The second season of Bravo's Top Design premieres tonight, and the show itself has undergone something of a remodel, with the help of a new production team (the Magical Elves responsible for enchanting such shows as Project Runway) and a new host, India Hicks, intrepid island dweller and daughter of design legend David Hicks. But not to fear, chipper design cheerleader Todd Oldham hasn't left the show; he's just switched to the role of mentor to the 13 contestants. "The mentoring is my favorite part," said Oldham in a recent call with reporters. "This was the no homework job. I wasn't learning lines this season, just responding to contestants." Avuncular potter Jonathan Adler will reprise his role as head judge along with returning judges Elle Decor editor-in-chief Margaret Russell and the enduringly fascinating Kelly Wearstler.

After acing a screen test that consisted of a guest appearance on Larry King Live, Hicks was thrilled to join the Top Design crew, which gave her the opportunity to meet Adler and Wearstler, whose designs happens to routinely references the work of her father. "Jonathan and Kelly are out there in the field so they know what it takes to succeed," said Hicks in the same conference call. "These are real pros judging, and it makes a big difference." They'll be weighing in on challenges that require the contestants, who range in age from 24 to 40, to "design out of the box, quite literally," said Hicks on the change from the white box of last season to "real places and real settings." Among this season's tasks: redesigning a fall out shelter and competing in a full-on "design triathlon."

As for those competing for the $100,000 cash prize and a four-page editorial showcase in Elle Decor, we think we already spy an UnBeige favorite: Wisit. The Illinois-born, Parsons-educated designer counts among his design icons Stephane Boudin, Billy Baldwin, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and also, as luck would have it, David Hicks.

Photo: Robert Humphreys

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an espresso bar made of abandoned washing machines, and it's among the recycled design masterpieces of Rotterdam-based 2012 Architecten. The Maytag-meets-Starbucks-meets-Sputnik creation will be featured in the third season of e2 design (say "e-squared design"), PBS's Brad Pitt-narrated environmental and green building series. 2012 Architecten is the subject of an e2 episode entitled "Super Use," a lush mini-documentary exploring how the architectural firm's partners elegantly repurpose everything from car tires to windmill blades as building materials. Other topics e2 tackles in its third season, which premieres online on September 1, include the Aga Khan's Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, a 500-year-old dump turned "urban lung"; the efforts of Renzo Piano to integrate the natural world into his design for San Francisco's natural history museum; and the work to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward in a way that is environmentally, culturally, and socially sustainable. Hmm...how's the Big Easy fixed for washing machines?

Newly posted to Charlie Rose's website is the below video of his recently televised conversation about car design with automotive design gurus Joel Piaskowski of Hyundai, Franz "Zoom Zoom" von Holzhausen of Mazda, Edward T. Welburn, Jr. of General Motors, and Phil Patton of The New York Times. Fewer than 30 seconds elapse before someone mentions Harley Earl. We warn you that you may come away from this video craving a Pontiac Solstice, but you'll also hear about what makes a great car designer, what cars have in common with clipper ships, and why everyone still dreams of having a Ferrari in the garage. "You will note that this [conversation] happened a few months ago," cautions Rose rather cryptically when introducing the segment. "Because I still had the black eye."

In mere months, the U.S. will elect a new president (our prediction: Michael Phelps, by nine-tenths of a second), and so it's time to focus on the important things, like what TV shows, music, and movies the candidates like. Never afraid to ask the tough questions (e.g., "If you could be any superhero, which superhero would you be?), Entertainment Weekly is on the case, devoting four pages in its August 15 issue to pop culture Q&As with Barack Obama and John McCain. While we were intrigued to learn that McCain adores Viva Zapata! and cried at Bambi, the first movie he ever saw, some news about the viewing habits of the Obama household caught our design-focused eye. In a discussion of who controls the remote, EW finds a way to get fascists into the follow-up question:

EW: So neither [you nor your wife, Michelle] are fascists when it comes to the remote...
OBAMA: If I tell her, "Sweetie, we've got game 5 of the NBA finals on," she's willing to give me a little slack. Most of the time, though, the TV is on HGTV, and I suffer that silently.

Although we fear gray won't be as kind to that maniacal glimmer in Kenneth's eyes, the NBC pages have new uniforms, brother blog TVNewser tells us. When we heard they were designed by Brooks Brothers, we had our fingers crossed for something resembling the final look from the stunningly accomplished fall show of Thom Browne, designer of BB's Black Fleece collection. But, alas, the new uniform—a gray plaid ensemble that bested navy pinstripe and gray herringbone looks that were also under consideration—is Thom Browne lite. TVNewser compares the new uniforms to "something out of Mad Men," but the gang at Sterling Cooper would never approve of the new wardrobe policy that accompanies the uniform update: for the first time in the history of the page program, female pages can choose between a skirt and (gasp!) pants.

While we patiently await publication of The World According to Santino Rice, Project Runway finalist Daniel Vosovic is joining Tim Gunn and Nina Garcia in parlaying his appearance on the Bravo reality show into a book. Between honing his skills working for established designers and creating uniforms for staffers at a new line of chain hotels, Vosovic found time to write Fashion Inside Out (pictured at left), which is set to be released in late October. It includes a forward by Gunn and is chock full of photos by Michael Turek. Publisher Watson-Guptill describes the book as "combin[ing] practical information on fashion design with an intimate look at the fashion scene today," including "a detailed overview of the design process, plus insightful advice on connecting with the right people, promoting and selling, and much, much more." As for the cover, we get the Chanel-esque treatment of "Daniel," but we're getting a strange vodka branding vibe from the rest of it. Meanwhile, we hear that last year's Project Runway winner, Christian Siriano, has also got a book in the works. The topic? How to be fierce, of course.

Bravo's Shear Genius, a Project Runway for hairstylists, is back for its second season. Heavy on the "cut"-related wordplay, the show puts vaguely menacing Danish hairstylist René Fris (who we could swear we once saw in a Mentos commercial) in the Tim Gunn role and is hosted by actress/Kmartist Jaclyn Smith. Shear Genius celebrated its season premiere on Tuesday with a pop-up salon in New York's Times Square and recruited students from the School of Visual Arts, under the guidance of SVA 3D Design Program chairperson Kevin O'Callaghan, to design the temporary salon as well as ten salon chairs that Bravo's "The Dish" blog describes as "pretty damn amazing."

Among the wacky hair chairs is the trio pictured above. Created by Sarah Nguyen, the "DJ" chair (at far right) is a stack of hair-themed record albums ready for playing on its giant turntable base while Kathleen Ugurlu's "Jock" (center) is for the hirsute baseball fan (we think the batting helmet is a nice touch). But we find ourselves unable to resist the garden gnome-accessorized "Backyard" chair designed by Kaori Sakai in a bold palette of green, red, and yellow. It comes with a grass-tufted seat backed by a garden gate, a hose, cooler, and a full grill setup, complete with ketchup, mustard, and corn on the cob. Check out all of the chairs and vote for your favorite here. The winner gets a $5,000 prize, which we're hoping is payable in cash rather than hair products.

In Sunday's New York Times magazine, Alex Witchel looked at the AMC network's retro hit Mad Men, which begins its second season on July 27. We confess that we watch each episode twice, once with the sound on and then again on mute, so as to better contemplate the stellar sets, vintage props, and bold-hued womenswear (kudos, costume designer Janie Bryant). But we're not sure if series creator Matthew Weiner would approve of our approach. "The design is not the star of the show," he tells Witchel. "I don't want to be distracted by it."

Witchel's piece examines how Mad Men depicts the advertising world of the early 1960s, psychoanalyzes Weiner (perhaps he eschews on-the-nose writing because of "the lack of direct communication with his parents"?), and surveys some Madison Avenue veterans on how life at Sterling Cooper (the show's fictional ad agency) measures up to the reality as they remember it. Famed art director George Lois is not amused. Read on for his wrath.

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As for the relevant winners of last night's cringe-inducing Bravo A-List Awards, the always gracious Anna Sui was named A-List fashion designer, while Nintendo's Wii Fit earned some sort of design innovation award sponsored by Chrysler.

Presenting the fashion design award was model Jessica Stam, who described the four nominees in a drowsy, Olsen twin-like cadence. Zac Posen was lauded for his "aggressive boldness" and the Proenza Schouler boys were noted for their "calculated bravado." OK, but how to explain the descriptions penned for the female nominees, Tory Burch and Sui? "Subtle timelessness" was a poor fit for characterizing Burch's bold, David Hicks-influenced designs, while Stam was teleprompted to say that Sui's signature is her "unwavering austerity." Rock n' roll-inspired, bohemian, and folkloric, Sui's designs are the opposite of austere. Someone should have recruited Project Runway's Tim Gunn or presenter and writer Simon Doonan to proof the show's script.

Meanwhile, the Wii Fit's award was quickly dispatched with the help of the delightful Doonan, a taped segment featuring Top Design judge and Elle Decor editor Margaret Russell, and a guy with a skateboard. Doonan succeeding in summing up the entire evening when, after struggling with the apparently unadjustable microphone, he swiftly read his lines before giving the audience an exasperated glance and saying, "TAPE!" Cue the below video to see for yourself.

Last night saw the broadcast of the first—and perhaps last—Bravo A-List Awards, the fizzy cable network's mashup of honors for "food, fashion, beauty, design, and pop culture" punctuated by the shameless comedic stylings of self-proclaimed D-Lister Kathy Griffin. Opening with a solo number penned for Griffin by music man/wordsmith Marc Shaiman and ending with a runway show featuring celebrities clad in designs whipped up by eight Project Runway all-stars (none of whom, alas, were Santino Rice) and destined for the auction block to support UNICEF's relief efforts in Myanmar, the show appeared to embarass most of those in attendance, with the possible exception of Tila Tequila, who took home the award for "A-List Drama Queen."

Lured by the mention of fashion, design, and Jonathan Adler-designed statuettes that resembled metal-dipped wig stands, we were disappointed by the event's awkward E!/VH1-style raunchiness where Bravo's usual cleverness should have prevailed. In short, we wanted more Tim (Gunn) and less Tila. When the reality show contestant-packed crowd began chanting the name of Jerry Springer (a co-presenter of the award for...A-List Chef?), we had no doubt why the likes of Project Runway judge Michael Kors and Top Design arbiters Margaret Russell of Elle Decor and designer Kelly Wearstler were nowhere in sight, although Russell did say a few words in a taped segment.