The second season of Bravo's Project Runway, a reality competition for fashion designers, premiered on December 7, 2005. Following a nationwide search earlier in the year, sixteen designers were chosen as semi-finalists and brought to New York City in June 2005. After the first challenge, called "Road To The Runway", fourteen went on to compete as finalists. The winning designer, Chloe Dao, received $100,000 in seed money to help launch her own line, a 2007 Saturn Sky, a spread in ELLE magazine, and a mentorship with the Banana Republic Design Team. Winning alongside Dao was her model, Grace Kelsey, who received the ELLE magazine spread. Michael Kors and Nina Garcia returned as judges for the second season. The fourth judging seat rotated each week, based on the challenge. Tim Gunn, fashion chair at Parsons The New School for Design, returned as a mentor for the designers.
Kara Janx later appeared in Project Runway: All Stars in 2012, where she finished 7th out of 13. Andrae Gonzalo, in the same year, competed in the second season of the All Stars edition placing 10th out of 13. In 2016, Daniel Franco competed in the fifth season of the All Stars edition, placing 12th out of 13. Third place contestant Santino Rice would later become one of the judges of another reality show, RuPaul's Drag Race.
Contestants + John Wade 24 Los Angeles, CaliforniaEpisode 115th place Heidi Standridge 25 Atlanta, Georgia Kirsten Ehrig 37 Los Angeles, California Episode 2 14th place Raymundo Baltazar 24 Los Angeles, California Episode 3 13th place Daniel Franco 31 Los Angeles, California Episode 4 12th place Guadalupe Vidal 29 Los Angeles, California Episode 5 11th place Marla Duran 51 Allentown, PennsylvaniaEpisode 69th place Diana Eng 22 Jacksonville, Florida Emmett McCarthy 42 New York, New York Episode 7 8th place Zulema Griffin 28 New York, New York Episode 8 7th place Andrae Gonzalo 32 Los Angeles, California Episode 9 6th place Nick Verreos 38 Los Angeles, California Episode 10 5th place Kara Janx 29 Johannesburg, South Africa Episode 11 4th place Santino Rice 30 Los Angeles, CaliforniaEpisode 14 3rd place Daniel Vosovic 24 Grand Rapids, Michigan Chloe Dao 33 Houston, Texas
(ages listed are the designers' ages at the time the show was taped in the summer of 2005.)
Daniel F. had been a competitor in the first season and was eliminated in that season's first episode. Determined to show that the judges "made a mistake" in eliminating him so soon, he returned to the nationwide tryouts with samples from his own design line. The evaluation panel at the tryouts decided to give him one more chance and brought him back as a contestant for season two.
The 16 models competing for an ELLE spread in the second season were:
Contestant Hometown Outcome Alyssa Daugherty Oil City, PA16th place Maria Lucia Santiago ?15th place Melissa Braiser New York, NY14th place Allison McAtee Erie, PA13th place Claudia Germany12th place Eliza Jane San Francisco, CA11th place Cara Roberts Darien, CT10th place Lesley Ann Williams?9th place Shannon Fluet Boston, MA8th place Tarah Rodgers North Carolina7th place Danyelle Vilmenay Baltimore, MD 6th place Rachael Hartzog?5th place Eden Henderson Queens, NY4th place Heather Brown?3rd place Rebecca Holliday Savannah, GARunner-up Grace Kelsey San Diego, CAWinner
Designers
+Elimination Chart Designers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14 Eliminated EpisodeChloe IN WIN IN LOW HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGHHIGH WIN LOW WINNER 12 – FinaleDaniel V. IN IN IN WIN IN WIN IN WIN WIN IN WIN Santino WIN HIGH HIGH LOW WIN LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW HIGH 3RD PLACE Kara IN IN LOWLOW IN IN LOW LOW HIGH HIGH OUT 11 - What's Your Line? Nick IN IN WIN LOW HIGH LOW IN IN LOW OUT 10 – Makeover Andrae IN LOW LOW HIGH IN WIN IN HIGH OUT 9 – Flower Power Zulema IN LOW IN HIGH IN IN WIN OUT 8 - Inspiration Emmett IN IN IN LOW IN HIGH OUT 7 – On Thin Ice Diana LOW IN IN HIGH LOW OUT 6 – Window Shopping Marla IN IN LOW HIGH LOW OUT Guadalupe IN IN IN HIGH OUT 5 – Social Scene Daniel F.LOW HIGH IN OUT 4 – Team Lingerie Raymundo IN IN OUT 3 – All Dolled Up Kirsten IN OUT Heidi OUT 1 – Road to Runway John OUT
: Although Daniel had one of the lowest scores for the challenge, he was automatically safe as he had immunity.
The designer won Project Runway season 2. The designer won that challenge. The designer had the second highest score for that challenge. The designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge. The designers had one of the lowest scores for that challenge. The designer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated. The designer lost and was eliminated from the competition.
Models
+Elimination Chart Model 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14Grace CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD WINNERRebecca DF DV DV DV DV DV DV DV DV DV DV DV OUTHeather SR SR SR SR SR SR SR SR SR SR SR SR OUTEden KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ OUT Rachael ZG ZG ZG ZG ZG ZG ZG NV NV NV OUT Danyelle AG AG AG AG AG AG AG AG AG OUT Tarah NV NV NV NV NV NV NV ZG OUT Shannon DE EM EM EM EM EM EM OUT Lesley Ann RB DE DE DE DE DE OUT Cara MD MD MD MD MD MD OUT Eliza GV GV GV GV GV OUT Claudia KE DF DF DF OUT Allison JW RB RB OUT Melissa DV KE OUT Maria EM WD Alyssa HS OUT
The model was the winner of Project Runway season 2. The model won the challenge. The model wore the losing designers outfit. The model was brought back into the competition. The model withdrew from the competition. The model was out of Project Runway season 2.
Allison was originally eliminated in episode 2, but then was brought back after Maria withdrew. In episode 10, the models were not used in the challenge.
Designer legend Andrae Gonzalo: AG Chloe Dao: CD Daniel Franco: DF Daniel Vosovic: DV Diana Eng: DE Emmett McCarthy: EM Guadalupe Vidal: GV Heidi Standridge: HS John Wade: JW Kara Janx: KJ Kirsten Ehrig: KE Marla Duran: MD Nick Verreos: NV Raymundo Baltazar: RB Santino Rice: SR Zulema Griffin: ZG
Episodes
Episode 1: Road to the Runway Original Airdate: December 7, 2005
Before arriving in New York, the 16 contestants being considered for positions in this season's competing cast were given six yards of plain white muslin, $20, and one week to create an outfit that best represents who they are as a fashion designer. After arriving, the 16 contestants found that only 14 positions were available in the Parsons workroom and thus two would be eliminated at the runway judging.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors WINNER: Santino ELIMINATED: Heidi & John
Episode 2: Clothes Off Your Back Original Airdate: December 7, 2005
Designers made an outfit using only the clothes they were wearing at the moment the challenge was announced. They had one day to complete their designs. This episode is best remembered for Andrae's tear-filled panic attack on the runway, and the judges relatively unfeeling response.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Diane von Fürstenberg
WINNER: Chloe ELIMINATED: Kirsten
Episode 3: All Dolled Up Original Airdate: December 14, 2005
Designers created a life-sized outfit for the My Scene collection. The winning designer's outfit would be duplicated for the My Scene collection. The designers had a budget of $150 and two days to complete the design.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Lily Martinez
WINNER: Nick ELIMINATED: Raymundo
Episode 4: Team Lingerie Original Airdate: December 21, 2005
Designers created a lingerie line consisting of three looks. A team event with four teams, each with a lead designer and two assistants. The designers had a budget of $200 and one day to complete the collection.
TeamTeam LeaderTeam Members (in the order of being chosen)1Daniel V.Andrae, Zulema2Daniel F.Chloe, Kara3SantinoNick, Emmett4DianaGuadalupe, Marla
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia Guest Judges: Cynthia Rowley (sitting in for Michael Kors), Alessandra Ambrosio
WINNER: Daniel V. ELIMINATED: Daniel F.
Episode 5: Social Scene Original Airdate: January 4, 2006
Designers created a party dress for socialite Nicky Hilton. The designers had a budget of $150 and two days to complete the designs.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Nicky Hilton
WINNER: Santino ELIMINATED: Guadalupe
Episode 6: Window Shopping Original Airdate: January 11, 2006
Designers created a day-to-evening ensemble for Banana Republic. A team event with five teams of two. Both designers on the losing team were eliminated. Each team had to finish their garment in one day. After that, all teams went to Banana Republic and each had to make a window that showed the idea of the dress; they had 30 minutes to buy all the materials they needed for the display and an hour to finish. The winner was chosen by votes from Banana Republic clients.
The teams were: Chloe and Emmett Daniel V. and Andrae Kara and Zulema Santino and Nick Diana and Marla
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Deborah Lloyd
WINNERS: Andrae & Daniel V. ELIMINATED: Diana & Marla
Episode 7: On Thin Ice Original Airdate: January 18, 2006
Designers created a figure skating outfit for 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen. The designers had a budget of $150 and two days to complete the design.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Michael Kors Guest Judges: Anne Slowey (sitting in for Nina Garcia), Sasha Cohen
WINNER: Zulema ELIMINATED: Emmett
Episode 8: Inspiration Original Airdate: January 25, 2006
Designers took photos around New York and picked one to be an inspiration for an outfit. The designers had a budget of $100 and one day to complete the outfit.
This episode is most notable for Zulema's "Model Walk Off." Prior to this episode, all the winning designers stuck with their original models when given the chance to change by Heidi. Zulema stunned everyone when she not only announced she was changing models, but also making this decision by picking three girls to have a "walk off." She chose the eliminated Emmett's model Shannon, Andrae's model Danyelle, and Nick's model Tarah for consideration. She switched to Tarah, which left Rachael with Nick and eliminated Shannon.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Jay McCarroll
WINNER: Daniel V. ELIMINATED: Zulema
Episode 9: Flower Power Original Airdate: February 1, 2006
Designers created a dress using only natural materials purchased in the New York Flower District. The designers had a budget of $100 and one hour for the purchases.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judges: Mark Badgley and James Mischka.
WINNER: Daniel V. ELIMINATED: Andrae
Episode 10: Makeover Original Airdate: February 8, 2006
Designers created a new look to make over a fellow contestant, who then modeled the new look on the runway. Chloe designed for Nick, Nick designed for Daniel V., Daniel V. designed for Chloe, Kara designed for Santino, and Santino designed for Kara.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Freddie Leiba WINNER: Chloe ELIMINATED: Nick
Episode 11: What's Your Line? Original Airdate: February 15, 2006
Designers made an evening dress for supermodel Iman. The evening dress also reflected the line which the designers will show at Olympus Fashion Week.
Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors Guest Judge: Iman
WINNER: Daniel V. ELIMINATED: Kara
Episode 12: Reunion Original Airdate: February 22, 2006
All of the designers gathered for a reunion hosted by Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum on the eve of New York Fashion Week at which the final three designers will display their collections.
Episode 13: Finale – Part 1 Original Airdate: March 1, 2006