After a mere month, we're back. But most importantly, we're back to New York! Oh, thank God. I really think that a big problem with last season (and it had MANY big problems) was the relocation to L.A., and the fact that it significantly limited the appearances of New York-based Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. If "PR6" proved anything, it was that this show really is a team effort, and if you remove any one part the house of cards collapses. Let's hope we fare better than that this season, although if the recycled challenge and situations from this episode is any indication, I'm a little worried. 

Sixteen new designers. We met them all so fast that it was hard to get a read on all of them. A few standouts: I'm sure Anthony is supposed to be our funny gay guy - he's basically Chris March + Mychael Knight. I found him instantly obnoxious. He's just not as funny as he thinks he is, but he constantly needs to be told how funny he is. Jonathan is as close as we're getting to guy candy for the season, but his work is not attractive. Jesse used to play Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney World, and now he designs simple, ugly clothes. I loved Maya's super structural pre-show pieces; I hope she goes far. Mila is Maya 20 years later - I think that's a good thing. Jesus has breathtaking, fantastical couture pieces, and he piqued my interest immediately. Ben is a trained comic-book artist and his stuff has a very super-hero sensibility, so that's something new.

Tim had the designers meet him Central Park, where there were fabrics tossed all over the place. The designers had three minutes to grab all the fabric they could. It was very reminiscent of the first challenge from Season 4, just missing the tents. Tim then gave them an editing challenge by instructing them to only select five of their chosen fabrics to take back to the workroom. Physical therapist/self-trained fashion designer Ping Wu had serious issues with her fabric, and she's clearly a little off. She has "wacky first eliminee" written all over her.

Once the designers got back to the workroom, the product placement was flying. In addition to Brother sewing machines, they had new HP tablet computers to use as digital sketchbooks. They were cool, but the ham-fisted presentation to the viewing audience made Bravo's advertorials look subtle. The task was essentially for the designers to take their fabrics and show off their unique styles. On the one hand, that's good; it gives us a chance to get a feel for the designers' aesthetics before all the crazy hoop-jumping challenges. On the other, we've seen this challenge before, possibly more than once.

During Tim's mid-challenge check-in we got the full-on Honking Bassoons of Idiocy with Ping as she walked around the workroom decked out in the floppy, unstructured out she was making. She explained to Tim that she regularly wears her works-in-progress since she doesn't have a dress form at home. OK, then. Jeneane launched into her second crying jag within 20 minutes after Tim pointed out that her little black dress was constructed out of a cheap black fabric that showed all of her mistakes. Tim instructed Anthony to ditch an ugly green fabric he was pairing with an ugly, sad-looking print, and Anthony went with it in, but in a totally over-the-top manner. I'm sorry, I just can't stand him. He's so calculated in his attempts at humor. Everything is engineered to make you laugh. But none of it is terrible original or clever. Emilio had a really cool top that he'd made with bias strips and appliqués, but his skirt was nonexistent, and Tim was concerned that he wouldn't even finish his garment. Meanwhile, with two hours left, Jeneane bailed on her dress and started something new. Hello, bad idea.

The runway: Along with Heidi, Michael, and Nina, we had Nicole Richie as a guest judge. ...Yay? I understand that she's a legitimate fashion maven, with her own line and everything. But EVERY celebrity has a fashion line now. When I think Nicole Richie and clothes, I think the bag-lady-meets-skeletal-insect look that Rachel Zoe all but imposed on her a few years back. I don't know how much fashion she herself has. Jonathan's piece was better than I expected based on his pre-show work, with a vaguely dominatrix vibe. Seth's dress reminded me of Jeffrey from S2 -- Seth is very clearly a regurgitated of Jeffrey, down to his pompous faux-rebel attitude -- but there were some glam goddess elements to the back. Jesus's dress was a form-fitting brown snakeskin number with a dramatic chiffon train; it looked really 80's/early 90's. Jay's design had these bizarre tumors popping out of the skirt - just awful. Pamela's Pepto-Bismol dress was very architectural, but not particularly interesting. Emilio's dress was SUPER cute; it was very wearable, but also eye-catching. Jesse's dress also looked better than expected, but I think he was overstating the detail he put into it. Ping's garment was basically just floppy draped fabric. It had no shape whatsoever. Looked to me like she'd just wrapped a bunch of fabric around her model and called it a day. Christane's garment was loud and unsophisticated; I don't think she had any idea what she was doing. Amy's piece seemed to have one boob that was bigger than the other and a too-flowy skirt that reminded me of a picnic blanket. Jeneane ended up putting out something surprisingly chic. I may have to reassess her. Mila used three different patterns, and only two of them went together. But it looked interesting. Anthony's dress was terribly unflattering with its voluminous folds on the sides. Maya's dress had a gigantic sponge-like ruffle on one shoulder that reminded of something Christian would have done in S4.

Top/Bottom: Emilio, Ping, Christiane, Seth, Anthony, and Jesus. Heidi liked the skirt on Anthony's dress, but hated the top, which look thrown together. That's because it was -- he barely finished his garment. Kors said that it looked like two dresses fused together. Nina questioned the fabric choice (yes!), and the construction was BAD. Nicole appreciated Seth's rock ‘n' roll look, and the designers loved the back, which was pretty interesting. Kors thought young girls would love the dress. Nicole responded well to Ping's baggy, shapeless look, but Nina pointed out that it looked uncomfortable. Jesus got slammed, with Kors calling it a "huge crocodile trunk that exploded on an evening gown." Ouch. Heidi pointed out that it was clearly supposed to be a short dress that he tacked more fabric on to, which was dead on. Nina said Jesus's model looked like a Hershey chocolate bar. Nina liked the draping on Christiane's dress, but she was very critical of the ugly, cheap-looking fabrics, plus the poor construction. The whole thing looked tortured and crazy to me. Kors liked Emilio's deceptively simple dress, and Heidi and Nina were impressed with the technical work he put into it. I found it interesting that for the first time I can think of, the guest judge seemed to be on a totally different wavelength with the panel.

Ping somehow ended up in the top, for basically just wrapping fabric around her model. What. The. Hell? Emilio got the win, and I think that's totally deserved. Seth and Anthony were both spared, but not before Anthony had to get more attention by acting like a simpering twit. Hate. Him. That left Christiane and Jesus, and ultimately Christiane got axed for her poor construction skills, bad fabrics, and lack of point of view. Kind of a surprise boot there. I thought Jesus was a goner given how slammed he got for his out-of-touch taste level.

Next time: farms, and Tim is flabbergasted.