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01x09 - Pop Up Shop

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Making the Cut". Aired: March 27, 2020 – August 19, 2022.*

01x09 - Pop Up Shop

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously, on Making the Cut

You need to show the judges

how you've grown here on Making the Cut.

If I don't deliver, I could go home.

You are the only designer

who doesn't have a winning look.

It's not a time to hold back.

Sander, I feel like you really are full

of new ideas.

Esther, I loved everything

that you sent down.

You are the winner.

Jonny, we know that you make

relatable clothes, so now,

put your swag on it.

Megan, what is missing is a clear idea

of what your brand is about.

Megan, I'm sorry,

but you're not making the cut.

Esther, Sander, Jonny,

you're moving on to the final three!

- Oh, my God!

- -I can't believe it.

Ahh! I'm overwhelmed.

- Hello!

- -Hi.

Our final three.

Congratulations.

- Thank you so much.

- -Thank you.

Heidi and I are so happy

for the three of you,

and we are so proud

of how hard you've worked

and what you've achieved,

as we have traveled the world

over the past weeks.

- It's been quite a journey.

-Oof!

The weirdest thing is, I met these people

like one and a half months ago.

That's the weirdest thing. I feel like

I've lived an entire life with them.

- We're like proud parents.

-We are like proud parents.

I feel like the three of you

really have shown a lot of fight.

- Mm-hmm.

-an ability to really rise,

even in the toughest of circumstances.

And that's what we're looking for,

someone who is

the next great global brand.

This is it.

One of you will receive a mentorship

from Amazon Fashion,

the chance to create and sell

a collection on Amazon,

and one million dollars.

Yaaaah!

Who is it gonna be?

I want to win so badly.

It's just such a big chance for me.

I've been working like

on a small little island, I feel,

for the last 15 years.

I just want people to see what I'm doing,

and I really feel like this is what I need.

So, are you guys still enjoying Tokyo?

- Yes.

- -Yes.

I'm ready for a change of scenery.

Pack your bags.

You're going

home.

Aww!

You're disappointed, Sander?

I'm so ready to go home.

You are going home, and in one month,

we will meet you in New York City

to complete our trip around the world.

And in New York, you'll be judged

on your next assignment.

This is the biggest assignment yet.

To begin, you're going to create,

design, and merchandise

a pop-up shop that is representative

of your brand.

Pop-up stores are really important.

You need to create a buzz around your brand.

And it's not only by creating a product.

It's also creating a universe

for your customers.

The big goal is that they feel like

being part of that universe.

And you need to create

a 12 to 14-look collection

for a fashion show.

The pop-up shop should be something of

an accessible preview of your fashion show.

In addition, you will need to prepare

a business plan and a pitch.

You'll need to make it clear

how you plan to use

the one million dollars to grow your brand.

Our final assignment is more massive

than I could ever imagine.

It's going to be more work

than we've ever done in our lives.

So, go home,

get all your little fashion ducks in a row,

and meet us in New York City.

I can't wait to see what you guys

come back with.

Us too.

I don't know where my passport is.

- What?

Come on, let's go.

Before my old bones break.

- Oy!

- -Come on.

I don't know how Heidi does this,

but I pack on the bed.

I know it looks messy, but I know

exactly where everything is.

As I'm packing these suits,

I'm very conscious of the weight.

Each side of the suitcase

receives three suits.

I alternate the directions of the hangers.

This is what I wore.

I'm very organized.

Oops. Yeah.

Now for the shoes.

They go into their little covers.

And everything stays nice and neat.

I did a lot of shopping.

I got these socks. Aren't they so cute?

How cute are these?

Alright.

I forgot about these!

And how cute is this?!

We're all set, and just barely.

The car's coming in three hours.

The sad truth is, this is all real.

Being home in L.A., the comforts of my nest,

I need that to recharge.

Ooh!

I don't think there's enough coffee

in the world to really beat your jetlag,

but it might help.

Frank is my husband.

We've been together for over 10 years.

And he is the most supportive person

anyone will ever meet.

Every time I'm opening up a new shop

or doing a show,

he's always on my backstage, you know,

lacing shoes or steaming,

always, like super selfless.

Every time I travel, I'm always excited

about all the different places,

but then you come home

and you're like, "Ahh."

- Home is great.

- Yeah.

-I love our home,

- so it feels good to be back.

-I do too.

Good to be back.

So, what time is your flight?

Morning

I knew if I took one day to slow down,

I wouldn't be able to get back in high gear.

It's like, don't take a break,

just get it done.

You can sleep when you die.

You know?

So, I immediately booked a flight to Bali.

Bali is where the teams are that I work with.

They're some of the most talented craftsmen

I've ever met.

Not only that, but I can go into, like,

a small family-run tailor shop

and say, "I want to make three jackets.

I want to sample this one boot."

This allows me to experiment.

There's not many places in the world

that allow artists and designers to do this.

And so, Bali's become

this really magical place for me.

Selamat pagi!

- How are you?

-I'm good, how are you? Let's do it.

There's so much on the line right now.

A million dollars is, like,

dangling in front of me.

I've been preparing all my life

for this moment, and it feels awesome.

- Thank you.

It's great to be back.

I've missed the real world so much.

Oh, baby, it's so nice

having you home again.

Yeah. I didn't expect me to go this far

into the competition.

I was surprised that the judges

loved it that much.

Oh, well, I was not.

- No, but you're my biggest fan.

-No, I really wasn't.

If they hated it, you would have gone

all the way there.

You'd be like, "You're gonna love

my son's designs!

No, but of course.

Me and my family,

we've always been very close.

Everybody's proud of me.

I think my mom, most of all,

supported me always for who I was.

For me and the rest of our family,

you really are brilliant, you know that.

It's definitely a life-changing experience.

In the beginning when I started,

I was like, "Oh, we'll see how far I get,"

but now that I've gotten here, I'm like,

"Okay, b*tch, game on."

So, this is a school that I went to.

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

I studied here for four years

for my Bachelor's in Fashion,

and then that became my Master's.

I think the judges already understood

exactly what I stand for,

that I'm solidly based in what I do,

and think they don't think

that I'm gonna bring it very accessible,

so, I think that's where they're

a little bit shaky about it.

But I got something for all of them.

My design would not be my design

without the tailoring,

so, I was like, "How can I link that

to the 95% of the public?"

So, for the pop-up store,

I'm doing in-house tailoring

to kind of provide that as a service

and to create more of

an open line of communication

between the customer and the store,

instead of, like, "This is what we offer,

and you just deal with it."

It's something that we haven't seen almost

in the 21st century

and something that got lost

because of the globalization of fashion.

And that's kind of where the idea

of Miss Bos came,

of the tailored woman,

the woman of the future.

And I think I definitely bring something

that takes the traditional part of fashion

and something

the thing we love about fashion

and kind of brings it back,

but in a new and a fresher form.

So, yes, I am the future of fashion.

For me, being back home in my white castle,

how I call my tiny little apartment,

feels really good, because this is the place

where I charge my batteries.

Funnily, everybody expects me

to have a black home,

so, like, all walls would be black

or a lot of black furniture,

but I need the opposite.

I need a lot of light around me.

I didn't tell a lot of people

that I'm back home.

I was sort of hiding,

because I don't have the time.

I was actually not imagining

how intense this journey would be

and how important for me personally

and also for the brand.

I just have this goal in front of me,

and I cannot be distracted by anything else.

Doing 12 to 14 looks

for the runway show is a lot,

especially when you have a pop-up store

at the same time.

The main idea behind the concept

for the pop-up store

is an art installation with black rope.

So, everything is hanged, basically.

There is nothing on the ground

except from big piles of black rope.

So, that is basically the idea behind,

and I wanted to make it as clear as possible

for the art department.

I think I've never worked as hard in my life.

I can feel the growth

that I have made as a designer.

Both my parents passed away already,

but I'm sure they would have been so proud.

My mother always supported me

doing what I wanted to do.

A couple of days before she passed away,

she said, "Esther, please go for it.

"One day, you'll make it,

"and don't expect everybody

to always like what you do.

But you can do it."

I was waiting for this moment.

I'm ready to show the world

my Esther universe.

I'm recognizing how different I feel

landing in New York this time as opposed

to the beginning of this competition.

I feel confident.

This is the best collection I've made

in my entire life.

I've been working so hard for 30 days.

Now, everyone gets to see it.

It's been a crazy journey.

I'm a totally changed designer.

Totally changed man. I feel on fire.

Just looking forward to see my collection

on the runway here in New York.

It would feel so incredible

to leave this airport with potentially

one million dollars in my pocket.

It feels so surreal being in New York

and being at the finale.

The million dollars is so close,

and it's almost like I can smell it.

I can hear it calling my name.

It's like, "Sander come and get me!"

- Yeah!

-Hey! You're back!

- How are you?

-Oh!

- How has it been? You look tired. Same.

- Thank you

-What happened?

for that nice compliment.

That's his way, like,

being really nice to people, spreading

compliments all over the place.

I am really tired.

I think I've never worked as hard

in my life before.

- I don't know, like

-This is your space?

Well, here is my stuff.

Maybe that one there.

Oh! Look at this.

They decorated the room for you.

I was like, "What is all this black in here?"

It's incredible.

It's all in gold and black.

Wow! Sander, did you see my chair?

And then I look, like, left and right,

to Jonny and Sander's place,

and it looks very different to mine.

I really felt like home.

I don't want to go back to Berlin

if I can have this.

Yes, go back to Berlin, Esther.

Give up now!

- No!

-Who's that? Ahh!

Honey, I'm home!

Hi!

Haa! Ooh!

Are you strong enough to carry Esther?

Yeah! Hi.

How have you been?

How was back in L.A.?

I'm good. I mean,

I think we're probably all the same

excited, totally exhausted.

Walking to the airport, I was like, "Wow.

Two months ago, landing in this airport"

I was so, like, timid and like,

"What's going to happen?"

And this time, I got off the plane like

It feels a little bit insane to be

this close to a million dollars.

I'm a little bit nervous that I'm here

with Jonny and Esther.

They both have, throughout the competition,

proven to be very strong.

The stakes have never been this high.

Well, I love you guys, but, actually,

I kind of want to unpack.

When we stop now talking,

the work is starting.

- Oh, so that's why you're putting it off?

-Esther's like, "Stay here"

Hey, I love you guys,

but I didn't fly to New York to talk.

- I flew here to to do this.

-What?

Now, get out of my workspace, goddamnit!

We are doing

a 12 to 14-piece collection

and pop-up shop,

featuring, like, five of the looks

that are previewing the collection

we're doing on the runway.

So, I have five giant suitcases

of the collection,

you know, it's like I have to get it all out,

steam it, look it over again,

and then I'm going to start taking

all of my product from my shop,

set it aside, and get it ready

to hang in the store.

- Who's here?

-Hello!

- Hi!

- -Come out! I want to see you!

I've missed you.

Come out, come out.

- Hi.

- I'll throw you a kiss.

- Can you believe this?

- No.

We've been in two other fashion capitals,

Paris and Tokyo,

but we're back in and I have a bias

we're back in my favorite.

- Nothing can beat New York City.

Alright. We have a lot of business to cover.

The next two days are going to be frenetic.

They're going to be a little crazy.

Now, the pop-up shops, they're happening

the day after tomorrow.

They're currently being constructed

downstairs on the first floor.

And as I understand it, you've been working

with the art department already,

over the last few weeks.

Stuart is the head of the art department.

You're going to have

a meeting with him later today,

so you can go through what you envision,

how to actually have it happen.

The pop-up shop is

a very important experience,

for a lot of reasons.

One is, this is a customer experience.

We've invited the New York city public,

who will be able to place orders

for garments from your shops.

You will have two hours to get them

to want to buy something,

so, there will be a tally on the ordering.

That's going to be important to the judges.

But the pop-up shop experience

is about visual merchandising,

it's about product seduction,

it's about the feel of the space

and how the customer interacts

with that experience.

It's all of that.

There will also be a winning look

that will be sold immediately on Amazon.

And you need to know something

that's very difficult for me to say.

There's going to be an elimination.

Mm.

And the elimination's going to be determined

by the outcome of the pop-up shops.

So, only two of you will have

a final fashion show here.

- Oh.

- -So, there's a lot at stake.

Knowing that someone's going home

after the presentation of the pop-up store

feels so intense.

We just have to give everything.

Well, let's move forward

with the power of positive thinking.

I really believe it's anyone's game.

I'm going to come and check in

with each of you briefly, okay?

- Group hug.

I am nervous about the elimination,

'cause I'm like, "Okay, here we go,

we have three strong identities."

If you want me, I'll call security.

- Sander, how are you doing?

-I'm good, trying to unpack all of this.

I would love to hear what's been going on

since we left each other in Tokyo.

Well, I took a long airplane home

I hopped on a plane.

I drew out a full collection there.

Took a nap, woke up in Belgium,

and from that point on,

it's been full force ahead.

I was working from 4:00 in the morning

until 10:00 at night

making this collection happen,

the pop-up store,

and putting everything together.

- It's easier to Oh, they look good.

-Yeah.

I'm doing a 14-look collection for my finale,

and it was basically inspired

on the idea of Miss Bos,

derived of Sander Bos,

the name of my brand.

I like them a lot.

For the collection, I wanted to create

something more accessible.

Miss Bos is right in the middle

between streetwear and couture.

It's like the silver lining

between the two angry clouds.

Most of the prints are all separated

into different looks.

I used the textiles

that I designed for my sister.

I just have to do the buttons.

- You see I made the buttons out of..,

-Yeah.

It was really fun for me to work

on a collection with my sister.

It also felt very natural,

'cause we flow well together.

'Cause you use all of the colors,

they neutralize each other.

I think so too.

My team is me, my sister,

and then I had my two seamstresses.

And my mom she drives me around a lot.

'Cause I can't drive a car.

I had really no expectations

coming into this competition.

Before, I was some kid

with 200 dollars in my bank account,

flipping burgers,

making some clothes.

Now I have the world listening,

so I think I should grab it by the ba*ls.

I've made something that I'm proud of.

- I can't wait to show you guys, actually.

-Well, I can't wait to see.

- Alright.

-Love you.

Love you back.

- Hi.

-Hey, Stuart.

Good to see you. In life. In real.

Here it is. This is your space.

The first thing I'm gonna get them working on

is hanging the countertops.

Then we're going to start

stringing the ropes.

My pop-up store,

I think it's really Berlin,

with the concrete and the black ropes,

and I'm here to represent my city.

This is the stuff, the thicker stuff

that we'll use for the drapes

to supplement this other lighter stuff.

- So, I mean, I think we're in a good place.

-Yeah, beautiful.

Although it has this rough element,

I envisioned it really elegant and upscale

with the black and gold.

It was empty still.

There's a lot to be done.

Obviously, keep checking in,

and we'll have questions as we start, so

- It's cool. Okay.

- -Jonny.

What's been going on

since I left you in Tokyo?

- Everything.

-Yeah?

The last 30 days, I have busted my a*s

creating a whole world.

I really think this is the best collection

I've ever done.

This competition has brought up

a lot of things regarding my brand identity.

- Whoa!

-It's beautiful! Look at it.

I've had SkinGraft for over 10 years.

Everyone's like,

"When is Jonny Cota happening?"

- What better opportunity than this?

- - I love it.

"We are all performers

in life's grand circus. Hear us roar."

We

- This is perfect.

-Yeah.

I love it. Oh, my God,

it's gonna be a whole store.

It looks so professional.

The name for my collection

is Metamorphosis,

and it represents my transition

into a more evolved designer.

- It will be total four black, one silver.

-One silver, okay.

But it looks cool. This looks cool.

I'm creating 14 looks with shoes,

accessories, jewelry.

I even made candles.

Like, I'm giving you the full lifestyle

of my brand.

I love it. It's cool. This print is so cool.

I'm also bringing a new sense of femininity

into this collection.

There's a lot of dresses.

I've learned a lot in this competition

about shedding some of the armor.

I love to design really architecturally,

really hard.

I've found a lightness

a lightness in fabric,

a lightness in design kind of a simplicity.

I'm using bamboo.

It's part of my, like, eco-friendly push

I'm gonna have in the finale.

I'm kind of, like, why did it take me

ten years to use print and color?

It's gonna look really, really great.

This is why I wanted so desperately

to be in the finale,

because I wanted to show what I can do,

and I can build worlds.

And I am building a world

that I want to be a part of,

and I think everyone

that walks into this pop-up

will want to be a part of this world too.

Hey, you, you did it!

- It's gonna be good.

-Yes.

- Made a ton of awesome stuff.

-Excellent. I can't wait to see it.

See you later. Thank you.

- Sander, how are you, man?

-Hello, I'm good. How are you?

Very good, very good.

Yeah, that's it.

- You're standing out. This is awesome.

- -Oh, I like it.

So, what the guys are going to start by doing

is to put down some board

to protect the flooring

so it doesn't get damaged.

Yeah. No, that's good.

For my pop-up, I think I started

from the idea of, like,

the building of the House of Bos.

That's why there's a huge house there,

and it's all with, like,

the iridescent foil,

as kind of mimicking

the gradients of the prints.

We have the glass, you know,

box in the middle

which kind of references, like,

more modern art.

I made it a mirror because I wanted people

to feel like an art piece.

The House of Bos is fun, and it's out there,

but in a way that is balanced.

- I think it looks really good.

-We're trying to hit

Let's do it, yes!

Oh, my God, I'm excited.

- Good.

-Thank you, babe.

Esther. How have the last number

of weeks been?

Were there any surprises?

During the past few weeks,

I have discovered

that my creative limit

is not reached yet,

and I didn't expect that.

The studio looks like a huge b*mb exploded.

I'm so hungry for life, and that's why

I called the collection Hungry for Life.

This name is just so perfect

for the moment I am in

and the development I made

in the past few weeks.

I developed this all-over print

with the fork, knife and spoons,

but you don't see it, so it's not like

right away in your face.

Even the way I design got very different.

I became so much more free.

I never worked with tulle before.

So, this is really new for me.

I mean, a coat like this

I'm so happy with this piece,

but I would never have done

something like this.

I know that there are some issues

with doing a black collection,

for selling online, for example,

that it's not very appealing.

So, I'm so grateful that I had the time here

to really think it over

and think like, I want to stick

to that universe,

but maybe it could be slightly

changed.

So, this is the print for the sweaters

in the pop-up store.

So, the commercial variation of

the cutout thing from the runway show.

If I would really commercialize it,

then probably there would be

a black-and-white version.

I realize that in order

to keep being really creative,

I will need to work on a collection

which is more accessible

and really build a foundation

with the commercial line,

which will then allow me

to do the other collection,

which is more creative.

This might be my best collection yet.

It's so joyful. It's wonderful.

I'm really happy with what I did,

and very proud.

Excellent. Alright, I'm going

to let you get back to work.

- Okay? Alright.

-Thank you.

- Hey.

-Good to see you.

Good to see you.

- So, here we are. Here's the space.

-Wow. This is awesome.

You wanted the finish to be,

like, a little bit gritty,

the overgrown greens coming in,

and then your butterflies.

So, I think we've got

a really good base here.

The concept for my pop-up

is really cool.

It's cool, because

you know, I was talking about finding

this tenderness and this softness.

But it's still fierce.

My walls are like this old cement bunker,

and wherever there's a crack,

there's like green ivy growing out of it.

In the center,

there's these two mannequins,

and there's like this shower of light

and butterflies

that's kind of like roaring

out of their mouths.

Whew! Those are pink!

If pink is what you wanted to avoid,

we can look into mixing some colors.

The butterfly itself,

it's kind of a metaphor for me

coming out as something rather different

out of this competition from when I entered.

- Alright, man.

-Thank you so much.

I'm loving my pop-up,

then I see out of the corner of my eye

Esther's pop-up.

And I'm like, "Are you kidding me?"

Our pop-ups are the same!

I'm dying. I'm dying.

I thought for sure you were gonna do white.

- Excellent! My plan has worked!

- -I know.

- You copied me.

-Oh, really?

I think Jonny and me

have the same aesthetic.

We think very modern.

If you see the two of us together sometimes,

if he's wearing, like, his leather jacket,

then we could be like both playing

in a band together or something like that.

They're not going to send two designers

who have cement pop-ups into the finale.

Our pop-ups look the same,

and Tim just announced that one of us

is going to go home after this.

This is not a good combination.

I think there might be

one too many vine on here.

It's like a It's too green.

Every detail matters,

because everything's riding on this.

This one was supposed to be higher.

Come on, black lady.

- I think you call her lady in black.

-Okay.

Oh, jeez, I should have cleaned

this place up.

Esther, babe, do you have

a sewing needle? I've lost mine.

Mm-hmm.

- Is this how your house looks?

- -My apartment's all white.

That what

- I need a lot of white. I need light.

-Okay, so, to contrast the black.

- Yeah.

-Okay, I get that.

- Yeah? Got it?

-Is that Yeah.

- Don't get sassy with me now.

- "Got it, Sander?"

- Morning.

-Hey, Jonny, how are you, man?

- I'm doing well. How are you?

-Good.

The assignment is to design merchandise

and create a pop-up shop

that can base our brand.

We have one more day

before the pop-up opens,

and we'll start to see the pop-ups

come to life.

We're looking at getting some,

like, weighted, like, washers to put on here.

Someone is going to be eliminated

after presenting the pop-up stores.

And this feels really stressful.

My other two competitors,

they've had stores.

I don't have that experience yet

under my belt.

So, it's definitely all new for me,

and I'm feeling super nervous.

Sander, tell me

what you want people to perceive

when they experience your space.

It's really the House of Bos.

We have an in-house tailoring,

so it's all really part of the whole concept

of the collection.

My brand is more of a unique look,

and so, I had to dig deeper and say, okay,

how can I take something that's unique

and fit it to so many

different types of bodies?

That's what would happen in the store

with the tailor.

You don't have to not buy something

because it's not your size

or it doesn't fit your body well,

'cause we can make it fit your body.

As a lot of people in this world,

they might have, let's say,

a small here and a large here.

And then the tailor can help them

to make it more fitted to their body.

Coming into this, I thought,

I have a great commercial store background,

so does Esther.

And I was like,

Sander might struggle with this.

And then he comes up with this idea

of having tailors in his shop. I'm like

- That's really good.

-It's smart.

The general inspiration was working

with these black ropes.

And I wanted to have a space which looks

more like an art installation.

I have a very practical concern.

Are these ropes not

massive tripping hazards?

For me, not.

I think the Europeans are a bit more relaxed.

We're just like, "Yeah, yeah Come on.

Nothing will happen."

But I'm afraid that you're limiting yourself

by looking at this as an art installation,

and it's going to be very interactive.

You're going to have a lot of people in here.

You're going to have three models in here.

You're in here.

It really worries me.

I want you to think about it.

Walk me through everything

that's going to happen in here.

The centerpiece is this.

They are strung from the ceilings.

You know I pull a lot of inspiration

from music culture and

- Yeah.

-you know

So, instead of, like, traditional models,

I've hired, like,

two of New York's top voguers.

Now, I know a vogue dancer

could take up a lot of space,

but they're part of the way that kind of

keeps this thing interactive.

Think about the chaos theory

of all these people coming through here.

People are going to want

to take things off the racks,

they're going to want to try things on.

And, frankly, I don't want this

to derail you.

Because there's just too much.

I trust Tim, and I really value his opinion,

so it definitely makes my head spin.

This could eliminate me, or it could

move me forward to the final runway.

How is this gonna work?

Can you help me move this?

The mannequins in the center

just took up too much room.

So, I'm moving them to the corner,

almost like a traditional store.

Now they're where the window display

would normally be,

because it's much more room

for the customers.

Oh, yeah, that's beautiful.

The stakes are so high.

It just has to be right.

There's no time left for it to not be right.

Tim's a bit concerned about the piles.

Probably we have more ropes

than we actually need.

Someone's going home after

the presentation of the pop-up store.

It's now time to really fight for my place.

Construction is done, and

we're going to just wrap everything out

I think it's going to look really dope

all in glass.

Wow, it's gonna be beautiful.

This is it.

It's a "do or die" kind of moment.

I'm not going home. I'm staying here,

and I'm catching that millions.

Where are my two old hags?

Oh, there they are.

Come on, pretties.

- That was a good day.

- -Let's go. Yeah, it was.

- Oh, yeah.

- -Another day, another dollar.

Today is the big day of the pop-up store.

Good morning, everybody.

We have two more hours

for finalizing our pop-up store.

I have to put the garments,

I have to put the accessories,

and I have to dress the models.

- No, skank! I was first!

The first thing I really want to get done

is get the clothes down

into the pop-up store,

because I want to see how it looks.

'Cause we have a lot of prints,

we have a lot of colors.

And I want it to look like a balanced piece.

I'm, like, tagging things and pricing things

and merching things,

and it's so close, but it's so far.

I've never opened a Jonny Cota store.

This will be the first.

The stakes are so high, especially for me,

because this is the debut launch

of Jonny Cota.

I've been working on an entire collection,

which for me is about 50 pieces.

If this pop-up shop doesn't deliver,

all of this whole collection that I've

worked on, no one would even see it.

Bam! Looks beautiful.

Finally, the gold is coming into my store,

as it's really my DNA.

Slowly but surely, we'll get there.

One hour left!

One hour left, designers!

Hello!

So, my two tailors arrived,

and I'm super excited

because they're the best tailors out there.

So, let's say you want this tightened,

so you can show him like this.

"This is how it would look if we do it."

And they're like,

"Oh, yeah, I really like this."

And you can be like,

"That's how it will be done in two days."

I didn't want to do models.

I really wanted to invite people to fit it.

Otherwise, if it's there already fitted,

you're like,

"Oh, that's never gonna look

like that on me. I'm not trying that."

Let's start with the idea

of both of you guys kind of here,

more facing towards here.

My aesthetic was born in my life culture,

and so, I'm using underground

New York vogue dancers

giving you the full vogue ball.

Voguing is a legendary dance style

that incorporates poses

from the old fashion magazines

and turning them in to a full dance.

For me, it's the most beautiful fusion

of fashion, music, and dance.

It's perfect for my store.

Thirty minutes, designers!

Thirty minutes left!

Dear women

So, the idea is that you pose

in 1950s Vogue c over poses.

So, something like that.

When guests walk into my store,

I want the models to do

some very soft performance

so people can really see the garment

on a person and not on a plastic mannequin.

I'm feeling good, because

I really, really like the pop-up store.

It looks really elegant,

and it looks really upscaled,

but still being really cool

and rock and roll.

That looks awesome!

Hi. Come into my house.

This is where, you know,

I hang out with my friends.

You know. We like to wear

a lot of different kinds of clothes.

I'm very happy how everything turned out!

I had to, like, stop myself from crying,

you know,

to stand there in my own store now

in New York City?

I mean, two months ago,

I was at a hamburger place

thinking, like, what the ,

is this all going to work out?

It definitely became a reality today.

It sunk into me, like, wow.

I just, like, physically walked into one of

the things that I used to dream about.

The space is beautiful.

The art team came through, honey.

There's this moment

where everything's done,

I pull out the candle, and I light it.

And that means: Work is done.

Open the doors.

I'm overwhelmed with emotion, you know.

Just I've been working really hard.

And it looks really good.

I'm just I'm proud.

And I'm just can't believe I'm here.

Looks really good.

It's crazy to see my name up like that.

This is the moment

when I finally get to take it in.

I'm really, really proud.

Yeah.

I'm I'm going.

We're down to our final three designers.

And it's been quite a ride.

The designers had one last assignment,

which will determine who moves on

to the final business pitch and fashion show.

- Oh, there they are.

- -Come in, come in, come in.

Today's customers

don't just want to buy clothes.

They want to be pulled

into a brand experience.

Hi, welcome. I'm Jonny.

- Thank you. Hi.

- -Hi.

Pop-ups also make a brand tangible,

quite literally.

Customers can touch and feel the garments.

And as you know, Heidi,

the shoppers here today

can place orders for garments

from the designers' pop-up shops.

Since this is all about customers,

the number of items sold

will factor into the judges' decision.

- I'm going to be buying some stuff too.

-Ah! I love hearing that.

Today, I brought my credit cards.

Okay, let's introduce

our lovely judges.

And we're so excited

to have Nicole Richie back.

I'm excited to see what they've done.

Let's go.

- Let's go.

-Let's go.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

-Nice to see you.

Come on in.

I was nervous all morning.

As soon as a customer came in,

Boom! I remember, I'm good at this.

Shop around, get comfortable.

Play dress-up, grab anything off the racks,

do whatever you want.

Yeah, that's really cute!

So, you can go all the way out,

or you can go halfway through.

She looks expensive!

Hi, welcome.

- Hi.

-Welcome, welcome.

Yeah, I mean, feel free

to grab it, touch it, try it.

I want to invite the people into my universe,

and my universe is the black universe,

but it's also this luxurious

rock and roll universe.

What inspired you to do

the Hungry for Life?

Because this is how I feel right now.

I am hungry for life.

When the first customers are starting

to walk into the showroom,

it's a little bit daunting,

because you're like,

"Aaah! They're here."

I know I don't look like it, but I get shy.

Hi. Welcome.

- But I just was, like, Sander, grow up.

- it up.

- Hi!

- -Hi!

Hi, nice to meet you. Sander.

How are you guys?

- I'm just going to try this on.

-Oh, yeah.

I think this will fit you perfectly.

Yeah, and otherwise,

we have our tailors in the house.

- You look fabulous.

-I like this.

Do you like it with the pink?

There's a lot.

- I think so too.

-So, yeah, I'll buy it.

- You can just take a picture of it.

-Okay.

Everybody loved that body-tight,

very short dress with the heavy colors.

And there are, like, 30 people, like,

buy, buy, buy, buy, buy.

It's fabulous to see actual people

in my clothing,

And I can't wait to see people

wearing Miss Bos outside of this.

- I love the environment.

- -I know, it's so psychedelic.

I really like the pleats up the neck.

- Great crop jean.

-Mm-hmm.

- Little strappy sandal.

-Super cute.

Hi, guys. How are you?

- Hi!

-Hi, nice to meet you. Sander.

I'm Christine Beauchamp,

president of Amazon Fashion.

- Oh, hey!

-It's really nice to meet you.

And this is my colleague, Steph.

Oh, my God! They were like,

"Hi, we're from Amazon." I was like, "Hi!"

Do you mind if we look around?

-No, take a look.

- There are the dressing rooms.

-Thank you.

Hi, guys.

- This is my favorite skirt so far.

-Oh, do you want to try it on?

There's a fitting room right here.

I'm a salesman.

So, it's like, "Oh, you like that?

Oh, let me get you in this dress."

Oh, my God! Legs for days!

- Now, what's your hero piece?

- -The bamboo dress.

So many body types have loved it.

It's super soft.

And so, everyone's been really loving them.

If you like any of them,

then you know you can check out.

People were buying.

There was a line in my kiosk.

I'm, like, trying to help people go faster.

Because the sales matter

for who moves forward.

Sexy, sexy.

This sweater has some oomph to it,

because of the design and the shine.

A lot of people really liked the sweater.

I thought that I went too commercial,

but it's great to see that it works

for a brand like me.

What I've had the most response to

is actually this sweater.

It's a sweatshirt shape

with a fine merino wool.

Yeah, exactly.

And then I had a lot of response

to that dress.

This is the best sign for me that I need

to build on commercial looks

to really make a good business.

- It's very nice to meet you.

-Thank you.

Whoa!

New, right?

- Yes, Esther.

-Wow.

So, it's clearly like

a world of black.

- Yeah.

- -Wow.

- Hi, Esther! How are you?

-Oh, my God!

- It feels like ages.

-I know. This is amazing.

- Thank you.

- -I love these cutlery prints.

Is this more casual than what

you would normally make, or?

It is. It is. On the runway,

you have the same things

but translated into high fashion.

And you did everything

the shoes, the jewelry

- Yeah.

- -Oh, I love this.

The look looks super complicated,

and then you break down each piece,

and every single piece

is actually very wearable.

Understanding your world gives me

such a better understanding

- of what your clothes are about.

-Absolutely.

This is really amazing

to have the judges

inside of our pop-up stores,

because before, there was always a distance

between the judges and the collection,

but now, they are really experiencing

our universe completely.

- Hello, Esther!

- -Esther!

- Very cool.

-It's very chic and clean.

I'm not surprised. Everything is black.

Oh! How come? Yeah.

- Yes! Now we all can have your shoe.

- -Yes.

I love that you made

all your jewelry too.

I definitely would like one of these.

Hungry for Life? I love these.

Heidi, medium I should get, no?

I'm going to get large.

This is a no-brainer too.

- It's very chic.

- -Mm-hmm. Yeah.

I mean, you put two models

in a pop-up shop

Of course we're gonna shop.

- How much is this dress?

- -$129.

I'm definitely getting those.

Naomi and Heidi,

they're really having a shopping tour.

- What do you think of these pants?

- -I love.

They're really sexy.

I mean, look,

look at how cool they are.

They have the pleats inside.

See how sometimes you can't tell

when it's on the hanger?

- You can't tell.

- -It's very intricate, your things.

It's very you look at it, and you think

you understood it, and you didn't,

and you have to look at it again.

The pants are pretty awesome.

- Will you put that to my order too, Esther?

- -Mm-hmm.

Oh, my gosh, I got so many things.

I have a little surprise for you.

Oh, no, black ice cream!

Part of my concept is to really invite

the guests to participate,

so I came up with the idea

to serve them a black ice cream.

This is my first time eating black ice cream

from a black cone with a gold spoon.

- Well done, Esther.

- -Thank you.

- We're also hungry for life.

-Yeah.

- Mm, that was yummy.

-Heidi, my teeth are black.

I mean, she really roped us in, didn't she?

It ropes you in.

Each time you went to the rack

and you picked up something,

you discovered a detail in something

that you hadn't seen.

It's not just a pair of black pants.

It's not just a black shirt.

There's always a surprise somewhere.

She's so good at attention to detail,

which I love.

I have some concerns

about the online experience.

- Yeah.

- -Same.

- Because it doesn't read.

-and the color only being black.

Because it doesn't pop off of a page.

Definitely, the clothes look way better

when they're worn.

Because when you see them

on the hanger sometimes,

you cannot really understand

how to wear them.

But I think, overall, she did a great job.

Hi.

Oh, I love it. It's a house.

- It's a house. It's the House of Bos.

- -Oh! We're in a house.

Because the name of the collection

is Miss Bos,

and I kind of went with the idea

of, like, an in-house tailoring

and an in-house production.

So, that's why I have my two tailors here.

- Oh, wow, that looks great!

- -Yeah, it looks great on them.

Everything feels more custom-made.

Yes, the custom-made experience.

- These dresses look great, girls.

-Thank you!

- Yeah, you guys look great.

- -Do you like that?

- How was it, getting fitted?

- -It was good.

- Good?

- -Yeah.

- It makes a big difference, right?

- -Yeah, a big difference.

Nicole, I love her very much,

'cause she's a very smart businesswoman.

She told me the tailoring is very smart.

"Very smart move."

And I was like, thank you for getting it.

Hi, guys.

-Hola.

Let's see what's happening here.

Are these a pencil?

Because I love a pencil skirt.

Yeah, pencil skirt.

These are basically some looser

kind of t-shirt styling and everything.

It has, like, a diamond collar.

Why did you not make

any more accessories?

I just wanted to be very much focused

about the clothing,

and I am a designer,

and, yes, it also comes in the brand,

but, to me, that something fits better

and that it's a tailored woman

is more important to me than

We can always do a bag.

You know what I mean?

This is sexy, Heidi.

- Yeah.

-Because it is a dress,

but it's also a pencil skirt.

She liked it as a dress,

'cause she does burlesque.

So, that's why we were kind of

transforming it more into a dress for her.

- I think this is nice to cover

- -I like this one together

I think these are great

with a white t-shirt and sneakers.

Yeah, but I like this too.

Yeah, but these are like

the custom shirts,

if you want something customized completely,

kind of like a dummy.

Aren't you selling it today?

I love the idea of doing

the immediate tailoring.

- Yeah.

- -That's fabulous.

This shawl I love,

the shoulders and the big lapels.

- Fantastic.

-Thank you, babe.

- I like this more. I like the top

-I love this.

- I love it from the front.

-I like my outfit.

It's crazy to be 24 years old,

standing there,

in my own pop-up store in New York,

with Naomi and Heidi arguing

what they like the most.

I'm gonna get the head to toe

that I just had on.

Okay, so there's this one,

and this one

- Shall I put in your orders for you?

-Please.

Bye, my darling!

I have to say, I'm a little surprised

about Sander.

The tailoring experience

was such a good idea.

It was different.

It felt like it was really unique.

I understand why you need it,

because the skirt I tried, you need it.

I think we're just surprised

because we're not used to this person

making this kind of clothes like that.

I saw his earlier work,

and I didn't see any of that here,

so, I was definitely a little confused.

Like, all of a sudden,

he went more junior,

and it's fast fashion-forward,

like a lot of young

So, he showed us that he can be

sophisticated and mature,

and he can be young at his age

and do the street stuff

that the kids want right now.

I think he's going to be a great designer.

We are going to hear about Sander.

Whoa! A dancer.

This is so great!

- Thank you.

- -This is amazing.

- Hi. So, is this the new brand?

-This is the new Jonny Cota.

- This is the namesake debut.

- -Wow!

I can tell. I can tell

this whole space comes from you.

- Thank you.

- -It feels really you.

- The color of the walls

-Oh, thank you so much.

Yeah. It's good.

- Did you design these too?

-Everything.

- Everything? The jewelry too?

- -The shoes, the candle line

- The candle's yours too?

-Yeah.

They're seeing all the details

that I was worried they would miss.

I can see them pick up the candle,

see the jewelry,

see all the energy I've put in.

It really means so much

when you do it yourself.

- It takes it to a whole other place.

- -Totally.

- It really, really matters.

-Yeah.

- You totally get it's your work, I think.

- -Awesome. Thank you.

I think they really liked it.

- Hello, hello, hello. Jonny, Jonny.

- -Hi.

- Jonny, show me around your shop.

-Okay, so

I'm showing mainly women's today,

but there's a lot of unisex.

I love the skirt.

Love these skirts.

- I love this.

-I know you like a pleat

- Isn't this cool?

-This is wonderful.

- It's cool. It's one size.

- -Oh, this is wonderful.

This is one of

the best sellers today.

So, how much is this?

- I think it's $350?

-It's three hundred and fifty?

- Are you kidding?

-We're buying it.

No, and that's the actual math.

This is also talking to me.

I love these pants.

- I love these.

- -I love these pants.

Ooh, I love that red arm pulling out.

Okay, so, do I order blue or black?

- For that price, both.

- -Both.

- I'm gonna get the black dress.

- -The black dress.

I'm gonna get the blue one.

And this been the dress for today.

- This is so easy.

-Yeah, I like that one.

- No?

-Yeah.

- Extra small.

-Extra small.

They are here to shop! You know?

Like Boom! Boom! Okay, and that.

Oh, do I want it in black or white?

- Black and white.

- -That's cute!

That's so cute! How cute is that?

- Let me see?

- It's nice to have the

-They're fighting over it.

Like, "No, I want it." "I want it."

You can both have it, ladies.

Okay, two skirts, black and white,

sweatshirt, two coats,

and the black dress we're getting the same.

We're getting the same.

- I'm getting basically the same.

When I see you twinning down the street

wearing all my stuff Hallelujah!

I'm very, very, very impressed with Jonny.

- So am I. So am I.

-So am I.

It was really nice,

and it looked like a real store, like 100%.

- Yes, it does.

- -Absolutely.

It's nothing groundbreaking, but I love it.

Every piece looks so effortlessly cool.

It's very him, but at the same time,

I can see such a different variety

of people wearing that.

- Absolutely.

-If there's one negative,

it's that the brand identity

it reminds me of other things.

Other brands, yeah.

Hi!

What are you doing here?

We're supposed to be here.

My mom, my dad,

and my little niece and nephew walk in.

I lost it. I was just so happy.

Hi.

My dad, he saw my name on the wall.

I can just feel him starting to cry.

I'm so proud to be here.

He's always my little Jonny,

and you can't put into words

what it means to see him here

and to be part of this with him.

Hello!

It's crazy to see my mom

and my sister there.

I mean, I wouldn't be 24 and standing here

if it wasn't for those two people.

Oh, my God.

Seeing this pop-up store, it's just amazing.

I can't find the words.

Both my parents

passed away already,

so they can't see me today.

Hopefully, they're proud.

I can't believe we're down

to our final three.

If anyone goes home today,

I will be heartbroken for them,

because we have all been

busting our butts.

It would be devastating.

You're all very, very talented.

Unfortunately, one of you

is not making the cut.