We start with Shereé Whitfield, who has decided that Atlanta needs another fashion designer. More importantly, Atlanta needs HER fashion line.
She by Shereé is in development, and Shereé is assembling the necessary personnel to turn her vision into a reality. There are publicists, designers, event planners, and plenty of talk about the importance of presenting something high-end.
The only minor inconvenience is that Shereé is working on an extremely ambitious timeline. She wants a fashion viewing in a matter of weeks, and she’s approaching the project with the confidence of someone who has already been featured in Vogue.
The clothes are coming. The vision is clear. The deadlines are approaching.
What could possibly go wrong?
Shereé is determined to make this happen, and she’s not about to let anyone see her sweat. After all, the first rule of being a successful fashion mogul is apparently to announce your fashion empire before the fashion has actually arrived.
Meanwhile, Lisa Wu-Hartwell is dealing with a very different kind of business development.
Her husband, Ed, is preparing to return to professional football after spending a year rehabilitating an injury. Ed is eager to get back into the game, but Lisa is considerably less enthusiastic.
The NFL is a demanding business, and Lisa has concerns about what another season will mean for their family. Having your husband return to a physically punishing career isn’t exactly the most relaxing prospect, particularly when you’ve spent the past year watching him recover.
Ed, however, seems ready to get back out there.
Lisa is caught between wanting to support her husband and wanting to keep him safely at home. A perfectly understandable dilemma, although the prospect of professional football is probably a little easier to manage than the prospect of a fashion show without any fashions.
Over at the Leakes household, NeNe has some family questions that have been weighing on her for years.
With Gregg’s support, she’s pursuing DNA testing in an effort to establish the paternity of her father. This is a deeply personal matter, and NeNe is approaching it with the hope that she can finally get some answers.
For all of her bravado, NeNe has a vulnerable side, and this storyline gives us a glimpse of the family history behind the personality.
It’s an important moment because NeNe isn’t simply looking for another argument or an opportunity to deliver a memorable insult. She wants information about where she comes from.
Gregg is supportive, and the two discuss the situation as NeNe considers taking the next step.
It’s a reminder that these women have actual lives happening behind the designer handbags and social warfare.
Of course, the social warfare is never far away.
Shereé and Kim Zolciak head out for a boating excursion on Lake Lanier, otherwise known as the Redneck Riviera.
The two women have been developing a friendship, and getting out on the water gives them an opportunity to spend some time together away from the usual Atlanta social scene.
The boating trip is supposed to be a relaxing outing. There is water, sunshine, and the promise of a pleasant afternoon.
There is also the question of whether everyone involved has the necessary boating competence.
Because apparently operating a boat requires more than looking fabulous while standing near one.
Kim and Shereé make the best of their excursion, and the pairing is interesting. Shereé is busy developing her fashion ambitions, while Kim has her own aspirations and a particular talent for making herself the center of a conversation.
Neither woman is exactly lacking in confidence.
And now we return to DeShawn Snow, who has decided that the women need to start getting along.
DeShawn invites the ladies to her home for a sunset barbecue, hoping to mend some of the broken relationships in the group.
This is a noble undertaking.
It is also an undertaking that requires a remarkable amount of optimism when dealing with NeNe Leakes.
DeShawn wants everyone to put their differences aside and enjoy an evening together. She’s attempting to create a welcoming atmosphere where the women can move past the gossip and misunderstandings that have been building throughout the season.
NeNe agrees to be civil, although that doesn’t mean she’s suddenly forgotten anything.
NeNe has been dealing with tension involving the other women, and she’s particularly unhappy when some of the ladies don’t show up.
For someone attempting to organize a peaceful gathering, DeShawn is discovering that getting five Housewives into the same room can be more complicated than managing a household staff.
The barbecue is intended to be a fresh start. Unfortunately, a fresh start requires everyone to actually show up.
And now, the She by Shereé situation is approaching its big moment.
Shereé has investors and members of the press to consider, and she wants the fashion viewing to communicate that she is a serious businesswoman with a serious fashion operation.
The pressure is mounting.
She’s been assembling her team, organizing the presentation, and working to make the event look polished. But the preparations are beginning to unravel.
The samples and the overall presentation are not coming together as smoothly as Shereé had hoped.
There is a significant difference between having a fashion concept and having a collection ready to show people. Shereé is about to discover that difference in front of an audience.
Still, she refuses to let anyone see her panic.
The investors and press are there. The event is supposed to happen. And Shereé is determined to proceed.
This is where the episode earns its place in Housewives history.
The She by Shereé presentation becomes an increasingly awkward exercise in trying to make a fashion event happen when the actual fashion is not cooperating.
The famous critique comes courtesy of Dwight Eubanks, NeNe’s friend and Atlanta’s resident fashion commentator.
Dwight’s assessment is devastatingly simple:
“A fashion show with no fashions. How dreadful.”
And there it is.
A sentence that will live forever in the Housewives vocabulary.
Dwight doesn’t need a lengthy dissertation. He doesn’t need a PowerPoint presentation. He has delivered the entire review in one perfectly devastating observation.
Shereé has organized an event to introduce her fashion line, but the fashion is conspicuously absent from the equation.
The irony is almost too delicious.
For weeks, Shereé has been discussing designers, publicists, investors, and the high-end world she intends to enter. Now the audience is left wondering what exactly they’re supposed to be viewing.
The show goes on, but the problems are impossible to ignore.
Shereé attempts to maintain her composure, determined not to let the situation destroy her confidence in front of the people whose support she needs.
And honestly, the confidence is impressive.
The collection may be struggling to materialize, but the ambition is fully dressed.
The whole situation is an extraordinary introduction to the She by Shereé brand: big promises, enormous confidence, and a production that has apparently misplaced its most important component.
Dwight has supplied the review. The audience has supplied the bewilderment. And Shereé has supplied the determination to pretend this is all going according to plan.
By the end of the episode, we’ve watched several different women attempt to manage the uncertainties of their lives.
NeNe is looking for answers about her family history. Lisa is worried about Ed’s return to football. DeShawn is trying to bring the women together. Shereé is attempting to launch a fashion business at a speed that would challenge even the most ambitious production company.
And Kim has spent some quality time with Shereé on the water.
It’s a busy week in Atlanta.
THE JURASSIC VERDICT
Shereé has discovered that fashion requires actual garments, Dwight has established himself as the official inspector of missing couture, and DeShawn has learned that you cannot barbecue your way out of every Housewives feud.
NeNe is giving us a more personal look at her family history, Lisa is worrying about her husband’s football comeback, and the Atlanta social scene continues to operate under the assumption that confidence is an acceptable substitute for preparation.
But the real star of this episode is Dwight’s review.
A fashion show with no fashions.
Eight words of television immortality.
She by Shereé may not have been ready for the runway, but the shade was already fully accessorized.
The dinosaurs have spoken. The fashions have not.
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