'America's Next Top Model' Cycle 15 - Episode 9 recap - National America's Next Top Model

Last week on America’s Next Top Model, the girls participated in a fashion show for Zac Posen alongside professional models, who were less than friendly to them, at the invitation of Miss J, so they could test the models’ ability to handle things. At the end of the show, Miss J and Zac Posen evaluated the girls, and the winner, Chelsey, received five looks from Zac Posen’s “Z Spoke” collection.

A second challenge involved filming a commercial, while on roller skates, and interacting with a male model. Kayla had some major issues with having to be intimate with a guy, and revealed to Mr. Jay that she had been abused when she was 11 years old. In the end, she decided not to let it ruin her chances, and she overcame her fears and put out a decent commercial. The best commercial came from the bubbly Chris, who won first call-out for the week, while the bottom two girls were Esther and Ann. Esther was sent packing, with Ann holding on by the skin of her teeth. Can Ann gain confidence in herself this week, or will she end up going home this week? Read on to find out.

View slideshow: America's Next Top Model Cycle 15 Gondola Group Shot Photo Gallery

This week, we start the show with the girls in the bus, going home from last panel. Liz commiserates about doing poorly. Ann also is worried, since she did so bad that she was in the bottom two. She says she knows she has to step it up and show herself.

Chris, on the other hand is ecstatic to see her commercial playing on the TV screen. She interviews that she knows she isn’t the best model, but she has that extra “oomph” that some of the other girls don’t have.

The next day, the girls are hanging out in the kitchen when Miss J pops up and invites them to go for a bike ride around Venice. Eventually, they wind their way down to an area of canals. They stop and get off and climb on top of a footbridge that spans one of the canals, and Miss J tells the girls this is the location of their next photo shoot, where they will be diving off the bridge into the water. As the girls look over the bridge into the water, around the corner of one of the canals comes a gondola with Tyra in it. She complains that she told the man steering the boat to take her to Venice, and he insists that this is Venice. She then says that the girls are going to Venice, Italy, and makes her exit under the bridge and away.

Miss J tells the girls to get back to their house and start packing their bags, and the next thing we see are the girls stuffing things into their suitcases and heading out the door.

Touching down in Italy, they get off the plane and then take a water taxi, and Liz starts complaining about the heat and humidity, but says she’s so thrilled to be in Italy.

Soon, the girls head to a small outdoor café, where they salute each other with some wine. Kayla mentions how Ann is really coming out, and she jokes with the other girls, where when she first came, she was super shy, and hardly talked at all. Chelsey interviews that at 23, she is the oldest girl there, and this is her last chance to make it as a model.

After a quick snack at the outdoor café, the girls head to their Venice home at the Hotel Danieli. The girls run up the stairs to their room to find a lovely room with a balcony that overlooks all of Venice. Liz breaks open a bottle of bubbly so everyone can make a toast, but before everyone can raise a glass, a seagull decides to send a little welcome poop of its own, which lands on Liz’s arm.

The next day, the girls wake to a Tyra mail.

Tyra Mail!

“Don’t be seduced by your surroundings, or you might fall overboard. Love, Tyra”

The girls head to a gondola landing, where they meet Mr. Jay and their photographer, Simone Falcetta. Mr. Jay tells the girls they will be shooting a period high fashion editorial in a gondola, along with a male model, playing “Casanova.” There will be three girls in each gondola along with “Casanova,” each trying to capture his attention. He reminds them that they’ll be all corseted up and he knows it’s hot, and they’ll be uncomfortable, but if they want to be a couture girl one day, they have to deal with being uncomfortable.

The girls head to hair and makeup, where Kayla interviews that she’s not looking forward to having to work closely with a male model again. She knows this is something she has to get over, because the competition means everything to her, so she’s going to do her best not to let her anxiety show.

Other than Kayla, all the girls give gasps of appreciation when they meet the model who will be playing “Casanova” with them. Chris especially mentions that her mama wouldn’t be unhappy if she brought him home with her.

The first group to shoot is Kayla, Chris and Liz. They get in the gondola with “Casanova,” and right off the bat, Liz starts complaining that sweat is dripping down into her eyes. Chris interviews that it is really hot, but she doesn’t outwardly complain about it. Mr. Jay notices that Chris and Liz are having a hard time, and are very awkward at first. He thinks that Kayla found her comfort zone right away, and she did an awesome job.

The second group was Ann, Chelsey and Jane. They get in the gondola with Ann on the floor in the front, Chelsey next to “Casanova,” and Jane behind them. Ann struggled with trying to look comfortable, and capture “Casanova’s” attention. Chelsey interacted with “Casanova,” and got praise from Mr. Jay, but he seemed to like Jane the most. Being in the back, she kind of had her own moments, and she made everything look believable.

After they wrap, Mr. Jay takes the girls aside and says this was their first and last shoot in Venice, because tomorrow they would be heading to Milan. Chelsey freaks out at hearing that, and interviews that this is big, because Milan is the home of both IMG Models, and Vogue Italia. Liz, on the other hand is a little confused, as she thought Mr. Jay said Mulan, as in the Disney movie, and she was thinking Japan and dragons. But, she looked over to Chelsey, and saw her excitement, so she knew it must be something good.

The next morning the girls take a bus to Milan, and head to their model home, which is unlike the seasons past, where the girls had huge, luxurious accommodations. Instead their new digs are actually a smallish apartment that Kayla compares to “your grandma’s house.” As they’re checking things out, they only see three beds, and all of a sudden Tyra walks in, while no one is looking. She asks for a tour, and when they get to the bedroom, she shows them that there is a mattress underneath one of the beds, and that another chair actually flattens out into a mattress, so everyone will have a place to sleep. She explains that she chose this place for them because it was similar to a model apartment. She then says that they will be going to a large fashion house the next day, and that designer is huge, and it’s Missoni.

Liz takes the time to make a call home, and we see her talking to her daughter, and breaking down for missing her so much.

The girls leave the next morning and head to Missoni, where they are greeted by Miss J and another lady. Miss J introduces her as Angela Missoni, the creative director of the Missoni line. She welcomes them and says that they want to see them try on some of the winter collection.

When everyone is dolled up in heavy winter clothing, Miss J introduces Margherita Missoni, who is not only a fashion designer for the line, but a model as well. She is Angela’s daughter, and the heiress to the Missoni brand. She says she will see them at judging at elimination tonight.

Everyone then walks for Miss J, Angela and Margherita. Ann is first, and Margherita asks her to push it harder. Chelsey is next, and Margherita tells her not to be so bouncy. With Jane, Margherita tells her not to cross her legs. When Chris walks, Miss J says, “that must be jelly, ‘cuz jam don’t shake like that.” Margherita doesn’t comment on Liz’s walk, but says that they like that every one of the girls has a different walk. They don’t show Kayla walking.

Time for panel. We see the girls in the pre-panel waiting room, wearing their Missoni clothing, and find out that it’s super hot in there. Chelsey said that Italy has been horribly muggy ever since they arrived. She then tells the other girls she has a problem with passing out when it is too hot.

The girls enter the judging room, where Tyra introduces the judges, Nigel Barker, Andre Leon Talley, and guest judge Margherita Missoni. She tells them about the prizes and then takes her place at the judges panel.

First group to be judged is Ann, Chelsey and Jane. Nigel likes the way the whole shot looks in the wide angle. He thinks Chelsey looks stunning. One of the most beautiful she’s done so far. Tyra thinks it looks like Chelsey is whispering into “Casanova’s” ear. With Ann, ALT thinks Ann looks like an incandescent aristocrat. Margherita thinks Ann has a decadence to her look. Tyra mentions that while this picture of Ann is good, most of her other film was really bad. Nigel and Margherita don’t care for Jane’s picture, however ALT and Tyra love it. ALT thinks she looks very Venetian. Tyra thinks Jane is blowing the other two away.

The second group, Chris, Liz and Kayla are next, but before they are called, both Chelsey and Liz both are becoming overcome with the heat. Tyra instructs group one to go back and sit in the rear, and group two to come forward and sit fiercely on the runway.

When they show the photo, they discuss Chris first. Nigel thinks Chris looks amazing, and definitely not Teen Vogue. ALT, however, thinks Chris looks afraid, like a huge crow is coming into the gondola. Margherita agrees that Chris looks scared, but that is what she likes about it. Discussing Liz, Nigel thinks it’s the right look, but he doesn’t think she’s committing enough. ALT isn’t excited about the picture, and thinks she’s got a slutty stance. Of course, Liz has to open her mouth and make an excuse that it was hard to balance. Tyra likes Liz’s energy, but she feels that she struggled in the photo shoot. The judges love Kayla in the photo. Nigel says that his eyes went straight to her. He likes the power in her look, and calls her mistress number one. ALT says that Kayla is definitely the star in the photo.

The girls leave the room and the judges deliberate on who should go home. The call outs were as follows:

Kayla
Jane
Chelsey
Ann

The bottom two are Chris and Liz. The judges love Chris’ personality, but her photos aren’t shining like her personality. The judges love Liz’s bone structure, and her photos can be good, or sometimes amazing, but they feel she makes too many excuses. So, who goes home? Liz will be heading back to the USA.

Next week on America’s Next Top Model, the girls will go on go-sees, and it seems everyone has problems getting around. Later on, they’ll be doing a photo shoot posing as statues, but Jane is having some problems holding it together.

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