The one and a half hour finale was just posted. The show was a live broadcast on Tuesday and it is the first time that the format of the finale was completely changed.
I think the show has proved to be really popular in Israel so they milked it to the last drop. The TV station posts each episode complete with very few commercials. This being such a long episode it loads slowly.
Some observations:
The show started with a live band performing a rap song in Hebrew and English while all the winning garments from the various challenges walked down the runway.
The judges sat on high chairs in the back of the audience, not in the front row where they could see every detail.
The Israeli version of Heidi Klum came to introduce all three finalists who walked together on the runway and said what a wow day this was and so on. Then they were asked to sit in the audience.
All the previous contestants were there. They were permitted to ask the finalists one question. At the end the previous contestants voted. Their collective vote counted as one judge's vote.
Each contestant was given an intro with a video of the mentor visiting their home first to see the sketches and a few weeks later to see the work in progress. There was a lot of discussion about inspiration.
I also liked the discussion about the styling. The designers had some very interesting styling ideas which included body paint, bleaching of eyebrows, bright color stripes on the hair etc.
Two of the finalists, Maya and Lucy, designed their own fabric. Alon, who is the winner, designed such intricate garments that he literally built them on the mannequin piece by piece. He also used hair, but in pastel colors. He thought it was one of his most innovative piece (I guess he doesn't watch PR USA).
After each show the designer walked out and each of the judges as well as one of the previous contestants asked a question mostly about the creative process. I did not feel that this part was particularly enlightening.
At the end, one of the previous designers gave the collective decision and then each judge added his vote with a reason. The votes were tallied and Alon won. His inspiration was butterflies. At time it was very literal, but overall his interpretation had more to do with the black parts of the butterfly in its various transformation from cocoon to caterpillar to butterfly. It was interesting, again a bit too literal for my taste, but definitely inspired and the execution was almost flawless.
The designers also had a last minute challenge. They had to design a piece for three participants of the Israeli version of Dancing with the Stars and the designs had to fit in with their collections. A good challenge that produced interesting results.
The other twist is that the prize in Israel, in addition to money and a car, includes a one year lease on a store in a prestigious or popular shopping mall (I don't know Israel that well anymore so I am not sure where this mall and its reputation). In addition, they winner gets to show his collection in an Israeli fashion show for buyers in Los Angeles.
The format of the finale required the Israel Heidi to improvise, and it was obviously not her strength. There were some awkward moments and a lot of stalling for time (or so it seems). Overall, the finalists were very talented, worthy of their spot in the finale and I agree with the winner.
Michelle
Thank you Michelle!
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