Episode Report Card Jeff Long: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Microwaved Haute Couture
By Jeff Long | Season AS1 | Episode 2 | Aired on 01.12.2012
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Badgley and Mischka (who are surprisingly totally American?) arrive and challenge the all-stars to make some haute couture evening wear that would be worn to the opera... in a day. Austin immediately feels the throw of the gauntlet and feels that he has to do something spectacular. Once again, Michael and April choose the same materials for their looks. Michael switches colors, though April thinks that it doesn't matter since their aesthetics are so different. Then, she dyes part of her fabric (in an attempt to achieve the Corpse Bride look she's going for) and everyone murmurs that this could be the end of April. Joanna wonders if she's wasting time with dyeing.
Sweet P is feeling a little down after being in the bottom two during the previous challenge. She worries that it makes her look like a loser. Her dress has the same silhouette as her dress from last week. She doesn't seem very excited about it when she shows it to Joanna. After her consultation, she spends most the day trying to adorn (and correct?) the bodice on her look.
Mila praises Michael for working really quickly. It just feels weird considering people only seem to condescend to him normally. Jerell thinks what he's making looks tacky, but Joanna tells him that it's dramatic and she doesn't make it sound like she thinks that's a bad thing. She does wonder though if he has considered how a woman will feel actually wearing the dress and he admits to not thinking about that.
Austin is feeling a lot of pressure and it has the result of making him less mannered in his mode of personal style. He's super cute in the workroom that day. Mila feels that his dress is a little plain.
Kara is out of her element. She doubts herself so much that it costs her a lot of time. Joanna suggests that her dress may be more bridal than evening (she also throws the same critique to Anthony), but she doesn't make a lot of adjustments.
At the show, a lot of the dresses are lovely. Rami pulls out his drape action, finally. Sweet P's look has none of the adornment she was talking about, though it seems to fit well. Frankly, I thought that Anthony's dress was a knockout. Michael's dress was really impressive too. For me, only Sweet P and Kara lacked punch and they weren't horrible.
After the show, Sweet P, Kara, Anthony, Michael, Austin and April were the top and bottom. They love the vamp of Anthony's dress. They find April's dress problematic, though interesting. They think that Sweet P's dress seems like a prom dress, not for the opera. Austin gets the typical praise. Kara gets in trouble for not putting enough personality into her dress. Isaac is stunned that Michael's dress is so perfect after only a day of work. Seriously, the judges loooove it. Angela even says that she wants to wear it. Anthony's safe and happy. Austin wins the challenge! Michael is in. Kara is safe, which brings us to Sweet P and April. April is... in. Ah, Sweet P! This sucks for her.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: The all-stars were revealed. Elisa, who, bless her heart, seems like the sweetest girl, was just not meant for this world of creating clothes that people want to wear in order to look good. She has a bright future in sandwich board-making, and more power to her. But, alas, she was the first all-star to dim. Rami won the first challenge! Sweet P, who I was also glad to see return, was in the bottom two as well and history shows that she has a habit of spiraling, so let's hope that she'll be able to pull this out.
So, I guess as all-stars they're not required to put on a little show at the Flatotel each morning regarding who they hate and how they're sad to see the person eliminated but this is a competition and they're all-stars and plates must be stepped up to and throwing under buses must occur. Frankly, as the late Tim Gunn would say, I enjoy the seriousness of purpose implied by that. We're supposed to be excited about what fashions these guys are going to make as opposed to the drama. Granted, we've got Jerell and Kenley on board, but mouth-flapping as both may be, they proved themselves as competitive in their season. In fact, if Kenley hadn't been such a raging a-hole, I probably would have rooted for her more solidly. Her stuff is pretty cute. But, still, it's like saying that Satan has a good way with fire.
Anyway, we're on the runway and Angela, who scares me with how casual and lovely she is, greets the designers and tells them that this challenge is all about creating a showstopping high-end frou-frou. Anthony makes this sound in reply that's half laugh-like/half defiant and April looks at him with glee.
Angela says that the guest judges for this week know all about the requirements of the challenge. They are Mark Badgley and James Mischka! Wow. Austin says that he has always imagined that his career would be modeled after theirs. I guess he confused them with Lauren Conrad somewhere along the line. James and Mark tell them that the challenge is "A Night at the Opera." Wow. I always just assumed those guys were German or something. That seems weird now, considering that their dresses are really beautiful and German's perpetually, when they are trying to achieve high fashion, look like they are either rying to punish someone or make some money to pay the gas bill. Yeah, that's right. Anyway, these guys are totally, like, American-ish. Maybe Canadian? I'm not even going to Google it. This is freestyle, kids. Anyway, the guys with all of the consonants want the designers to create a couture dress meant to be worn to the opera, which is a big deal. In New York City, you see people pull out their most amazing, most vulgar clothing for the opera. It's truly remarkable. Kara says that evening wear is not her "Papoom" moment, however it is Austin's "Papoom" moment. You are heard, Kara. Did her accent get thicker? Jerell says that he has a lot of respect for Austin but that sweet bird of youth is going to have to bring it because he's going to bring it too and there will be a reckoning of all of the things that have been brought. Wow, they're really setting us up for a huge Austin win or a mighty downfall. It's like The Art of Fielding. God help me if I don't reference that book every paragraph. It's haunting me. They will have a budget of $350 and only one day to make the dress. Austin is freaking because in the real-like world you would have months to put together a couture gown. Angela jokes that they couldn't make it too easy for them and Jerell responds, "Of course not. All-stars!" Guys. I can't.