Last night was the season premier of The Rachel Zoe Project and things are as hectic and glittery as ever – except this time they include a very pregnant Rachel still hobbling around in heels (and I noticed not consuming much food??) wearing pretty much the same wardrobe as before!
Rachel is six months pregnant with a little boy and she cried for weeks upon realizing she may not have an heir for her enormous couture collection, but she was finally consoled when she found baby leather jackets she could stuff him in. Rodger reminds her that their child is not a doll – a concept Rachel simply cannot accept. Rodger and Rachel seem much happier and more in sync, which is a nice change after last season when I was convinced they were headed to d-i-v-o-r-c-e! Pregnancy hasn’t slowed Rachel down at all with her career being busier than ever! La Zoe appears to have given up coffee and Rachel without coffee is like the sky without clouds.
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Rachel is launching a new ready-to-wear collection. Since she won’t be able to travel during fashion week because she will be mah-jorly pregnant, she is debuting the collection with an intimate runway show to a bevy of industry insiders and editors of major mags. Unfortunately it’s a week before the show and she hasn’t even seen a single completed sample of any of the pieces.
Further adding to the conflict, a big client has a premier the same weekend Rachel‘s collection is scheduled to debut. Rachel asks Rodger if he thinks it’s a possibility to move the runway debut back a week or so she can style her client and Rodger freaks out. Um… Rachel, even though your clients come first, don’t have you like 19 people employed to help you manage this stuff? Rodger worries about Rachel taking good enough care of herself for their baby given her schedule, and he reminds her to keep her eye on the prize!
Brad, after, apparently, lying to La Zoe about preferring a quiet life away from the limelight, launched his own styling business immediately and started poaching her clients (and possibly her reality television connections!) is replaced by Jordyn as the head of the styling team. Rodger explains Rachel is very hurt by Brad’s betrayal and luckily she has her babies (her collection and that child she is preparing to birth) to distract her from the pain of Brad’s abandonment.
Rachel has also hired a new “execu-bitch,” Mandana to take care of business while she bakes a baby and races around to the other various facets of her business. Mandana’s main responsibilities include calling Rachel “mama bear” and managing her new fashion collection from a business and marketing end (I think?). Mandana gives off a whiff of Taylor and shares the same super heavy, over-done (re: unflattering) make-up. Ok, Mandana annoys me – she seems fake and her bangs are ridiculous.
Adding to the stress, Rachel and Rodger are house hunting and Bravo Rodger wants her to hire another assistant to assist the assistants and basically replace Brad as the cast’s team’s resident cute, snappy, gay! Mandana suggests hiring her friend’s roommate, who is a furniture designer that likes clothes. Oh and he’s cute.
To celebrate her pregnancy, Rachel does her first family photo for Elle magazine in a John and Yoko themed shoot. Her bump is SO small for six months! Wearing a Givenchy couture jacket unzipped over her bump, since it won’t really zip all the way up, with a chiffon skirt, Rachel and Rodger sprawl on the bed and try to look intimate when they feel really awkward. The shoot ends up being a really positive experience for the usually self-conscience Rachel, who seems to have less body anxiety now that she is knocked up.
Rachel and Rodger interview potential assistant assistants, starting with Mandana’s friend, Jeremiah and then over-eager, Ashley. Rachel doesn’t have a set job description for the position, but she does have a type of person in mind. She wants Brad someone cute, funny, and hard-working, who makes her laugh and worships her every breath. Rodger, being the slightly more sensible of the two, is more interested in finding someone with a strong background in styling so they don’t have to invest a lot of time in training him. Since Ashley has experience and reminds Rachel of herself (re: ambitious and obsessive); she’s out immediately even though Rodger likes her. Rachel has a feeling about this Jeremiah (just like she had a feeling about Taylor and Brad?) and hires him based on her instincts and because she needs a boy in the office.
While Rachel is managing the collection, Rodger goes house hunting with Marisa. They view a Hollywood Regency style 7,000 foot mansion renting for $20,000/month. Rodger immediately rejects it because of its size – despite its awesomeness and warns Marisa NOT to tell Rachel because she will love it. And love it she does after Marisa shows her the photos; because it is ridiculous, glamorous, and over-the-top. In the end, Rachel gets her way and they are leasing the behemoth.
Days before the collection debuts, all 28 looks must be prepped immediately and Fed-Exed to NYC. It’s also Jeremiah’s first day at a job where he basically has NO experience. When Rachel finally views the samples, she loves them all! She also loves Jeremiah, who is able to reassure her and schmooze her, so now he’s coming to NYC last minute! Ok, am I the only one who wasn’t that impressed with the clothes, because they looked like a zillion other things already out there?
This season: The collection debuts. Rachel can’t slow down despite being in her third trimester. Jeremiah isn’t necessarily happy in his new position. Brad is haunting her from afar. And Baby Skylar finally appears.
Thoughts on the new season? Is Rachel over-doing it? Is Jeremiah going to be Brad 2.0 and screw La Zoe in the end? Thoughts on the collection so far?
