(S04E13) These pre-finale episodes are always interesting because the viewers get to take a little peek into the world of designers as normal people, outside of the weird reality show setting. This season's visit to the designers was different though, for Rami and Chris still had to duke it out and figure out who would compete in New York Fashion Week. Good ol' Tim Gunn took a trip to the coasts to check in with each of the four designers and make sure their collections were chugging along.



Christian: First up was Christian, working away in NYC. The apartment looked really fabulous, but Christian was sleeping/working in a very tiny, closet-sized room. Such is NYC life. Christian briefly talked about his life before design school, showing off some baby pictures. Since he's only 21 years-old, most of those childhood photos weren't from so long ago. From what I saw on the hangers, Christian's collection looks a bit worrisome. What was up with those weird, feathery chicken leg pants? They reminded me of Foghorn Leghorn. Then again, Christian's work often deals with very involved layers of bizarre clothing, so maybe things will look okay once they're all put together.

Jillian: Jillian, the only person who could pull off a sweater like that, was working in New York as well, and invited Tim Gunn to visit her family in Long Island. I really admired her explanation of her determination, which came off as strong self-confidence and not necessarily cockiness. That's how it's done, Christian! As for her collection, we didn't get to see too much, but the coat that stood in the front looked absolutely stunning. In just about any other season, I think Jillian would have been a shoo-in for the win. Against Christian, though, she has some tough competition.

Rami: Tim then took a trip to LA to visit Rami's studio, which has his name across the front and everything. I was really impressed by Rami's inspiration, Joan of Arc. What a bizarre and completely intriguing choice. The few items we saw were also really lovely, as they showed a clear effort to stray from the typical Rami drapings.

Chris: I was a little thrown off when Chris showed up without a gaudy shirt on. Did everyone just decide to get a little goth towards the end of the season? Anyway, this was one of the weirder parts of the episode, as Chris showed Tim his latest pieces, several of which showcased detailing made of human hair. Yes, that's what Tim's "gag reflex" remark was for. The overall "look" of it was okay, I thought, but the fact that it was human hair kind of gave me a strange serial killer vibe. Sure, one might argue that using yak hair or whatever would also be hair from an animal, but at least yaks don't wear other yaks.

Fight to the Death: It wasn't a real fight to the death, but I still think it would have been cool. Just think of it: Heidi Klum throws a knife on the floor and tells them to go for it and we get to watch the ensuing designer bloodbath. Bravo didn't go for my idea, though, so Rami and Chris showed off their three pieces of choice to vie for the final Fashion Week spot. Rami went for variety, to show that he can work in ways apart from draping. Chris decided to show off his out-of-the-box sensibilities, meaning he shocked the judges with the human hair. In the end, the judges decided to let Rami go on to the next stage and Auf Chris. I'm sure audiences were a little surprised by the judges' decision to send Chris home. After all, the Bravo poll during the program showed greater view support for Chris, and the poll at the end of my review from last week demonstrated outrageous support for Chris. Don't cry for him too much though, because the fact that he made it this far means that he got to play decoy at Fashion Week. For someone who got Auf'd very early in the season, this is a pretty good deal.