The Final Cuts

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TIM GUNN

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What did you think when Michael and Laura were eliminated and it came down to Uli and Jeffrey?
TIM GUNN: Well, I knew it had to be Jeffrey and Uli, or Jeffrey and Laura. I hate to say it, but I knew it wasn't going to be my adorable darling Michael, whom I just love, 'cause [his collection] was just such a disappointment. He's the youngest and the least experienced of the four designers, and it showed. There's a reason why maturing and time spent in this industry makes a difference. It's like playing a musical instrument, it's like a voice, it's like a painter — there's something about that maturing aspect.

What do you think about the judges' final decision?
I was thrilled. Really thrilled. And I have to say, when I made the visits, Jeffrey's collection was the one that had me the most excited. It had me really excited. The other two — Uli and Laura — they were excellent with a capital E, they were really superb, but there wasn't a surprise there. There was no surprise. It's what we expected. I do think that Uli stepped it up, but I was reminded by Laura — I put it in my blog — of what she said during the last challenge: ''I don't want to take a risk; I merely want to do what I do better.'' Laura said that.

What did you think about the controversy about Jeffrey's collection?
Once Laura brought it up, we had to see it through. What you don't see on the show is that the same degree of interrogation was done with each of them — well, that's not altogether true. We didn't do a lot of behind-the-scenes things that we had to do with him, but we went through those receipts scrupulously — everything was really looked at carefully. But in the case of the other three, everything was impeccable in terms of the documentation. And with him, I just have to say, I adore him, he's a great designer, but in terms of details and business, he's sloppy. He's well intentioned, but he's sloppy, and that's what it was all about. And every route we would take in investigating we'd find more sloppiness. It was like, ''Come on!'' That's why it took four days. We didn't resolve it until about 9 p.m. on Thursday night before the show. We didn't know which way it was going. And then when it was resolved: Hooray! Hooray! No one was happier than he and I.

Any other behind-the-scenes scoop that we didn't see on TV?
Vincent, my heartthrob — no, I'm teasing. If I were to say that with seriousness, put a bullet in my head. What you didn't see is when we were taping the reunion show, after that clip with Vincent, Michael Rucker, the producer who was in the scene with him doing all the screaming and yelling, came out to present him with a whole stack of new shirts, which was really lovely. And as soon as we broke for commercial, Vincent stood up and walked them to a garbage can and dumped them. He's crazy.