Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

This week our designers faced a task with more of an Italian flavour, and the challenge was issued trackside – the raceway, to be exact! In teams of two, they were instructed to design a sporty, racy outfit incorporating two or more separates constructed only from (drum roll please) Fiat car parts! And if that wasn’t enough of a shock, there would be TWO designers sent packing at the finishing line. As our stunned designer picked up their jaws from the floor, they peeled off into pairs; Mark and Oren, Petrova and Sophie, Shane and Brent, Leigh and Lui, while Helen bagged Juli.

With only one day to complete the tricky challenge, it was ten confused designers heading back to Whitehouse armed with mirrors, cables and tubing, heads spinning with far-out design concepts. They all hit the ground running – but it wasn’t long before controversy struck! An irate Helen discovered Oren had used her pants pattern block without asking, and her temper tantrum resulted in Oren having to unstitch his pants and start all again! The claws were out as the clock kept ticking!

Harper’s Bazaar fashion director Claudia Navone joined our judges to decide who was in, and who was out. Lui and Leigh were the first couple declared safe, and the judges loved Juli and Helen’s racy two piece which proved less is more. Petrova and Sophie were criticized for their kooky look, which presented as more spacey than racy while Oren and Mark had points deducted for their poorly executed and unflattering pants. As Brent and Shane were announced as this week’s winners with their hot 80s influenced two piece, Oren and Sophie were announced as the ones going home.

Tune in next week for a glam challenge with a sporty twist!

Catwalk Talk with this week’s guest judge, Claudia Navone, Fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar
Question:	Your take on the designs you were judging?
Answer:	I was surprised by the very good general standard of the candidates, but some of the designers weren’t really thinking about what women would like to wear and feel comfortable with, which is essential if you want to succeed in this business.
Question	A typical day in the life of a fashion editor is:
Answer	Very hectic! I have to look after the entire fashion department of Harper’s Bazaar so there is never a dull day - lots of personalities and dramas of all kinds. There are endless meetings and appointments all over town, and events in the evening most nights.
Question	If you could style anyone, who would it be?
Answer	The French actress and icon, Catherine Deneuve. She’s an incredible beautiful woman with the most amazing style. I have been obsessed with her since I saw her in the 1960’s movie ‘Belle Du Jour’ dressed by another icon of mine, Yves Saint Laurent.
Question	Current international trends we’ll be seeing here next season?
Answer	Sculptured clothings; boho gypsy style; soft tailoring; gothic./td>
Question	Most exciting moment in your career so far?
Answer	Probably when I was asked to work with Helmut Newton. At first I thought it was a joke, but when I finally did it was one of the most enriching experiences in my career.
Question	Devil Wears Prada: Hollywood nonsense or accurate satire?
Answer	I would say pretty accurate - but not in my office!
We spoke to Helen Manuell and Oren Nuri about the Block Controversy! A block is what you base your patterns on. It is generally made of stiff cardboard that holds standardized measurements, generally to a size 10.
Question:	Helen, you said Oren was "cheating" when he took your block. Why did you think that?
Answer: Helen	To take someone else’s block, pattern, item of clothing, then copy it and pass it off as your own work is cheating, theft, whatever you want to call it. To use a block saves an incredible amount of time. To develop an initial pant block will take a minimum of two hours if you are a skilled pattern maker. To trace a pant block takes no more than five minutes - get my drift! It is common knowledge in this industry that under no circumstances do you knock off other peoples’ patterns ... you go to a pattern maker and pay to have them developed!
Answer: Oren	It was misinterpreted. Her genuine opinion on the matter was stealing. It was an honest mistake that was made without any malicious intent from either Mark or I. A conversation happened in amongst most of the designers prior to that about sharing pattern blocks; being some designers had particular blocks that other designers don't have and vice versa. It was therefore a general assumption for me to borrow a block without imposing on anyone in particular. Little did I realize that she felt otherwise..