‘Fashion Star’ season 2 premiere review: Do you buy in to the changes?

“Fashion Star” is back! We spent most of the first season wondering whether we appreciated the show for its entrepreneurial spirit, or was annoyed by it for basically being the same thing week after week with very little variation. We also thought that there were too many cooks in the kitchen, and we didn’t need so much feedback for every design.

Luckily, NBC’s show did fix one of these issues during the season 2 premiere by dividing the designers up into teams like “The Voice,” that way there were fewer opinions given to every design, and we actually had some time to get to know most of the actual contestants. We still see it getting pretty tiring a few weeks in, but for now we do like what the show is bringing to the table and how it is learning from its mistakes.

Now … let’s talk the actual designs during this “showstopper week.” We’ll start things off here by saying that we are not fashion experts, and really don’t have any business trying to judge designer outfits. Nonetheless, we’re going to do it anyway!

Team John Varvatos

Amber Perley – We didn’t necessarily like how the skirt went up so high in the front, at least with the two-tone design. The strictly orange one, meanwhile, was more of a lovely creamsickle. Express literally exploded out of the gate here, and gave her a gigantic bid of $175,000.

Cassandra Hobbins – We just didn’t care for this one. It felt too much like the reverse mullet of clothing: a party in the front, and very businesslike in the back. No buyers here.

Brandon Scott – The fit here was very good, but we also have to say that you can pretty much see a hoodie / jacket almost anywhere. Nonetheless, it still earned a $120,000 offer from Macy’s.

Silvia Arguello – What in the world was thins? It was crazy, it was unique, and it was daring. Just because this show is commercial does not mean that you have to be commercial. Saks Fifth Avenue bought this one for $75,000.

Nicole Richie

Daniel Silverstein – We have a feeling that Daniel is going to be a Saks darling all season long. He is pretty high-fashion, and his $150,000 bid from the company almost says it all.

Priscilla Barroso – There was something rather nice Priscilla’s dress, and it was worth the $80,000 it received from Macy’s without a doubt.

Johana Hernandez – What a night this is turning out to be! With her dress that really suited all sorts of women, she earned herself a $55,000 offer from Macy’s.

Bret Young – Let this be a major lesson to all future “Fashion Star” contestants, or really contestants on any reality show: if a mentor tells you not to do something the first week, you should probably listen to them. Thus, Bret and his women’s pants left without an offer attached to them.

Jessica Simpson

Tori Nichel – After presenting a garment that looked a little too unappealing, Tori received probably the harshest rejection of the night: all at once!

David Appel – Probably the only major surprise of the night when it comes to a lack of buyers, David’s ensemble for men felt very current and looked cool. Apparnetly, there is already too much of it out on the market already.

Garrett Gerson and JesseRay Vasquez – The first ever designing duo in the competition did not get off to a great start, as they simply played it far too safe with a dress that was not risque enough for the modern consumer.

Hunter Bell – We wonder if any of the other designers right now are feeling annoyed with Hunter’s hero edit. Much of the episode was built around how upset she was that her designs were no longer carried at Saks, and of course they bought in. Both it and Express each bought in with $200,000 … but she of course chose Saks.

The bottom two this week was no surprise at all given the edit: Bret along with JesseRay and Garrett. They made the most obvious mistakes during the competition, but it seemed like Bret had more potential, whereas JesseRay and Garrett simply were not bold enough. However, what do we know? Bret was sent home, and he never got a shot to show off the menswear that he is supposedly so strong at.

Overall, what was your take on the “Fashion Star” season 2 premiere: did you sense some great improvement, or were there some aspects of the show that still rubbed you the wrong way? If you want to see what else Jessica Simpson is working on with NBC at the moment, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: NBC