Project Runway (season 2)
Project Runway Season 2 was the second season of Bravo's successful Project Runway, a reality competition for fashion designers. Season 2 began airing 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 roadster, 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 in 2012, where she finished 7th out of 13. Andrae Gonzalo, in the same year, competed in 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
The 16 contestants in Season 2 were:| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Place Finished |
| John Wade | 24 | Los Angeles | Fashion Designer | 16th |
| Heidi Standridge | 25 | Atlanta, GA | Childrenswear Designer | 15th |
| Kirsten Ehrig | 37 | Los Angeles | Lawyer/Swimsuit Designer | 14th |
| Raymundo Baltazar | 24 | Los Angeles | Recent Fashion School Graduate | 13th |
| Daniel Franco | 34 | Los Angeles | Fashion Designer | 12th |
| Guadalupe Vidal | 29 | Los Angeles | Freelance Fashion Designer | 11th |
| Marla Duran | 51 | Allentown, PA | Fashion Boutique Owner | 10th |
| Diana Eng | 22 | Jacksonville, FL | Recent Fashion School Graduate | 9th |
| Emmett McCarthy | 42 | New York, NY | Menswear Designer | 8th |
| Zulema Griffin | 28 | New York, NY | TV/Film Costume Designer | 7th |
| Andrae Gonzalo | 32 | Los Angeles | Fashion Designer | 6th |
| Nick Verreos | 38 | Los Angeles | Fashion School Teacher | 5th |
| Kara Janx | 29 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Fashion Designer | 4th |
| Santino Rice | 30 | Los Angeles | Freelance Fashion Designer | 3rd |
| Daniel Vosovic | 24 | Grand Rapids, MI | Recent Fashion School Graduate | Runner-up |
| Chloe Dao | 33 | Houston, TX | Fashion Boutique Owner | Winner |
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 | Place Finished |
| Maria Lucia Santiago | 16th | |
| Alyssa Daugherty | Oil City, PA | 15th |
| Melissa Braiser | New York, NY | 14th |
| Allison McAtee | Erie, PA | 13th |
| Claudia | Germany | 12th |
| Eliza Jane | San Francisco, CA | 11th |
| Cara Roberts | Darien, CT | 10th |
| Lesley Ann Williams | 9th | |
| Shannon Fluet | Boston, MA | 8th |
| Tarah Rodgers | North Carolina | 7th |
| Danyelle Vilmenay | Baltimore, MD | 6th |
| Rachael Hartzog | 5th | |
| Eden Henderson | Queens, NY | 4th |
| Heather Brown | 3rd | |
| Rebecca Holliday | Savannah, GA | Runner-up |
| Grace Kelsey | San Diego, CA | Winner |
Designers
| Designers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | Eliminated Episode |
| Chloe | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | LOW | WINNER | 12- Finale |
| Daniel V. | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | LOW | WIN | 12- Finale | |
| Santino | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | WIN | LOW | LOW | LOW | LOW | LOW | HIGH | 3RD PLACE | 12- Finale |
| Kara | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | OUT | 11 - What's Your Line? | |
| Nick | IN | IN | WIN | LOW | HIGH | LOW | IN | LOW | 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 | IN | LOW | OUT | 6 - Window Shopping | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Marla | IN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | OUT | 6 - Window Shopping | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Guadalupe | IN | IN | IN | IN | 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 | 1 - Road To Runway | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
- : Although Daniel had one of the lowest scores for the challenge, he was automatically safe as he had immunity.
Models
- 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.
- 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, 2005Before 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.
Episode 2: Clothes Off Your Back
Original Airdate: December 15, 2005Designers 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.
- Guest Judge: Diane von Fürstenberg
Episode 3: All Dolled Up
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.
- Guest Judge: Lily Martinez
Episode 4: Team Lingerie
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.
| Team | Team Leader | Team Members |
| 1 | Daniel V. | Andrae, Zulema |
| 2 | Daniel F. | Chloe, Kara |
| 3 | Santino | Nick, Emmett |
| 4 | Diana | Guadalupe, Marla |
- Guest Judges: Cynthia Rowley & Alessandra Ambrosio
Episode 5: Social Scene
Designers created a party dress for socialite Nicky Hilton. The designers had a budget of $150 and two days to complete the designs.
- Guest Judge: Nicky Hilton
Episode 6: Window Shopping
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:
- Guest Judge: Deborah Lloyd
Episode 7: On Thin Ice
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.
- Guest Judges: Anne Slowey & Sasha Cohen
Episode 8: Inspiration
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.
- Guest Judge: Jay McCarroll
Episode 9: Flower Power
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.
- Guest Judges: Mark Badgley and James Mischka.
Episode 10: Makeover
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.
- Guest Judge: Freddie Leiba
Episode 11: What's Your Line?
Designers made an evening dress for supermodel Iman. The evening dress also reflected the line which the designers will show at Olympus Fashion Week.
- Guest Judge: Iman
Episode 12: Reunion
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, 2006The three final designers were shown at home when Tim Gunn visited them, and then returned to New York to prepare their collections for showing at New York Olympus Fashion Week. Back in New York, they were surprised to find out that they had to complete one final challenge: an additional garment that they each had to design with the aid of one eliminated designer of their choice. Nick, Andrae, and Diana returned to help Daniel V., Santino, and Chloe, respectively.
Episode 14: Finale - Part 2
Original Airdate: March 8, 2006Chloe, Daniel V., and Santino displayed their final collections of thirteen pieces at New York Olympus Fashion Week.
- Guest Judge: Debra Messing