Gifts we’re interested in getting this holiday season: a Miu Miu Hobo bag; an hour of Tim Gunn’s time in which he complains to us (in iambic pentameter) about liars. What we’d rather not receive: paper slippers. For this week’s challenge — explained by L.A. Times fashion critic Booth Moore, looking disconcertingly like a soccer mom — the designers had to construct garments entirely out of newspaper. They were allowed to incorporate dye and muslin into their designs, and Tim even gave them a pep talk about the history of paperwear, dating back to 1968 (at which time it still didn’t look any comfier). Everyone is a bit confounded, yet most of the designers embrace the challenge, using pictures and patterns creatively. And then there’s Johnny. His first dress is scrapped after Tim calls it a “craft project gone awry.” Then, after a few hours doing a crossword puzzle, Johnny tells his model that the first dress was ruined by an overactive steamer. Nicolas calls bullshit on this fabrication (pun intended!), going so far as to confront Johnny on the runway when he repeats the bogus story. The most wonderful moment of the evening comes right after Johnny exits, with Tim’s surprisingly harsh, yet beautifully poetic, judgment. “I’m incredulous of that utterly preposterous spewing of fiction that Johnny did on the runway. It’s ridiculous!” An amazing line from an amazing man. And now a look at the final designs, none of which are nearly as entertaining as hearing Tim talk shit behind Johnny’s back.
