Smile Down the Runway (ランウェイで笑って)

Hey, is that the design you thought of yesterday?

Whoa! Please don't scare me like that.

What? I would buy it.

I like what you did.

Th-Thank you very much.

Actually, I'm proud of what I did here.

Cool.

Huh?

I bet Miss Sara would like it, too.

Hey, Chiyuki.

When did you become so close with the bean sprouts guy?

Bean sprouts...?

Ah, you mean Ikuto!

Ikuto...?

Do we seem that close?

Well, I guess we are close.

We are... But I wouldn't call us friends.

Oh...

I actually respect Ikuto quite a bit.

What?

I'm dead serious about becoming a hypermodel.

If something's not relevant to modeling, I cut it out of my life.

But... Ikuto's not like that.

He never abandons anything. He takes care of it all.

"Ichika" He's had his dream longer than I've had mine.

He's had his dream longer than I've had mine.

But it's not because he's not putting in enough effort.

He's got the determination to find the right balance without abandoning anything.

That's something I don't have.

It's impressive, and I respect him for it,

but I also see him as a rival.

That's why... Ikuto...

...you have to win.

Or else, you won't be able to prove your efforts.

"Smile Down the Runway"

"Episode 6: Superiority and Inferiority" Time's up!

"Episode 6: Superiority and Inferiority" Let's move on to the evaluations.

I... did it...

You're... a high school student?

Oh... Yes...

Kaoru Kizaki.

Ah.

You're up first.

Now that it's time to evaluate, let me introduce our judges.

First, our principal, Shoko Takaoka.

Good evening!

And also...

...the faculty in charge, which is me. And...

...three fellow competitors in this room, a total of five judges.

The first three are Tsumura, Kato, and Yajima.

Come on up front.

We're... the judges?!

Excuse me.

I'd rather not be evaluated by someone with inferior skills than me.

Oh my, he hasn't shown up yet?!

Huh? Who's "he"?

Hey there.

You got me worried, Toh!

Kaoru, do you have any objections now?

Oh... No.

"An amazing outfit for Sara"

"An amazing outfit for Sara" When you're presenting, start off with your design's concept.

Yes.

My concept is... "Unbalance."

What stood out to me most when researching Sara was how different she is on TV

compared to when she is modeling.

While cool and reserved, she's also warm and lovable.

I wanted to portray that by juxtaposing leather and lace.

Yajima, critique her.

What?! I'm first?

Yeah, we don't have all day here.

Well, the concept is interesting, but I think it looks a bit lame...

Here we go.

The preliminaries are all about roasting each other after all.

-They exaggerate every flaw they can find.

--I think it's a great design. --They exaggerate every flaw they can find.

Um... Will you show us the backside?

See? Isn't it elegant?

The lace on the back tones down the ruggedness of the leather.

Who does he think he is? He's just a high schooler.

I admire her handling of leather.

What?!

I like it, too.

You were meticulous with your fabric choice, and it would look great on Sara.

Yes!

Next, Ryunosuke Eda.

I don't have a particular concept in mind at all.

As a professional, it's her job to make it look good.

It screams out "tracht" to me.

Ah.

Tracht is a traditional garment of Switzerland, which is part of Sara's background.

It's impressive how he incorporated that in his design.

The design is plain lame.

I recognize all the trends, but they don't work together.

I don't get why it had to be a turtleneck.

Everyone's so harsh.

It's almost my turn...

Next, Ikuto Tsumura.

Yes!

As for the judges...

Excuse me... May I be a judge?

Then, me too!

All right Tsumura. Let's see it.

Yes.

This is what I designed.

Pajamas!

-Huh?!

--Huh?! --Huh?!

Pajamas...?

Yes... Pajamas!

Tell me, why pajamas?

Miss Sara said it herself. "Every girl wants to look stylish all the time."

I noticed how she posts her outfits on social media every day.

But there aren't many posts of her wearing lounge wear.

That's why I designed pajamas that would make her excited about posting on social media.

So tell me, what part of that design is stylish?

What? You mean it's not stylish at all...?

Oh, no... How can I convince you that it's stylish...?

U-Um...

You've improved a lot, Ikuto.

In order to achieve this form, you mastered the bias-cut you struggled with before.

I'll start with the critique.

Honestly... I'm disappointed.

Everything about it is half-hearted.

From the positioning of the buttons to the length of the hem...

It's too conservative--it offends me.

It's lame.

Lame...?

Now.

We'll select the participants who will proceed to the next round. But, before that...

We'll give you some time to fix things up.

What?

If you wish to submit your design without a fix-up, meet us at Multipurpose Room A.

What...

...should I do...?

Hey, Ikuto.

I would buy it.

I like what you did there.

"Multipurpose Room A"

Oh, you didn't fix up your lame pajamas?

Who cares. That's his choice.

U-Um...

Thank you very much.

Huh?

I was grateful that time before the preliminaries, too...

Whatever...

Miss Kokoro!

Everyone, thanks for waiting!

The task was to make a stylish outfit for Sara.

Some of you were told your designs were lame.

But actually... There's nothing more subjective about deeming something as stylish or not.

But what's more important for the designer when it comes to making clothes

is whether the design is interesting or not.

Therefore, the true task of this round

was to see whether you were able to believe in your design, even after all the harsh critiques.

Ah!

So, thank you all for your interesting designs!

Congratulations, you all passed the first round!

I... passed...?

But that's not all...

We're about to reveal the top 3 out of 18 participants

who will get to proceed straight to the finals from here.

Or else, why would we be here as judges?

The finals... To participate in the fashion show!

Toh, did Ikuto's design really bother you that much?

No, not at all.

What did you think, Shoko?

Sara adores stripes, you know?

So if he knew that, he possesses

something great that allows him to really tailor the design to the client's taste.

Yes!

I lost... after all...

Mr. Ikuto! Congratulations on making top three!

It's true...

I never expected to be ranked so high.

I don't understand! Why am I ranked lower than this kid?!

Oh...

It's rather simple.

Your process wasn't suited for women's clothing.

It's fine to challenge yourself with an unfamiliar category...

But if that were the case, you should've done your homework.

Damn it...

--Hey. --Huh?

He left without getting any information on the second round.

What a shame. He's got great potential.

Well, I'll be staying for the information session. Have a great evening.

"Geika Fashion School"

"Calling... Chiyuki Fujito"