Manolo says, the Vasilios!, who advises the designers in the FN Shoe Star contest, as the sort of Tim Gunn cognate, has called the Manolo out for the comments the Manolo has made.

Here is what the Manolo said…

But, before we can go to the judges table to view the carnage, we are treated to 45 mildly amusing seconds of Vasilios! kvetching at the designers, and offering not much in the way of usable suggestions.

Here below is the video of the episode in the question, the Vasilios! part begins at 1:30, and lasts for about three minutes…

Aside from underestimating the amount of time given to Vasilios!, the Manolo does not believe he has entirely mischaracterized the segment.

But, here is what the Vasilios! said to the Manolo..

Oh, and to the MANOLO, my job is in fact about giving them design suggestions which I do on or off camera very well. And I don’t tell them what to design; the end decision is theirs.

Perhaps the Manolo was not clear, but The Manolo has never doubted that the Vasilios! was not giving sound advice to the designers, (indeed his reputation as the excellent teacher is well known at the FIT) but rather the Manolo’s complaint was about the editing of the segment, which made it appear that all Vasilios! was doing was kvetching.

Such complaints about editing are nothing new. From the beginning of this series, the Manolo has complained that, as is customary in the reality shows, the story of the design process is subjugated to the perceived needs of the the dramatic arc.

Vasilios! and Keena

To which the Manolo would say, show us the shoes and how the designers wrestle with the very difficult tasks that are given to them, rather than the typical tricks of the editing common to the reality genre.

Trust your audience to enjoy the process of shoe design and making.

Of the course, if the Manolo had his way, Vasilios! would appear more often in the episodes, and his comments about the shoes as they are being made would be featured at the greater length. Vasilios! is not only the person with the greatest amount of shoemaking knowledge and experience, he is also the most entertaining person associated with the FN Shoe Star (which is why the Manolo insists on rendering his name with the exclamation mark, Vasilios!).

Finally, to the Vasilios! the Manolo offers his sincere apologies.

P.S. Special note: Is it not obvious, that the Manolo lives in the fantasy world?