02x07 - Swimwear

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Next in Fashion.

There are only six designers remaining,

and our next challenge
revolves around a fashion essential

that has been making waves for decades.

What on earth are you wearing?

[Gigi, muffled] It's a swimwear challenge.

It's a swimwear challenge.

-[whimsical music playing]
-Come on, come on.

I'm not helping you.
It's your fault for dressing like that.

-Come on!
-[Gigi, muffled] I look great!

[hip-hop music playing]

♪ Money on the line
Money on the line, oh... ♪

-Hi.
-[Gigi] How you doin'?

-[designers] Good.
-[Gigi] Welcome back, everybody.

We've already told you
that this one will be a team challenge.

We're gonna dip our toes in.

[laughs]

Lather on some sunscreen,
and grab your towel

'cause it's about to get hot in here!
[elongated]

[designers laugh and whoop]

Today's challenge is all about...

-Swimwear!
-Swimwear!

[designers laugh]

-[Gigi squeals]
-Boop!

Amari, feeling good about this challenge?

Swimwear is not that much fabric,
so I'm excited.

Megan?

I've never done swimwear before,
and I usually use a lot of fabric.

Uh-huh.

It'll be interesting to see
how I do with the least fabric. [laughs]

Swimwear is one of the most iconic
fashion categories under the sun.

[Gigi] It is incredibly difficult
to do right.

Fit is everything.

-It's the only thing you got, pretty much.
-The most important thing.

-Bao, you freaking out?
-No, no. Not too bad.

I've got a feeling
you might be pretty safe in this.

-[chuckles] I'm comfortable with bodywear.
-Yeah.

For this challenge,
each team will be tasked with designing

not one but two swimwear looks.

Male and female.

-Wow.
-[Deontré laughs]

And one more thing.

The swimwear runway

is tonight.

-[designer] Uh-oh.
-[designers laughing]

This is gonna be intense.

-Amari, they're just small bits of fabric.
-Things have changed with two looks.

-[laughs]
-[Gigi] It's very tight.

One-day challenges really amount to
just four hours of designing and creating.

This is crazy.

You've done a four-hour challenge
and nailed it.

You've got two people this time.
It makes it so much easier. Right?

Four hours to do two swimwear looks,
male and female. What's going on?

Swimwear is all about clean lines.

There's nowhere to hide mistakes.

You cannot hide behind a bad fit.

Swimwear requires a lot
of special materials too,

like neoprene, spandex.

[scoffs] That's crazy. [laughs]

Desyrée, you were the belle of the ball
for the Met Gala challenge,

and, of course, that win came
with a show-stopping advantage.

Oh yeah.

I hope you've been thinking
about who you wanna team up with.

-[laughing]
-Sneaky, sneaky!

I have.

I was in the shower this morning, like,
"I wonder what Desyrée's thinking."

[designers laugh]

You now don't only get
to choose your teammate

but everybody else's.

-Lot of pressure, Desyrée.
-Some power there, Des.

-My stomach hurts. [laughs]
-[laughs] Mine too.

[laughs]

I'm feeling great
'cause I'm 'bout to cook up.

Who would you like to wade
through the swimwear challenge with?

So this person, I feel like
I would work really well with.

I feel like we would communicate.

They would let my voice be heard.
I would let their voice be heard.

The person I choose to work with...

[curious music playing]

-...is Amari.
-[gasps]

[designers cheer]

For real?
[squealing] Oh my God, Des, stop it!

-[laughing] Whoa! Aw!
-I love Des! This is great!

Is this a joke
or are y'all trying to play tricks on me?

I didn't think she was gonna pick me!

She's good with making things
a little bit more dainty.

-I'm a little bit more oversized.
-Yeah.

I respect Des so much,
and it's nice to see that Des respects me,

not only as a person,
but, like, as a designer.

-Don't cry, girl.
-[whimpers] Okay, okay.

Now you've made your pick,
it's time to pick the other teams.

I chose her already.

-Sorry.
-You can't have her.

-[designers laugh]
-[Tan laughs] All right, Des.

So the first team that I'm going to pick

is...

Deontré and Nigel.

[designers] Whoa!

[Tan laughs]

Looking away. What's going on, Deont?

I love Nigel's work, so I'm kinda shocked,
but we both do men's.

Exactly.

It's a competition,
so I'm choosing these partners

that would benefit me and Amari.

-[Amari chuckles]
-That just leaves Megan and Bao.

Right, we could take out the boys.

Bao and Megan, they only have womens wear,

and Deontré and Nigel,
they only have menswear.

With Amari, we have
a strong womens wear designer

and a strong menswear designer,
so I think we gon' k*ll it.

Our special guest judge is somebody
that knows swimwear more than most.

Tonight we will be welcoming

one of the most iconic
Victoria's Secret Angels of all time.

The sensational swimwear icon
and my personal girl crush,

Candice Swanepoel.

[designers] Ooh.

-[designers] Oh!
-Wow.

[Tan, Gigi] Hot. [laugh]

[Tan] You'll have to work together

to create looks
that really make sense cohesively.

Make a splash.

-[Nigel] Mm.
-[exciting music playing]

And unfortunately,
the sun will have to set

on one more of your fashion journeys here.

But it won't be
an entire team going home tonight,

just one designer.

-Oh my God.
-[designers] Oh.

But for now, it's time to do this.
Are you ready for your swimwear challenge?

[designers] Yes.

[Tan] Your time starts...

[Tan and Gigi shout] Now!

[rap music playing] ♪ You came this far ♪

♪ Don't let it go to waste
'Cause you were born to be a star ♪

♪ Fight through the pain
Let's go all the way!... ♪

Today's a big one. Difficult
because it's a one-day challenge.

-They're creating two looks.
-In four hours.

♪ Let's go all the way!... ♪

What if the menswear swim trunks
is actually a bikini,

but doesn't look like it? I'll show you.

[Desyrée] Show me.

I think it's interesting
that Des decided to go with Amari

because Amari is the slowest
when it comes to construction.

I think that it was more strategic.

It's tough to put
Nigel and Deontré together

because they don't do womens wear.

[Tan] Yeah.

♪ That's why I feel everything that I do
Is a highlight reel ♪

♪ I'm a legend in the making
Can't deny my will... ♪

[Deontré] A scuba suit would be dope,
but, like, reinvented.

Definitely down for that,
and then the girl?

-Short with long sleeves.
-Short but sexy.

Almost like a scuba bikini suit
type of thing.

[Nigel] Mmm.

Desyrée definitely is smart
with her decision.

Me and D,
we both tried to do womens wear last time.

-So...
-[Deontré] This gonna be fabric.

-Fabric here.
-[Deontré] Fabric.

-We didn't do so well.
-[both laugh]

[Deontré] Yeah, womens wear
is definitely a challenge for us.

I'm nervous.

[lively music playing]

I've never designed men's.

Okay. Let's just design on top of them.

Megan and Bao don't do menswear,
so this is hard for those two.

[Gigi] They have distinct styles.

I don't know
how they're going to combine them.

Mm-hmm. We're down to the wire.
Six people left.

Only one person from a team
will be going home tonight.

I wonder if one of them's
gonna really push

to make sure that they're the one seen.

-[Bao] Cut-wise, I... Like this.
-Yeah.

-Yes.
-Not a thong though.

-Yeah, but, like, cheeky.
-Cheeky.

-Cute.
-Hey, y'all.

They're getting the runway set up.
It's obvious that this show is happening.

-They've got a lot to do.
-Maybe they need help blowing up ba*ls.

[Tan] You can do that.
I'm gonna help the designers.

[exciting music plays]

Do you think
we should look at the fabrics?

-Yeah, we should.
-Let's go look.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bao] Des thinks we're at a disadvantage
'cause we're both womens wear designers.

What she doesn't know
is I costume design for men all the time.

It's not bad.

I've probably dressed over 3,000 men.

This is why you don't show all your cards.

[Amari] So, here, it will be open
and tie here like a bikini,

and it goes down.

-[Desyrée] At the butt?
-[Amari] Yeah.

Pretty much turning a menswear swim trunk
into something a bit more risqué.

Y'all, Amari is trying to make
a men's swim trunk with a bikini tie

and the man's butt is out.

Low-key out.

-You can be honest.
-No.

-No low back.
-No.

-It's just gon' be a simple back?
-I ain't trying to see hairy butt cracks.

It's important for your voice to be heard,
and we already learned that.

It's very important
that both of us are seen.

I wanna make sure

that we're not playing too much
into the femininity though.

[Amari] Okay.

So I still want it to be fashionable
and, like, men would cop it

and not be like, "I ain't buying it
'cause it's got a bikini string."

We gotta think of a new way
to get her idea across

so she can still be heard,

but make sure it's also my aesthetic.

Come with the heat.
Don't burn up the house though.

So we're taking Amari's bikini idea,

but making it a men's trunk
that turns into a Speedo using zippers

to make it functional.

Are we gonna curve the zippers,
or will they just be straight?

They have to be curved.

We have really great communi...
communicative...

-Communicative...
-[laughs]

-Whatever that word is.
-You can say "communication."

We have really great communication skills.

Just working on our vocabulary skills.

["Too Lit" by Sounds of Red Bull playing]
♪ Too lit, too lit, too lit, too lit ♪

♪ Too lit, too lit, too lit, too lit... ♪

I feel really confident doing all this,

so I just wanna know
which one you feel the most.

I think you should do the women's.

-Okay. Yeah.
-It seems more involved than the men's.

For my brand, what I do is bodysuits.

There's definite science and physics

to the push and pull
of keeping someone supported.

I know the fabrication, the construction.

It's a different set of rules,
and I know this party. [chuckles]

[lively music playing]

[Gigi] Hey, guys!

-[Megan] Hi.
-How you going?

-Hi, Megan and Bao.
-Hello. We are going.

I would've expected to see
something on your mannequins already.

-No. It's a lot of drafting.
-Okay. Talk to us about it.

We definitely want to play
with Megan's colorful, like, playful side

and then, like, my cutouts.

The whole story of it is just '80s
kind of, like, workout kind of thing.

[upbeat music playing]

-Oh, fun.
-Yeah. That's our inspiration.

-Love '80s workout.
-[Megan] Yeah.

[Bao] So, for the woman's look,
we are going for bold pops of color

overlaid by mesh cutouts.

For the men's,
we're doing the little fuchsia Speedo,

and then he's gonna overlay that
with mesh boy-shorts

and then a big cutout cropped tank.

How did we get to who was making what?

I just really wanted Bao to showcase...
This is, like, really up her alley.

We thought she could
bang out the women's look.

And I wanted to kind of push myself
and show that I could do menswear.

-Can't wait to see these worlds combined.
-[Tan laughs]

-Thank you.
-Thank you so much. Good luck.

["Born Legendary"
by Grayson Voltaire playing]

♪ We gonna push it to the limit
Better set that tone ♪

♪ I'm not worried about the future
I'm the shaker, the mover... ♪

[Amari] I'm still deciding
if I wanna go see-through or coverage.

Okay. I'll trust you on that decision.

Okay.

-Me or Nigel haven't designed swimwear.
-I've never.

[chuckles] This is a first time for us.

The other designers might be watching us,
you know, like, we're the underdogs.

We don't know how to make a woman's fit.

But both of our ideas
are innovative and dope,

so we gotta make sure that we communicate,

and, you know, we'll be all right.

-[Tan] Deontré and Nigel.
-[Deontré] Hey.

-Hey, guys.
-[Gigi] 'Sup, angels?

[Tan] What have you decided to do?

[Deontré] Our male look
is a full scuba suit with no sleeves

with this wave pattern
of blue and black panels,

and then we're gonna
also do a transparent jacket.

For the female look,
we're gonna do a scuba bikini,

and it's gonna
also do this wave design on her.

And some of Nigel's signature patchwork.

We're gonna play with paneling,

which is also inspired by the womens wear
where we're doing kind of, like, waves.

To represent the water.

We're gonna, like,
try to incorporate the 3M

as, like, kind of a highlight
in between the seams. Yeah.

[Tan] This is like a piping?

Yeah, exactly.

How did we decide on who was gonna do
the women's and the menswear?

He had the idea for the womens wear,
so I felt like he could tackle that.

The one thing I will say
is that with a strapless bathing suit,

you guys are gonna have to make sure
it's constructed perfectly,

tailored perfectly,

because they fall easily.

-[Deontré] Gotcha.
-[Tan] Good.

We'll leave you with it. Good luck.

-Thank you. I needed it.
-I hope it goes swimmingly.

[Deontré and Nigel laugh]

-Oh, you're doing the puns today? [laughs]
-[Gigi] Yeah. It's me.

[voice over PA] Designers,
you have three hours remaining.

Des and Amari.

Hello, hello.

-[Tan] Hi!
-[Gigi] Hey!

Come on, volleyball.

Oh.

-You're wildin'.
-[all laugh]

[Gigi] How's it going?

Good. We think we have a cool idea
we haven't seen before.

-Love the color already.
-I love this material.

[Desyrée] For the menswear look,

we are using swim trunks
that turn into Speedos

with a super cropped button-down on top.

Using almost, like, fish netting

'cause our inspiration
is Mykonos day parties.

For the female look,

we are doing a one-shoulder one-piece
made out of a neoprene mesh

and a power mesh on the side.

Amari, you mostly do do sexy sexy.

Desyrée, do you feel like
you've gotta rein in any of the sexy?

-[Desyrée] Yeah.
-For the bottoms, I had to reel it in.

[laughs] What were you gonna do?

[Amari] It'd be like a bikini.

Men like to have a little high something.
I like that vibe.

-We like to show off our bodies too.
-Yes, exactly.

How do you decide who wins out?

-She won.
-Why?

-We gotta go 50-50.
-[Gigi] Yeah.

[Desyrée] I want it to be everyone.

Like, we are not designing
only for the gays.

-We are designing for all men.
-I design for the gays!

Yeah! [laughs]

["Pay Me My Money"
by BB St. Clair playing]

♪ I don't need a handout
Thanks for asking ♪

♪ I'mma make a million-dollar check
Wear it around my neck ♪

♪ Like ooh yeah, b*tch
That's fashion... ♪

Swimwear, stretch stuff, I usually
like to use a 3/8 seam allowance.

-I'm doing a one-and-a-half-inch band.
-One-and-a-half-inch band.

-[Bao] Does that feel good for you?
-Yeah.

-Should I do the same on him?
-[Bao] I mean, does he need...

-Does it need a band?
-[Bao] He doesn't.

I am feeling a little nervous.

This is my first time doing swimwear.
This is my first time...

-Menswear.
-...doing menswear.

I have never made a men's Speedo before.
[chuckles]

I'm working on the pattern.

-I think it looks okay.
-Oh.

The design has, like, swung more
in the direction of reflecting Bao,

but this is her area of expertise.

[Bao] See that?

[Megan] Yes. Okay. I see what you mean.
So maybe I should add some more.

-[Bao] Yeah. [inhales]
-[Megan] Like a half inch.

I wanna follow the knowledge
and learn and support that.

-Like this?
-Yeah.

-[Megan] Perfect.
-That's way better.

Yeah, 'cause now
you can see, like, the cutout with it.

[upbeat pop music playing]

What do you think about the silhouette,
or should the silhouette change?

I like the silhouette.

Amari is trying to figure out
the silhouette

of the plus-size model right now.

So all this is orange,
and then where's the black?

From here to here.

Okay.

I think it's super important as a designer
to be able to work on different body types

and just have universal thinking
when it comes to designing.

-You got it.
-[Amari] Hopefully it fits on the model.

And I feel extra added pressure
because Des chose me.

-Pressure make diamonds. You be aight.
-I do work really well under pressure.

[laughs] Okay.

One of us is going home,
so we both have to deliver.

What'd you say? Not one of us.

Not like that.

Go like this. "One of us."

-Okay. One of them is going home.
-There you go.

I'm gon' mess with this neoprene.

I'm about to just see
how this kind of plays.

Neoprene on a womens wear look
is, like, gonna be super tricky.

It's, like, very structured, super heavy.

It's used in scuba gear
because it's, like, waterproof.

So, like, we're making
our own kinda stripe pattern.

-Then we'll play this as, like, the wave.
-Wave.

[Deontré] With a four-hour challenge
and being so close to the finale,

I think the smartest thing
is work with a fabric I'm familiar with.

I've made, you know,
a lot of streetwear items in neoprene.

When working with neoprene,

you have to keep in mind

that it doesn't stretch four ways
like spandex.

Unfortunately it's only a two-way stretch,
but I'm gonna try to make it work.

-[Nigel] You about cut out over there?
-[Deontré] Yeah, almost done.

-You ready to do the patchwork?
-Yeah, let's get it.

[Deontré] When I found out
me and Nigel were teammates,

I was like, "We're gonna do patchworking."

"I'm gonna take a closer look
at what he does."

Trying to get tips.

-Cut it so that we can just get panels.
-[Deontré] Gotcha.

-It's a learning experience.
-We learn from our teammates.

[Deontré] This is a two-day project!

[voice over PA] Models to the workroom,
please. Thank you.

-We have nothing to fit.
-Oh, okay.

[Amari] Oh, hi, Van! How are you?

-[model] I'm David.
-[Deontré] Deontré.

We're doing, like, an '80s workout vibe.

-Oh, sweet.
-[Megan] Yeah.

Both our beautiful models arrive,

and looking around, everyone else
has so many pieces cut out already.

-[Amari] Hold it?
-[Van] Yeah.

We wanna get this skintight to the leg?

[Deontré] No baggy.

'Cause it's a scuba suit.

-It gotta be tight.
-[Nigel] All right, word.

We're still in the pattern-making phase.
We have nothing to fit with you right now.

I look at Megan, I'm like, "Oh my God."
It is coming down to the wire.

Don't leave just yet. I'm gonna cut it.

When you have a big vision
of what you wanna do, timing is insane.

My head is bursting

'cause we're gonna
have to work even faster

to get this all done.

[Megan] Beautiful.

[dramatic music playing]

Designers, you have two hours left!

Everything's looking calm in the waters.

Except that shark there, a pink one.

[mimics fanfare]

[Desyrée] Oh, I like that!

It's fire.

[voice over PA] Please take all materials
that you'll need for the runway backstage.

[dramatic music continues]

[Megan yelps] Help me, bubba.

Like, this is really
not enough time, for real.

It's a lot going on back here.

Everybody is stressed.

-F***er.
-[sighs]

-I feel we still working at a good pace.
-Yeah.

[Desyrée] Do you like this?

Yeah.

-I think the zips...
-Add it, right?

[Amari] We've been working
so efficiently together.

We're on the right track,
where we thought we would be.

-This looks hard, look.
-[Amari] Yeah, that looks good.

-Okay.
-[Amari] The hem on it looks nice.

For once, I'm not crying.

-I could cry right now.
-I'm not screaming and yelling.

-[Megan] I'm sorry.
-Oh my God. [sighs]

I'm not running around
with my head chopped off.

[tense music playing]

But the others are.

Oh my God.

-I don't have a...
-What are you looking for?

-Um... Um... Tracing wheel.
-[Megan] I can go get you one.

Okay, thank you.

This women's bathing suit is complicated.

There's nine or ten
different pattern pieces for this.

Oh my God.

And I have to get the fit perfect.

It's gonna be all black stitching
on top of the magenta.

-Is that okay?
-Yes. Let's do it.

[Bao] There's no room for error.
It's the top six.

It's, like, one misstep
and you can be sent home.

I'm sweating b*ll*ts right now.

[sighs] f*ck!

[chuckling] Today I have said the F-word
more times...

-[laughs]
-...than any other day.

[sighs] F***!

F***! F***! F***! F***! F***! F***!

[sighs] Oh my God.
Are you f*** kidding me?

[both laughing]

-F***!
-[sewing machine whirring]

[voice over PA] Designers,
one hour remaining.

No, see, like this, or it could go...
You don't want that.

-[Amari] How much are we taking?
-[Desyrée] That's fine.

[Megan] How about the tank having a curve?

Oh, I like that.

[Megan] I think that makes it
more interesting.

-A little more me.
-[Bao] Yeah.

This neoprene is giving me a problem.

-[Nigel] How's that fitting, bro?
-[laughs]

-No comment right now, Nige.
-[laughs]

I'm used to working with neoprene,

but trying to make it
in the shape of a woman

is giving me a hard time.

We only got an hour left.
Like, this is ridiculous.

I'm having to redo these seams and hems

because it's not lining up
how I want it to line up.

Come on.

The judges are gonna see every detail.
You can't hide it.

What the f...

I'm trying to stay calm in this situation,

and all I can do
is just think about the end result.

This is insane.

But I just have to put
a couple more straps on.

I'm just gonna improvise.

-Man, I wish I could try these on.
-[sewing machine whirring]

[Desyrée] That's cute.

This is fire.

[exciting music playing]

I love the orange
with the hair slicked back

like she just got outta the pool,
and she's ready to k*ll the party.

[Deontré] The fishtail,
I think, will be perfect.

As far as makeup,
eyeliner to match the outfits.

We want something really bold and bright,
like a block of color on the eye.

Thank you!

[voice over PA]
Let's load the audience, please.

Designers, you have 30 minutes
until the runway show.

[tense music playing]

[Nigel] Take this off real quick.

You said you wanna hem it or cut it?

[Desyrée] Let me see it on him,
and then the shorts on him.

Okay, could you put this on?

This is the back.

Do whatever you need to
so it looks finished.

-[Nigel] Trying to get it right.
-This is not fair. f*ck.

[whirring]

[Amari] Oh, see, it does, it fits!
And it snatches her. Ooh, chile! Yes!

[Desyrée] I think you need to trim that
'cause it's folding up right there.

We only have a little bit of time.
We need to make sure this is fitting

because we are getting down
to the nitty-gritty.

It's the top six, so we don't need
no accidents on the runway.

You see what I'm talking about?
It's creating a fold there.

[Amari] I could make it tighter.

Definitely.
Let me finish this and I'll help you.

-It's cool. We'll make it work.
-[Deontré] And just hold that part.

For the womens wear fit,
I'm not really feeling confident about it.

It's not laying
the way I want it to lay on the model.

-Mm-mm.
-But we're kinda working with what we got.

This fabric is thick.

Fit is everything.
We're going to be judged hard on fit.

We gotta get it as secure as possible.

I do not want this busting out there.

-[Deontré] It's still doing it though.
-Yeah. It's this little bunch up here.

Do those feel a little tighter?

-Oh yes.
-Oh, perfect!

-Bao, we did it!
-[Bao] Oh my God.

[Megan] What do you need me to do?
Can I sew something?

Straps! One-inch width, 20-inch length.

[Megan] Bao is definitely pretty worried
right now.

I'm trying to keep us both encouraged.

-Oh my God.
-[Megan] Deep breaths. It's okay.

In every challenge, when I work by myself,

I am usually a lot more ahead of schedule
at this point.

-sh*t. Hold on.
-[Megan] Are these the straps?

-Want me to press it?
-No. I just need another strap.

She only has one strap,
and then I can get it.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

It is 15 minutes before the show,

before I can even have the suit finished,
sewn, as a one-piece

so that I can put it on her,

and this is
her first time ever wearing it.

[Megan] I wonder if we could walk
to the sewing machine.

-Do it.
-Lay me down on the table.

-[Megan] Let's go.
-[Bao] Here. This machine is threaded.

-[model] You're good. You're good.
-I'm so sorry. Okay, can you kneel?

-[model] Yeah.
-Okay.

Can you get closer to me?

-I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
-[laughs] You're good!

[voice over PA]
You have ten minutes until the runway.

[crowd cheering]

Hi!

[Gigi] Good evening, everyone!

[Tan] Welcome to Next in Fashion.

The theme for tonight's show is swimwear.

Safety pin. Safety pin.

The final six designers were given
this challenge just four hours ago.

[crowd] Wow.

-[Bao] You are the most amazing model.
-[laughing] I'm down for the chaos.

As always, Tan and I won't be
judging the designers' work alone.

We are very lucky
to be joined by an expert stylist

and one of the most
sought-after tastemakers in Hollywood.

-Jason Bolden.
-[Gigi] Hi, J!

[crowd cheering]

[Tan laughs]

Let's go swimming!

[voice over PA] Two minutes
to the runway show, everyone.

[Bao] Gotcha, baby.

-That come unsnapped again?
-[Amari] Yeah.

[Desyrée groans] Stitch it in.

Also joining us for the runway tonight
is a swimwear superstar.

[Tan] She has sizzled and shined
in countless swimwear shoots,

and she is one of the most iconic
Victoria's Secret Angels of all time.

There are very few people in the world
that know bikinis better.

Please give a warm welcome to

-Candice Swanepoel!
-[Tan] Woo-hoo!

[crowd cheering]

[Tan laughs]

Welcome. It is so exciting to have you.

Thank you.

Growing up, you know
you were my number-one idol.

-[Candice laughs]
-Why am I crying, you guys?

-[Tan laughs]
-Cut this for me?

[Nigel] Feel like it might be off.

In your opinion,
what makes a swimwear look stand out?

It's definitely first and foremost
about the fit,

the way the fabric accentuates the body.

And bringing a different vibe,
I think, is important.

-Yeah, that's fire.
-[Megan] Dangerous area! [laughs]

[Bao] Oh my God, insane.

Both of you guys.

It is time
for the Next in Fashionswimwear show.

-[crowd cheering]
-[suspenseful music playing]

-Here we go. Here we go.
-I'm ready to rumble.

-[stage manager] Standing by. We're ready.
-[suspenseful music continues]

-[whistle blows]
-[crowd cheers]

[upbeat electronic music playing]

[stage manager] In three, two, one, go.

♪ OMG... ♪

[crowd applauding and cheering]

-Oh.
-Wow.

-Oh!
-Yes! I like it.

-[Candice] Is that neoprene?
-Yeah, it's like a thick neoprene.

[Candice] I love the colorways.
The neons with the earthy.

-[Jason] Yeah.
-[Tan] And that shot of blue is lovely.

[Jason] The men's look is sick.

I love that raffia, like, crop.

[Tan] It's well done.

I wish that the women's suit
fit a little bit better.

-[Jason] Yes.
-[Tan] Give her a little more support.

The crotch is a little too wide.

[Jason] I do love that it's a high waist.

[Tan] Me too.

[Candice] It's kind of playing
with the high cut,

which accentuates her body,

but then also giving her coverage
with the mesh.

For me, this reads super fashion.

[stage manager] And go.

[crowd cheering]

-Let's go!
-[Gigi] I love this one-piece.

I love that tie on the side.
I love the cutout.

-I'm into the styling.
-[Tan laughing] Yeah.

[Candice] Yeah.
Where did they find those shoes?

[Jason] The men look is so strong 'cause
you can wear this outside of the beach.

I would wear that.

For two menswear designers,
the pants could've fit better.

[Tan] Yeah.

[Candice] I do like
that they have a graphic detail,

but I wish the one-piece of the girl's
was fitting better on her stomach.

It's so much about the fabric.

A good fabric
would just move with her body and stay.

♪ OMG ♪

-♪ A-ha... ♪
-[stage manager] Last couple.

And two, one, go.

♪ OMG... ♪

-[Tan] Ooh.
-Wow.

-That's good fitting.
-This is what I wanted.

-[Megan, Bao] Oh!
-[Tan] Her suit is fantastic.

[Candice] That is a good fit.
Really accentuated her curves beautifully.

It's giving her great cleavage,
but it's not overly exposed.

It looks like she purchased it.

-They did that in one day?
-[Tan, Gigi] Four hours.

-[Tan] I'm so distracted by the man's top.
-[Jason] Yeah.

It doesn't look finished. It's not chic.
The proportions are just cheap.

Hey, I really wanna know how you feel.

-[Jason fake cries]
-Can you use your words?

I will say, it is hard for menswear
to give us something new with swim.

-Very true.
-Very difficult.

[crowd cheering]

♪ OMG... ♪

Good job, y'all!

-Good job, everybody!
-[designers whooping and cheering]

[all cheering and screaming]

[laughter, indistinct chattering]

What's up?

-Shall we go get up close and personal?
-Yes, please.

-Yes.
-[Gigi] Let's go.

-Top six on three.
-[Amari] Okay. One, two, three.

[all shout] Top six!

[cheering]

[laughing]

-[Gigi] Hey, guys.
-[judges] Hi.

Hello, hello.

Nice to meet you.

[lively music playing]

Desyrée and Amari,
can you please tell us your concept

and how you divvied up the work?

Our concept was day party in Mykonos.

So we implemented the fish netting, mesh.

And how we divvied up the work is

obviously she's super good in womens wear
and I'm good in menswear,

so we talked each piece through
and designed it together.

Desyrée, you picked Amari.
You chose her as your teammate.

-Are you glad you did?
-Absolutely.

I told her I wouldn't have
done this with anybody else.

-Aw.
-That's really sweet.

You're my girl. Come on now.
Don't act brand-new. We locked in.

[all laugh]

I loved what you did with the menswear.

The zipper,
I don't think I've seen it done before.

On the women's,

the cut in the front by the crotch
is a little wide,

and it's gaping a little bit,

but I love the mixture of the textures

I cannot get out of my head
that crop raffia jacket

that you have on him.

I love that you took an initiative
and didn't finish it with a proper seam.

You used hardware.

I really, really love that.

My only critique would have to be

if you would've made the strap on the top
of the swimsuit a little bit tighter

for just even more support
for the perfect spillover cleavage,

that would have been magic.

But minus that, I love this duo.

-Wow!
-I lovethis duo.

I love this color story,

but a bright blue stitching
would've really tied it together

and made your orange pop.

But I love it.
You guys did such a good job.

I can see you both in this,
so congratulations on that.

-Thank you.
-Good job, girl. Good job.

-Amari and Des, thank you.
-Bye, guys.

Thank you, guys.

[squealing] We did it!

[hip-hop music playing]

[Deontré] So basically
we wanted to do a scuba moment.

I like scuba diving,
so I wanted to take on that play of that.

So Nigel wanted to do, like,
a full scuba suit with the sleeves off.

I wanted to marry that
with the women's look

and do a scuba bikini,

and, like, the design is like the waves,
and we added a little 3M piping.

So if you're ever deep-sea diving,
they'll see you with the lights and stuff.

You gave us safety first.

-Yeah, exactly.
-Yeah, safety first. [laughs]

Do you think you're a strong team?

-Yes. It was perfect. He's calming.
-Definitely.

-I am. [laughs]
-[laughs]

You were definitely the flapper,
but it's okay.

[both laughing]

-[Tan] Every duo needs one.
-Yeah.

I'm that one in our situation.
She's the calm one.

Exactly.

I'm really impressed
with what you guys did.

The men's look is super fresh.

I love the piping detail.

The fit of the one-piece...
I'm like a psychopath about fit.

Yeah, sorry. [laughs]

[Candice] Neoprene is really difficult
to get it to fit to the body,

but I would love to see it fit her body
in a more seamless way.

Yes.

I do think there are fit issues
with the men's, also,

especially around the crotch area.

The women's
definitely isn't strong enough,

but I do like the concept.

Okay, designers, thank you so much.

-Thank you, guys. Nice meeting you.
-It's a pleasure meeting you. Thanks.

-[Deontré] Woo!
-[both laugh]

-[designer] Hi, guys.
-[Nigel] Yo.

♪ She looks good and she knows it
World-class and she owns it ♪

[Megan] So we wanted to do kind of a play
on '80s workout wear,

kind of Jane Fonda inspired,

but bring it to a modern place

and include references
that both Bao and I use,

and we wanted to make it very cohesive.

And who did what
in terms of making each piece?

We divvied it up like you did the men's
and I did the women's.

But then in the 11th hour,
I was helping on the women's.

-You mean the fourth hour? [laughs]
-The fourth, yes!

For the fourth hour.

I have to say congratulations
on the fit on the one-piece.

It's incredible and with such little time.

Wow.

Because it's almost two suits.

You got the high-cut fit perfect.

You got the lower-cut fit perfect.

Her bust looks amazing.

I love the cross detail as well.

But I do feel
you kind of gave the scraps to the guy,

and he was kind of secondary.

[Gigi] The tank top, I like it
as, like, its own piece,

but I just wish
that the time was divvied up better

so that they both got full looks.

I think the construction is really great.
I like the color options.

But again, this was
about you guys as a duo,

and this is not Megan.

Part of it is that when I worked with Tré,

the feedback was
that you mostly only saw my voice,

and so I thought
I just didn't want to overpower again.

I did spend a lot of time
working on the female look too.

I wouldn't say
it was just one person's project.

-I mean, do you feel that's accurate?
-Yeah.

-We did everything together.
-That's Bao's identity. That's her visual.

[pensive music playing]

-Well, designers, thank you so much.
-Thank you. Nice to meet you guys.

[lively music playing]

We've seen all of the looks.

Now we have to decide
who won this challenge

and who is going home.

How'd it go for you guys?

They loved the concept and the story
and how well we worked together.

[Jason] Desyrée and Amari,

it was just happy, and it was fun.

They gave us a fresh take on men's swim
that I think was lovely to see.

However, the women's look,
it wasn't ex*cuted perfectly,

but I think the idea was there.

They loved the concept.

Of course, you know,

the fit and the choice of fabric
with neoprene wasn't a good choice.

Nigel and Deontré, like, that was, like,
actually really fresh and interesting.

[Candice] But I couldn't see past the fit
on the one-piece

because it... It drives me nuts.

Basically, like, I got lost,
and they didn't see me at all.

[Jason] Bao and Meghan decided

to focus on one thing
versus focusing on the collective.

Yeah. Bao's look, yes, was fantastic,
and it was really well ex*cuted.

However, this was a team challenge.

I would love to see
what Megan has done before.

-She has...
-It's fantastic.

...one of the strongest identities
out of the group.

-You didn't see it tonight.
-[Tan, Jason] No.

They looked... so good.

-[Tan] It's a hard one, this one.
-I think we're all in agreement.

Thank you, guys, so much for coming.
It's always good to see you.

It was so good to see you.

Bye, love. Your insight was invaluable.

-[Gigi] And now the hard part.
-[Jason] We're going swimming.

[laughs] Can I go swimming with them?

[exhales sharply]

[mysterious music playing]

Designers,
would you like to join us, please?

We've taken a closer look at your designs,
discussed amongst ourselves,

and came to a consensus.

Mm-hmm. In the end,
there was one team that was our favorite.

The team of two designers
that will be inching that much closer

to the Next in Fashionfinale is...

[mysterious music continues]

...Desyrée and Amari.

-[squealing] Yes!
-[Tan laughs]

[designers applaud]

-That's my girl! Come here!
-Yes! Yes!

I'm so happy we won.
I made the right choice to pick my girl.

-Good job!
-I'm proud of you.

I'm so proud of you too.

Two in a row.

Might have to go for the... three-peat.

[Gigi] Congratulations.

You offered us
something innovative and new.

It was a great concept,

and both looks were finished really well,

and we could tell that you worked together
so well as a team.

But now comes the hard part.

-[tense music playing]
-[Gigi] One team's swimwear fell short.

In the end,
only one of you will be going home.

After seeing the strengths and weaknesses
of your finished looks,

the designer going home tonight is...

-Megan.
-[mellow music playing]

At this point in the competition,
we were desperate to see Megan,

which should've come across
in both your looks.

We want to make sure
that you keep showing your magic

and forcing people to see it.

We love you, and there's only one Megan.
Don't forget that.

We've loved having you here.

You've given us a version of the world
that we got so, so, so excited about,

and you're so unique
in the most special way.

I want you to know
that you're a fantastic designer.

[crying] Thank you.
Thank you so much for the opportunity,

and I feel lucky to have gotten this far.

I didn't necessarily think I would, so...
[sniffs]

...yeah. And I really love all you guys.

[Deontré, Nigel] We love you too, Megan.

[Desyrée] You know
how I feel about you, girl.

-We love you.
-[Megan crying]

I'm definitely feeling
a little sad to go home,

but very proud of what I've done.

I really showed who I am,
and I showed my work.

I mean, I got to do
so many amazing things. [sniffles]

I don't know how I could say
that I didn't do enough. [chuckles]

I've learned that I'm a lot tougher
than I think I am. [chuckles]

-Bye, everybody! [cries]
-[Tan] Bye, sweetheart. Bye.

[Megan] I did what I came here to do,

and I wanna go home
and design a new collection. [crying]

I have so much to offer.
I know I do. [cries]

[Amari] It's okay, Bao.

[Amari] I'm so proud of Megan.

She's unbelievably talented.

Still felt like she had so much
for the world to see.

Yeah, I know she gon' do great things.
She's an amazing designer.

She really is.

[exhales deeply]

Now we have a little surprise
for all of you.

-[mysterious music plays]
-[Amari] Hm?

[Gigi] Your next challenge

starts now!

-[Bao] How so?
-[Nigel] What?

-Wait, what?
-It's always a twist.

There are five bags behind you.

Each of those bags represents inspiration
for your next challenge.

Oh wow.

Desyrée and Amari,
you won the swimwear challenge,

and that means you both
get to pick your bags first.

You can go and make your selection now.

[fun music playing]

Hold on.

Tough decision, Desyrée?

Yeah.

Yeah.

The rest of you can make your selections
in three, two, one, go!

[funky music playing]

Okay, Desyrée, please open your bag.

[Deontré] Oh sh*t.

-Twenty thousand, I hope!
-[all laugh]

Fire, 1950s.

-[Tan] You have the 1950s.
-I like that.

-Ooh.
-Know much about it?

My dad wasn't even born!

[both laugh]

All right, Amari, reveal.

Yes!

-It's the 1960s. Woo-hoo!
-[all laugh]

-I love the 1960s.
-[Tan] Same.

-All right, Bao.
-Gotta be the '80s.

[all laugh]

-[designers] All right!
-I got this.

Nige.

-'70s.
-All righty.

-We 'bout to have some fun.
-Deontré.

-The '90s.
-[Nigel] '90s! Ooh!

I'm a '90s baby.

-[laughs]
-Yeah! Me too!

-I feel amazing about the '90s.
-[Tan] That's right.

For the next challenge,

we're gonna reimagine
the most popular fashions from the past.

-[Amari giggles]
-[designers] Mmm.

Now get out of here.
Get some sleep. You deserve it.

[Deontré] Thank you.

-[Desyrée] Good night.
-[Nigel] Word.

And do research,
if you don't really know, Des.

[Desyrée] I shoulda kept the same bag.

Or you can ask me tomorrow.

Ask Grandpa Tan.

["Dark Eye" by Ah2 playing]