—-SPOILER ALERT—-
Project Runway All Stars debuted last night and despite not having the host or judges that we are all familiar with, it still felt like the same show that everyone has grown to love. Seeing contestants with familiar faces brought a smile to my face as I watched each of them walk from different parts of NYC towards their first destination.
Enter Mondo Guerra stage left with the shortest shorts I’ve seen since… well since I wore shorts just like them over the summer. Later comes the man who claims that he put the “star” in “all star”. Austin Scarlett whizzes past the Plaza Hotel (of course) looking like a gay version of the vampire dad in Twilight. The rest of the cast mates all follow suit and congregate in a sea of hugs in front of their new host, Angela Lindvall, who I must mention was killing the accessory game last night.
After being greeted and taken into Limelight Marketplace, the contestants are told the list of prizes that the finalist will receive and then introduced to the judges. NOW is the time for the designers to present a look that they brought with them which represents their designing “point of view”. Each designer presents something fresh and unique (which you’ll see later) before they all head back to the hotel and find the ultimate surprise. A good luck video from the orange god of fashion himself, Valentino.
1ST CHALLENGE
For the 1st challenge of the season, “The Unconventional Challenge”, all of the designers were taken to the dollar store and given $100 to purchase items that would help them re-create the “point of view” look that they presented earlier. As we already know, effectively communicating your skill and point-of-view to such an esteemed panel of judges, not to mention making a good first impression is HUGE, because in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. (We miss you Heidi!)
Joanna Coles, the new Tim Gunn, enters the scene in the sewing room and for some reason reminds me a bit of Tabitha Coffey, and a little bit of the lady from The Weakest Link. I was waiting for her to say, “You ARE the weakest link! Goodbye!” That’s about all we saw of Joanna for the whole episode.
Now for presentations! Keep in mind, the challenge was to re-create the 1st look that they presented to the judges, except with Dollar Store supplies. I’ll start with the one in which I felt were the worst. Austin, Elisa, Gordana, and Sweat P.
First looks presented L-R by Austin, Elisa, & Gordana
Final Challenge looks presented L-R by Austin, Elisa, Gordana, & Sweat P
Austin: His 1st look was great. But for his second look, the only thing he got right was the color. You know how there is always that girl in high school who goes to prom in a dress that she made out of duct tape. It looked like his model wanted to do the same thing with teal trash bags.
Elisa: This is the crazy girl who uses spit to mark where she’s going to sew. At one point she told Joanna Coles, ”It’s actually a blessing mark. You do it w your tongue. I’ve been doing this for 17/18 yrs and my clients actually pay me for my blessing.” All I heard was tongue, spit, and pay me, and thought, “So you’re a hooker?” I didn’t like her 1st look at all. You had time to complete something at home and this is what you bring?! It’s like failing a take home test. How is that possible? Although she did what the challenge asked and re-created the look, it was still a juvenile effort. And an ugly one at that.
Gordana: I didn’t really understand Gordana’s 1st look. Whatever material she used gave it this sort of cheap shine. And her re-creation did not remind me at all of the 1st outfit. Apparently she used tinsel, but when it came down the runway it looked like toilet paper squares were flapping in the wind.
Sweat P: Remember the last post I did on PR? I said I kind of remember Sweat P, but I don’t remember her being good. Well apparently my memory served me well. Her 1st look must have hit the cutting room floor because we didn’t even get a glimpse of it. And her last look resembled a maxi dress made out of towels. I hate maxi dresses. So FAIL!
Now onto the one’s that I felt were the best. Jerell, Mondo, & Rami.
First looks presented L-R by Jerell, Mondo, and Rami
Final Challenge looks presented L-R by Jerell, Mondo, & Rami
Jerell: I didn’t watch the season that he was on, but so far I really like him. His first dress reminded me of something Uli (the German girl from Miami) from Season 3 would have done. Sexy, flowy, and flirty. He recreated it in a different color scheme, but still kept the hi/low hemline that his 1st dress had, and managed to not make it look like it was done with dollar store supplies.
Mondo: I didn’t watch the season that he was on either but this boy is gifted! His first look was this very Victoria Beckham’esque black and white patterened mini-skirt creation, topped off with fascinator that a bit of a space age flair to it. His second look went off without a hitch, complete with the fascinator, and the most important part was that it was a solid re-creation that looked expensive. He was in my top 2.
Rami: Ramiiiiiiiii!!! I’m a little biased toward Rami bc I’ve had a fantasies of threesome between me, him, and Nigel Barker. But back to the competition. As expected, Rami slayed everybody! His first look was a flapped and folded black & white strapless mini-dress. The craftsmanship of it almost made it look like the model was wearing a beautifully constructed flower. For his final look, he used laundry bags, Christmas tinsel, and umbrella liner to recreate the shapes and silhouettes of his original piece. Which he did effortlessly. The judges were unanimously floored.
In the end my prediction was that Gordana would go home and Rami would win. Well I was halfway right. It turned out the Elisa was just a bit to weird for the judges… again, and was sent packing. Rami and Mondo were the top 2 and Rami took the win. I don’t think anyone would have been mad if Mondo won though as his piece was equally deserving.
Next weeks predictions: Just based on what I saw this week, I don’t know if Gordana can last another episode. I thought the piece that she had time to work on at home was garbage, and if you can’t make a piece in the comfort of your own home, I don’t know how you can pull it together under so much pressure.
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I guess the guys just didn’t get it. Or maybe they didn’t want shoes made by a pop star. I still have 2 pairs that I get compliments on to this day from her collection.
I also remember Sweat P, but I don’t remember her being good.
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