Doing It With Style

DOING IT WITH STYLE: Merlin Castell has become a breakout star on Bravo's hit "The Fashion Show," thanks to his luxurious designs and eccentric personality, and now he's looking to take his pieces to the next level.

"I haven't had the opportunity to dress the real, real celebrities that I want to dress, but I will. I am on my way there," says the Latin designer. "I get thousands of calls from people who say, 'Oh, my name is on this show. Can you dress me for this event?' I'm sorry, but I don't do that. My pieces are one of a kind. If I'm going to be dressing somebody, it has to be an A-lister.

"My dream is to dress somebody like Nicole Kidman. I would love to dress her! It might not happen for 10 years, but I don't care. I'm patient," he adds with a laugh.

When asked if he was surprised about not winning the show, Merlin responds no. "I wasn't expecting it because I know my market is not the market they are targeting. I was trying to stay in there as long as I could," says Merlin, who was asked back to the finale as a fashion expert. "It's been a really great experience. It's totally changed my life, so I'm glad I did it.

"Plus, it showcased who I really am. With the way I dress and the way I look, people think I just want to be a character for TV. No, no, no! That's Merlin! That's me," he claims. "With me, people either loved me or hated me -- there was no in-between. If they get to know me, though, they get to love me!

Merlin Finale Collection Sizzled..

Merlin's collection shown at Bravo's The Fashion Show Finale last Friday was definitely an unforgettable one. He opened the show in Elvis-like white bodysuit, providing much entertainment, but unfortunately not from the kind the fashion world is craving for.

The collection, which could be described as a result of a space ship landing at the carnival in Brazil, many times crossed the lines of a good taste. It opened with a green and bronze dress with orange ruffled sleeves and pink belt - a color combination rare to find in woman's closet (no matter how fashion forward she is). It continued with more metallics, feathers, beads and sequins... Yes, it was a great show, completely unrealistic and... unwearable...

Behind The Scenes of Bravo's The Fashion Show!

Merlin's Collection can be described as Lots and lots of sequins, puffy sleeves, and fiery tones! Our fave look: an orange beaded and sequined gown paired with a burnt-orange coat.

In the Cards .../Merlin knew he was going home when he pulled the Six of Swords.

It all started with Reco waking me up in the morning with sleeping robes that were left for us outside the door. Later in the Mini Challenge, we had to make a complementary piece for the robe. I did mine and thought it was one of the better ones made but of course Anna won.
The Elimination Challenge involved visiting a psychic and Tarot card reader that read us our futures. I do not remember what she said to me but I saw that I was leaving or moving on to something else.

The theme was to create something inspired by the Tarot card that we picked from the table. I took the Six of Swords. And since there are six of us competitors, it's fitting although the others have been like sword that have been nailed in my back.

Of one way or another, it doesn't matter what you create, you cannot always fight against nature and sooner or later you'll have to leave with what you carry. That fact is I lost and I went home. Happy? Yes. Satisfied? Yes. Pleased? No. What I showed was a beautiful piece compared to what the others made. I cannot believe I lost. The show might have ended, but for me, I'm just getting started.

Bye-bye, Barbie!/Merlin doesn't shed any tears on Haven's departure.

My new mantra is that I can, I am, and I will do everything I can to achieve my goal. The competition is becoming harder and there is nothing but tension and fear between us.
Isaac still does not understand my accent but whether they believe it or not, I'm still here in the competition.

The Mini Challenge was a trivia about fashion history. I'm screwed because the little I do know about fashion history is what I've read in magazines. I answered the first few questions correct but in the end I lost. Because Anna won, she had the power to assign a designer to us for the elimination challenge. The challenge was to recreate an outfit inspired by the designer Anna gave us. Anna surprised me by giving me Madame Grès who I had not heard of before and I was worried.

In the end I made a marvelous dress that was very pretty and I was satisfied with. My outfit was safe and it was Haven that went home, it was just her time. Bye-bye, Barbie. Hasta la vista!

Bye-bye, Barbie!/Merlin doesn't shed any tears on Haven's departure.

My new mantra is that I can, I am, and I will do everything I can to achieve my goal. The competition is becoming harder and there is nothing but tension and fear between us.
Isaac still does not understand my accent but whether they believe it or not, I'm still here in the competition.

The Mini Challenge was a trivia about fashion history. I'm screwed because the little I do know about fashion history is what I've read in magazines. I answered the first few questions correct but in the end I lost. Because Anna won, she had the power to assign a designer to us for the elimination challenge. The challenge was to recreate an outfit inspired by the designer Anna gave us. Anna surprised me by giving me Madame Grès who I had not heard of before and I was worried.

In the end I made a marvelous dress that was very pretty and I was satisfied with. My outfit was safe and it was Haven that went home, it was just her time. Bye-bye, Barbie. Hasta la vista!

A Work of Art/Merlin describes working with Johnny, who he describes as "insecure."

I call this week the sacrifice of fashion. The week before, they told us that only the uncultured and uneducated people represent 10% of the population and will be the ones that buy the trash of dreams. This week's Mini Challenge started by putting us into pairs to work together. I was paired with Johnny. The theme was to better or transform the "walk of shame" outfit into an outfit suitable for work. Johnny and I won!

For the final challenge we stayed in our same pairs and had to design an outfit for Isaac's line. Johnny is a good guy and very insecure of his talent; he limited his creativity because he didn't have the capacity to pick his vision like a designer would. He has an obsession for varied materials especially Lycra and Spandex and picked out felt for one of our pieces. Once we got to the fabric store, I didn't have a chance to discuss the theme of the project with him and before I knew it he came back with all sorts of fabric in his hands. I decided to let him pick the fabric and I would just make sure that the construction of the outfit would be good. I hoped this would show him it didn't matter what rank or economic status people were, what's important is the quality of the garment and how it's made.

I thought we would have won because of the quality and design. It was one of the most liked outfits, but in the end Anna and Haven won. Johnny said this was his concept and wish but if the reader looks at my site, they'll see that I have an entire collection called "Tita" of this wish that I made three years ago that is a better constructed. With respect to the jackets, it wouldn't have been half of the jacket Johnny had in mind if I hadn't transformed it into a work of art. Amen