thin?

Anamarexic (Anamaria) on her body: "I like being thin"  ... "I'm on a calorie-restricted diet. That's how I keep my weight in check. Being a model, that’s how I feel it should be."

With that, Anamarexic (Anamaria) was the first to go home. Too tall and too thin – isn't that the definition of a model??  It's hard to believe the fashion industry could deem anyone "too thin."  After all, this is the same industry that places an ad with a model whose  head looks like it's bigger than her waist (thanks, Photoshop!). 

I agree with Tyra and applaud her sending Anamarexic (Anamaria) home because she was projecting an image that she was hurting her body. Had Anamarexic (Anamaria) admitted she was unhealthy and asked for help, she would still be in the competition. However, she felt she was doing the right thing as a model (role-model), by maintaining an under-weight body (i.e. skeleton). 

Anamarexic (Anamria) defended herself at panel saying: "I like my body. Honestly. I like looking in the mirror and seeing my abs." 

However, as Diane Von Furstenberg explains, "As the President of the CFDA I say, 'Beauty is health, and if you’re not healthy you lose your beauty.'"

The sad thing is I don't think that Anamarexic understood this important message.  Upon leaving, she said: "If I get told by multiple agencies that I'm too thin, then we can do something about it."  She doesn't seem to have learned anything from the experience.

  Anamarexic's (Anamaria's) emaciated body and cocky attitude ultimately sent her home