By Jeff Long | Season AS1 | Episode 2 | Aired on 2012.01.12
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 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.