The First Day
Oh boy I’m exhausted. The whole experience is very exciting. Having a guest speaker from Harper's Bazaar, legendary Isaac Mizrahi, and a lovely host was really thrilling. I think I did a relatively good job and my garment was completely finished with clean sewing unlike others weren’t at all and some were really sloppy as well and still pinned directly on the mannequins. If the live models wore such garments it would be a complete disaster, unlike my garment, which was very wearable. It also made me feel that the details on the back of my dress weren’t noticed at all. Oh well. Thank God that is wasn’t the elimination challenge because I was standing the last on the panel. But it’s all in the past and I’m ready to move on and am very excited about my next challenge. I’m very happy with the choice of fabrics that I was able to pick and my team is very lovely. We all agreed on our choice of the main piece including the fabric. That said, I cannot wait to start all new and fresh and bring my best to this amazing experience. I’m confident I can do it!!!

For now I just cannot wait to get a good rest in order to have energy and strength for tomorrow. Thank you all!
With love, Lidia

The First Elimination
Today is a new day. Two hours until the Fashion Show. I pulled all of my strength and energy together and I said to myself that I’m going to finish and make sure my model is going to be fully dressed for our very first Fashion Show. And you know what, I did it! It felt so good and satisfying. I proved to myself what I can do. Backstage models, make-up artists, hair stylists — it’s crowded, it’s hectic, it’s fun, it’s exciting. Camera, music, lights, let the show begin.
I dressed my model. She looks beautiful and well put together. I’m happy and satisfied with the outcome. My heart was pounding and I was running out of patience because our group was the last on the show and my model was the final look. When I saw the guest judges, I was happy. Our guest judge was Elie Tahari. This is more than just exciting. I have met Fern before. She was one of our guest speakers at FIT lecture class. I was really inspired by her words. I also met Elie Tahari in person. I was interviewing at his studio back in the school days in 2001. I was I was an assistant designer but did not have a chance to work closely with him. Also just recently, I attended Elie Tahari’s trunk show at Bloomingdale's and took a photograph with the master.

My group has won the challenge. It was very unexpected but I think that our collection was very cohesive and blended together well. I am very happy that James-Paul won this time and I think his design was very chic and modern. I was happy for all of us and it gave us confidence to proceed to a next challenge with passion and creativity.