Hey Apprentice Fans! Hope you all had a great weekend. This task was a lot of fun to watch and I particularly felt for the men's team as designing window displays, aside from the construction aspect, I knew would be challenging...
We met the teams in the lobby of Trump Tower in front of my sister Ivanka's jewelry store. My brother Eric joined me as an advisor as Ivanka stepped in to the role of the business executive this week for the task. The teams were charged with creating live window displays for Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue using Ivanka's collections of clothing, shoes, handbags and coats. Choosing a PM this week was interesting as there were two candidates who wanted to step up for the women. As many times as Theresa said she had a background in fashion, it was clear that Dayana felt strongly that she wanted to take the lead on this one. I think she was getting tired of being one of the last in the Boardroom and wanted to prove herself. Despite the teams wanting to elect Clay as PM, George volunteered and was looking forward to raising awareness and hopefully money for a charity that is very close to him.
The teams raced off to begin brainstorming for their task and had the ability to meet with Ivanka and Scott Devine, of Lord & Taylor. I thought they asked great questions and hopefully were able to soak up the points that were most important for Ivanka's brand. I find that the executive meetings are always incredibly important and at times underutilized. I think the women were able to solidify their concept almost instantly after Ivanka and Scott left the room. The women's concept was "every woman" with "timeless style" which was a key element that Ivanka mentioned. The men decided on a day to night theme, also very clever and in line with the brand as Ivanka spoke about how her collections take women from day to night.
The teams split up, some going to build the actual displays and others to select the clothing for the windows. While I do think I am quite a fashionable guy, (I know this because many of you tweet to me compliments each week about my suit selections), I know that I would certainly have preferred to be with Paul Sr. on the construction side. I liked how Paul was able to utilize his resources and talents. He called his team at his shop and had incredibly large Ivanka Trump signs made for the windows. Not only a great idea but extremely important for this task. The rest of the teams were over at Ivanka's showrooms shopping for their windows. I thought it was pretty funny which of the men stepped up and spearheaded the selections. Arsenio really led the men down this fashion path, handpicking the clothing, shoes, bags and coats. The ladies seemed to have a little bit more of a collaborative effort working together to pull many of the outfits with Dayana and Theresa spearheading the process.
While all of the teams were either pulling clothes or building sets, Dee Snyder was at the hospital getting surgery on his hand. The incident on the horse last week was a bit more intensive than initially thought. We really respected Dee's commitment to finish out the task even with his injury. In true fashion, Dee left surgery, grabbed his leather jacket and headed over to Lord & Taylor to support his team. As someone who has broken almost every bone, I know Dee likely was in a lot of pain, so I admire his commitment to the team.
As with almost every task and every season, traffic gets the best of all our celebrities. In my opinion, you would you think they would learn to add that into travel time... although again, NYC traffic is pretty unpredictable. Lisa and a few of the ladies were very late arriving to Lord & Taylor. It always adds another level of pressure. In watching the task again, I was feeling a bit concerned that they wouldn't get everything done; but in the end they pulled it together and it was show time on Fifth Avenue.
Ivanka and Scott arrived at the unveiling and started with the men's team. I immediately recognized Paul's great signage, which was really well done. I liked their concept of night and day but their nighttime backdrop really didn't stand out, and their outfit selections were not red carpet. Using twin models was also a very cool concept that I thought added another interesting layer to their window. George was a little shaky on the presentation side, but all in all, they did a good job. The women's team had a lot of enthusiasm, and you could tell that they were very proud of what they had pulled together. Even through the window that Dayana, the women's PM, was starring in, she was smiling the whole time, adding a layer of fun and confidence to their display. They all were wearing the outfits in the presentation, which also was a nice touch. The men unfortunately couldn't use that card, although if Dee was up to it we all know he may have been able to step in!
It was time for the Boardroom, and each week it truly does get tougher and tougher. The celebrities become more competitive, and nothing is off limits. Overall, it was pretty clear that the women did a much better job than the men and although they did have some criticisms - one being that the border the women put together covered their feet, which was not great for Ivanka's shoe business. Ultimately, despite that small hiccup, the women were able to bring home their first win. They happily left the Boardroom and were able to breathe a sigh of relief, something they weren't very familiar with.
As the men were left to battle it out, there were a few key elements that led to their loss. One was that the outfit selections didn't fit the themes, and the other was that they did not build windows that stood out, especially with a dark navy backdrop and Arsenio in a black suit in the window. When Eric visited the men's team, he had the ability to talk to Clay offline, and through that conversation it was clear that the men felt George was a little bit "all over the place" as a leader. I think he did not have a great handle on the task, and despite the selections for the windows, it was not the only reason they lost. I think George could have led his team a little bit tighter. In any business, organization and the ability to delegate effectively (key word being effectively) is extremely crucial. We have great respect for a wonderful and loyal guy, but George was fired.
I hope that you all enjoyed this task. I am looking forward to seeing you next week in the Boardroom where two people will be fired! I love reading your feedback via my Twitter @donaldjtrumpjr and on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/donaldjtrumpjr. See you next week!