Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Soutache Her?
By Jeff Long | Season 11 | Episode 5 | Aired on 02.21.2013
Heidi says that it has become increasingly important for each team member to make their voice heard. Tim tells them that he will tell them about their new challenge the next day. That night, at the Atlas Building, Amanda says to Michelle and Layana that she was pretty eager to get out of her team after what happened in front of the judges. Michelle, who was on her team but doesn't seem to be the object of this statement, asks her if she harbors any ill will towards her former team members. She says that her feelings were hurt that they made her efforts to finish her dress seem like such a big deal for them. She interviews that her confidence isn't very high right now and she has had a hard time finding a comfortable place in the competition. She has yet to feel proud of something that she has sent down the runway. Meanwhile, Benjamin is telling Richard that he hasn't gotten a chance to understand Amanda's point-of-view as a designer yet. He interviews that he feels like the important thing will be to push Amanda to challenge herself. We don't hear Richard say a word really. I wonder if he feels bad about essentially trying to get Amanda eliminated. I don't hate him or even really blame him, but that's definitely what happened. Since there wasn't a clear loser, he and the others tried to separate one from the pack. Benjamin says that they will just have to wait to see what the next challenge is, which is, of course, true.
The next day, the designers go to Johnny Utah's, this Texas-themed bar in the middle of Manhattan. Daniel says that it reminds him of Austin. Whatever, Austin is much cooler than this place. This looks like Dallas. New York always does Texas in the most obvious ways. Stanley wants to know what the hell they're doing there. I would like to know what the hell IT is doing there. Tim comes in and tells them that they wanted to put them in a country and western atmosphere because they are going to be designing for one of country's biggest superstars, Miranda Lambert. This should be fun. Amanda says that she likes Miranda because she's got a rock edge to her. Matt feels the same way. Tim says that each team will be creating two looks. One will be for a performance and the other will be for a red carpet event. For the performance, she wants something a little bit country and a little bit rock n roll. So, she wants to look like Marie Osmond. OK, that's a look. The red carpet look should be chic and elegant- not overdesigned. They can divide up the duties however they would like and the two looks don't have to be cohesive, which comforts Amanda per her face when she hears that.