Eye on Fashion: On the fringe of disaster

HFTF set out to prove that fringe is in during its preview, but fringe might just be out for viewers. A disaster is brewing for double-daddy-duty Liam. Will Bill prove Liam doesn't deserve Steffy, or will she have to see it for herself this week on B&B?

Steffy Spencer, move over. There's a new klutz -- of career-beginning proportions -- in town. Emma Barber might be able to dance in flying fringe, but she has no sense of spatial proximity. When Emma slammed into the showstopper model at the HFTF showing, she just might have ended one modeling career and started another for her stalker and nemesis, Zoe Buckingham, who became the last-minute substitute in the fringe finale.

Instead of moving over, Bill wants Steffy to move out on Liam before she becomes the loser in Liam's tale of two baby mamas. Liam wants everyone to give him time to figure out what it all means, but a veteran like his baby grandma Brooke feels that he doesn't need time to figure out that Hope is like grass-fed prime rib, and Steffy is like canned spam.

Liam is burning the daddy candle at both ends, but he might be headed for a blowout now that Steffy has seen a photo of him and Hope embracing. Sharing is caring, but isn't all that stroking and hugging with two women above the call of baby-daddy duty?

Liam needs to take a cue from one-woman Xander, who had no problem choosing Emma and ordering his ex to leave town. The only problem is, just like the Cheshire cat, the independent Zoe doesn't take orders, and though Emma might not have to share Xander, she probably will have to share her workspace with Forrester's newest model on the The Bold and the Beautiful.

In case you missed it

While Sally defended herself against stalking accusations, Xander discovered that his unhinged ex had traveled all the way from London to Los Angeles on a mission to get him back in her life. Xander quickly figured out that if there was an online stalker, it had to be Zoe. He let Katie and Thorne know that they were on the wrong track, and Emma was the stalker's target, not Hope.

So much for my summer stalker fantasy. In days, the plot went right to climax and conclusion.

Wyatt stalled Zoe at his beach house after she finished his wall mural. The Forrester gang showed up to confront Zoe about her creepy ways. Zoe is the type of person who thinks others should take her antics as well-meaning jokes. So what if one was scared enough to call the cops? It was all for a laugh. No need to be so serious. Besides, there's a mural now to forever memorialize Wyatt's stupidity -- unless Wyatt's next cosplay character is a kinky painter.

Zoe took the "sorry, not sorry" approach when she confessed to setting Wyatt up to do the mural and using Sally's laptop to post her "jokey" threats on the HFTF website. Thorne was ready to press charges, but Xander interceded on Zoe's behalf. Zoe thought Xander was being sweet until he told her to get out of town.

Besides me, who wishes Xander had driven Zoe to the airport, paid for her one-way ticket, and buckled her in on the plane like Liam had done with Ivy?

I'm sure Xander does, because if he had, Zoe wouldn't have stolen the limelight during the HFTF finale after Emma bumped into the showstopper model, causing the model to sprain her ankle. Apparently, it will lead to a job for Zoe, so Xander will never get rid of his cat-baby mama. Maybe Xander's no better than Liam, after all, because Xander forgot all about Harry the way Liam just forgot about Bu.

I wish Xander had personally put Zoe on that plane because I'm just not that into the interns this summer. Eric Forrester was taken by Zoe Buckingham -- as in Palace -- which probably guarantees her a job. Eric loves giving criminals and rivals second chances, so we'll probably be stuck with the Nicole/Zende/Sasha retread through the holidays.

Speaking of retreads, Brooke is trying to figure out how to make her daughter come out on top this time in the "Hope/Liam/Steffy Triangle, Part XXXVIII: New Baby Makes Four" saga. In Brooke's view, Steffy loses out for being the kind of woman who'd sleep with her father-in-law, something Hope would never think of doing.

Brooke's past taught her the hard way what happens when one sleeps with her in-laws, and I don't blame her one bit for being salty about her nemesis' daughter having a happy ending after doing the same thing. Stephanie and Taylor also taught Brooke that in these situations, only the family of the virtuous woman's child matters, removing Brooke's right to be with any of her children's fathers except Deacon. Stephanie and Taylor probably wouldn't have cared if Brooke had been with Deacon for Hope's sake.

Bill agrees with Brooke that Hope should have Liam, but that's just because Bill wants Steffy. Did anyone really believe it when Bill claimed to find his senses enough to let Steffy go? Bill seems to resent that "quick draw" not only fathered Kelly but also cemented a baby with Hope in just one shot. When Bill found out that Justin was going to the HFTF showing, Bill asked Justin to take pictures of anything he saw that could help Steffy understand her predicament.

Bill headed straight to Steffy's house, and Justin sent Bill exactly what Bill had predicted he'd get -- a photo of Liam and Hope in an intimate moment. Bill showed Steffy the photo, and as if the thousandth time might be the charm, Bill asked her to dump that loser Liam and marry Bill.

Bill and Zoe laid the desperation on a bit thick this week, but neither one of them knows any shame. Even though Bill has ulterior motives, is he right about Steffy condemning herself to a life of sharing Liam with another woman? Let me hear from all the stepmothers and second wives out there: in your putting-up-with-another-woman wisdom, can Steffy and Hope actually raise their children in security as Liam bounces between them?

The fringe is in -- not!

Who the hell knows who's running Eye on Fashion now that Jarret's gone. I guess it's up to me and you to give our expert, unlicensed opinions of the HFTF preview.

Forget all the dresses and gowns you might have seen floating in the background during work days at Forrester, and never mind any elegant sketches that might have appeared on boards. For this HFTF line, Forrester Creations ripped off everything "Forever 21" and then foiled, fringed, and pranced it on stage for your entertainment.

Jeans even made their debut on the Forrester runway as part of the dancers' ensembles, and I wondered if the Forrester boutiques will be stacked with HFTC embroidered denim. The jean look must be making a comeback because we saw it more than just on the catwalk.

Xander sported a jean jacket, and Sally and Zoe wore some old-fogey-waisted jean bottoms. Hello, eighties! Sally rocked a long denim skirt the likes of which I gave to the Salvation Army on my way to college. Zoe's button-at-the-navel jeans had to be a nod to the nineties. Two fashion no-nos from the past I never want to see again are shoulder pads and high-waist jeans! Ugh, remember how they used to creep up to your chest? Hip-huggers like Steffy sported this week saved my life!

The dancing at the fashion show was unique, and it gave the event some flare. I just didn't know how talented the dancers had to be to pull off their moves without lassoing each other with their stringy tank tops. Some models wore outfits with shorter fringe, but the showstopper looked like Silly String draped on the Statue of Liberty. Sorry, Thorne and Quinn; it just did.

After Emma slammed into the showstopper model backstage, Hope and the gang were frantic to find a replacement model who could fit the design. Zoe appeared out of nowhere and claimed she had some modeling experience, so Hope sent Zoe out on the runway without even checking her ID first to see who she was.

A last-minute issue that causes an unlikely character to shock everyone by showing up in the showstopper is nothing new to B&B. Quinn was the last character it happened to when she wound up in Ridge's couture showstopper wedding gown. Quinn pulled it off delightfully. Zoe, not so much. She moved clunkily, as if she were unsure of herself.

Maybe it was easier for Quinn to float around in the puffy gown, but Zoe had a harder job of balancing on heels with a spike-jeweled thing on her head while trying not to trip on strings. My apologies, but Zoe looked like a spaghetti drying rack. Even so, the reporters raved about her and wanted to know if she'd be the new face of HFTF.

If you blinked, you might have missed Quinn, Thorne, and Maya backstage, directing the models. Eric, Ridge, Brooke, and Katie were in the front, enjoying being on the guest side of things. At the end of the show, Hope and Zoe soaked up the applause. Sorry, Thorne. None for you, as usual. With designs like these, though, would Forrester be better off putting Thorne back in the basement?

I could be out of touch with the youth. Maybe this is the new style. After all, Zoe did wear a brown fishnet shirt, sweatpants with side stripes, and heels the other week. Don't just take my word for it. Here's a little bit of what you guys think from our B&B message boards:

Your Eye on Fashion

Several posters had views on the dancing segment of the HFTF fashion show:

I didn't mind the dancing, per se, but I thought that there should have been less of it. It would have been better if the dancers left as the models came on. Or even if the stage was a bit wider and the dancers held their pose as the models came out as living pillars. Can't see it happening in real life, but this is a soap after all! -- Tashady

The dance moves were distracting from the fashions. If I were a buyer, I'd have to say that I didn't see any clothes because FC staged a dance recital instead. -- Mxims

Fringe and more fringe...looks like the opening of a Vegas strip show. Emma looks MUCH better with her hair down. -- PennyB

Not only are you guys talking about dancing, you rated the fashion show. So far, not so good, though. At the time of this writing, 75% of you agree that the show was not a success. Now I don't feel so bad...

That show stopper made Zoe look like a mummy from an ancient Egyptian tomb. -- joncharmed93

Hopefully it will inspire [young women] not to wear such ugly clothes including those oversized lame pajama pants that Hope was wearing. -- Jazzlu

Jazzlu, I completely forgot about Hope's MC Hammer pants! Yikes!

It was different. Having the models dance is a change from the usual runway show. Didn't care for the clothes. No offense to Thorne. Just don't think he's right for the age bracket the HFTF line is supposedly targeting. Sally should be the designer for this line and give Thorne his own line. -- SharikaC

Sharika has a point. After all, they were wrong about Sally being the stalker, and they are probably wrong about Sally never being a designer at Forrester, too. I say give Sally a chance, as long as she swears not to bring back the feathers.

What the hell is Hope for the Future anyway? I thought it was jewelry. Honestly it reminds me of a Kanye West fashion show...I can't imagine any retailers wanting to buy those clothes to sell in their stores. The one good thing was Zoe. She really was a showstopper. I am totally intrigued by her. -- Roidrage

The clothes were... bad. I don't even know what the show stopper was supposed to be. What was that? It reminded me of the long fringed outfits in the closing number of Jesus Christ Superstar -- the original movie from the 70s, not the Broadway remake.

Hope keeps talking about her message and how she wants to do this and that through fashion, but nothing on that runway supported her little speech, nothing looked like anything in the HFTF demographic would be interested in other than maybe one top for a night out clubbing. -- Sunspots

Sunspots, you got some points. Your post about the show was actually longer, but I need to keep the quotes short. Sunspots goes on to remind Bell that if he shows us clothes on racks or in the background, then he ought to put that theme in the actual showing. That supports what I wrote above when I warned you that you wouldn't see anything like the samples you've seen leading up to the fashion preview.

In a look ahead: Stabbed in the back

The summer's about to heat up, and the Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle reaches critical meltdown when Steffy decides she isn't taking Bill's word or picture for it. Steffy takes herself down to Forrester and finds Liam in a compromising position with Hope in the one of the dressing rooms.

The betrayed Steffy makes a fateful deal with her baby's daddy's daddy. Liam figures out where his heart really lies, and Steffy and Liam face their past and present to decide their future. Dear Soap God, please let this triangle be over unless Kim Matula returns. Amen.

In other spoilers, Steffy might be up for nanny parole as a new sitter named Amelia joins the show. Will Spencer is SORASed as casting replaces the five-year-old actor with one who is nine. Zoe seeks a new opportunity at Forrester Creations.

Let us know what you think about the fashion, the dancing, and the antics on display in Los Angeles. Until we scoop again, if you just busted a stalker right before your high-fashion preview, make sure you have a little more backstage security than deputy dud Charlie! And unless you're a stripper or cowboy, fringe is not bold and beautiful, baby!

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.