Season 4

Top Designer Season 4 was the fourth season of Top Designer, a reality competition for fashion designers. The season premiered July 16, 2009. Returning as judges were supermodel Karolina Kurkova; fashion designer Marc Jacobs; and Anne Slowey, Elle magazine fashion director. Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., again acts as a mentor to the contestants.

Through a series of weekly challenges, contestants were eliminated, leaving three finalists left who then went on to show their designs in the final episodes at New York Fashion Week. The winner, Olivier Marseau, received prizes including: an editorial feature in Elle, $100,000 from TRESemmé to start his own line, the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com, and a 2008 Saturn Astra automobile.

Contestants
The 14 contestants in Season 4 were:

(ages listed are the designers' ages at the time the show was taped in the summer of 2008.)

Episode 1: Sew Us What You Got
Original Airdate: July 16, 2009

The designers arrive in New York and are asked to create a garment that best reflects who they are as a designer. They are given 10 minutes to grab from $50,000 worth of fabric in three tents set up in Bryant Park. The designers are randomly assigned models.
 * WINNER: Amanuel
 * ELIMINATED: Flynn & Rebecca

Episode 2: I Started Crying
Original Airdate: July 23, 2009

The remaining designers are asked to create a two-piece garment for Sarah Jessica Parker's BITTEN line using $15 of materials and only one day to complete their look. All fourteen designers pitched their designs to Parker, who chose seven to work in teams of two to create the design. The winning design was sold beginning in November 2009 at Steve & Barry's stores.


 * Guest Judge: Sarah Jessica Parker


 * WINNER: Rhianna
 * ELIMINATED: Leo

Episode 3: Fashion Giant
Original Airdate: July 30, 2009

The remaining designers are asked to create a three piece menswear outfit for guest judge Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. The designers are randomly assigned male models.
 * Guest Judge: Tiki Barker


 * WINNER: Hayden
 * ELIMINATED: Jo

Episode 4: What's The Skinny?
Original Airdate: August 6, 2009

Each designer has to create an outfit for a woman who has recently lost weight, using one of the woman's outfits from before her weight loss as raw material for the new design. The new outfit must incorporate aspects of the now-thin woman's personality, as well as the designer's own style. Each designer is given $10 to use for additional materials. They have one day to complete the outfits.
 * Guest Judge: Patrick Robinson, head designer for The Gap


 * WINNER: Lori
 * ELIMINATED: Yan

Episode 5: Trendsetter
Original Airdate: August 13, 2009

Each designer picks one of 9 outdated fashion trends. Then working in four teams of three, each team must incorporate all three styles into a cohesive collection of three outfits. They have $225 and two days for the project.


 * Guest Judge: Donna Karan


 * WINNER: Rhianna
 * ELIMINATED: Jack

Episode 6: Eye Candy
Original Airdate: August 20, 2009

Designers are to create a garment using any materials that were available at the Hershey's store in Times Square, New York City. They are given no budget but only five minutes to collect materials, and are given only one day to complete the outfit.
 * Guest Judge: Zac Posen


 * WINNER: Rhianna
 * ELIMINATED: Felix

Episode 7: What A Girl Wants
Original Airdate: August 27, 2009

Designers are challenged to design a prom dress for a group of 16- and 17-year-old girls from St. John Vianney High School in New Jersey. The girls, along with their mothers, pre-select the designers they want to work with based on the designers' portfolios. The designers have a budget of $250 for materials from Mood and two days to construct the dresses. The winner is dependent on who did the best according to the clients, and they are judged on time management.
 * Guest Judge: Gilles Mendel


 * WINNER: Hayden
 * ELIMINATED: Amanuel

Episode 8: En Garde!
Original Airdate: September 3, 2009

Each designer is randomly paired with another designer and asked to select a team leader. Each team is asked to create an avant-garde outfit based on inspiration from their models' hair styles. They are given a budget of $300 and two days to create this look. The following day, each team is asked to create another, simpler, ready-to-wear outfit which embodies the "essence" of the avant-garde look they have been working on. For the second piece, the designers have a budget of $50.

The teams were:
 * Olivier & Rhianna
 * Ardijana & Grana
 * Hayden & Lori
 * Guest Judge: Alberta Ferretti


 * WINNER: Olivier & Rhianna
 * ELIMINATED: Ardijana & Grana

Episode 9: The Art of Fashion
Original Airdate: September 10, 2009

The designers are given 45 minutes in three galleries (the Greek and Roman Sculpture courtyard, the European Painting wing, and the Temple of Dendur) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to select a piece of art to use as inspiration for a dress, using provided cameras to capture the artwork. They are given $300 for materials at Mood, and two days to complete the design.
 * Guest Judge: Roberto Cavalli


 * WINNER: Olivier
 * ELIMINATED: Lori

Episode 10: Reunion
Original Airdate: September 17, 2009

All the designers gather for a reunion. Ardijana Frey is given $10,000 as the winner of the viewer "Fan Favorite" contest by Season 3's Donelle Augustin. Highlights of the season are reviewed, including different designers' reactions to being eliminated and the judges' unaired reactions.

Episode 11: Finale - Part 1
Original Airdate: September 24, 2009

The four remaining designers are given five months and $8000 to create a collection of twelve looks for Fashion Week. Three and a half months later, Tim visits each of the designers to assess their progress. The designers return to New York City after five months.

Episode 12: Finale - Part 2
Original Airdate: October 1, 2009


 * Guest Judge: Victoria Beckham


 * WINNER: Olivier
 * ELIMINATED: Rhianna (Runner-Up) & Hayden (2nd Runner-Up)