Previously On Project Runway All Stars: Episodes 4, 5 & 6

Episode 4 aka I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...Gellatto.

Previously on Project Runway All Stars, the designers were asked to create a look inspired by a designer selected gellato flavor. To make the challenge even more exciting, the designers were only given six hours to complete the challenge (and a mini-Mood was set up in the studio to safe on time), and their final looks were to be judged by none other than Diane Von Furstenberg- No pressure! On the runway, the designers got another surprise, when they learned that the final looks would also be judged by Miranda Kerr (aka Mrs. Orlando Bloom).

The gellato flavor options were:

• grapefruit
• milk and sour cherries
• cantaloupe
• green tea
• blueberries
• chocolate with cayenne pepper
• passion fruit 
• kiwi
• Madagascar vanilla
• fruits in the forest

What kind of gellato company did they shop at!? Where's the plain chocolate, peanut butter, and tiermissu!? Anyways, let's take a look at their looks:

Safe

Rami (kiwi)

This was not my favorite Rami look at all. There were too many shades of green and fabric textures that didn't go well together. I thought for sure this look would earn Rami a slap on the wrist and a place in the bottom three, but the judges kept him safe.

Austin (Madagascar vanilla)

Although I thought Austin's look was pretty, I thought Austin's look was too white and overworked and didn't capture the feel of Madagascar (or at least my interpretation of Madagascar based off of the Dreamworks animated movies).

Jerell (fruits in the forest)

What the hell, Jerell!? I liked the way the dress moved and thought the cut was interesting, but I felt that the various printed fabrics made the dress look "Holly Hobby". I thought this look would get Jerell sent home, but the judges decided to keep Jerell safe.

Kenley (passionfruit)


Even though the dress has a simple silhouette, I really liked Kenley's dress. It reminded me of a look I could find in Betsey Johnson's RTW collection and I thought that her choice of fabrics made it unique. Keneley was deservedly safe this week.

Top

Mondo (cantaloupe)

Mondo was my choice for the win. Even thought I'm not a fan of cantaloupe, I thought that Mondo's fabric choice and design captured the look and feel of the cantaloupe without being too literal. However, some of he other designers and judges grumbled that Mondo had "only created a caftan", but his caftan was freakin' fabulous.

Mila (milk and sour cherries)

Mila managed to create a very graphic, Mila look; However I was a bit concerned that Mila's dress was too literal an interpretation of her gellato and I thought the fabric was too shear to be wearable. I thought this look would be safe at best, and was very surprised to see her in the top 3.

Michael (grapefruit)

I will admit that Micheal created a beautiful garment, but I still would have given the win to Mondo. I have the feeling that I've seen Michaels design elsewhere on the runways and I felt that Michael got a bit cocky during this challenge when he finished the dress in less than the six hours allotted.

Bottom

Kara (chocolate and cayenne pepper)

I liked Kara's idea of interpreting the chocolate and cayenne peppers as layers of flavor, but I felt that Kara's designed turned out amateurish, ragged, and too literal. I think she was rightly on the bottom, and the judges kept her safe.

Anthony (green tea)

I liked Anthony's concept of depicting the melted gelatto and I thought the result was creative and unique, but slightly overworked. I could clearly see Anthony's inspiration and I would have kept Anthony safe.

April

Gasp! April chose a color, which was her biggest achievement. April continued to attempt to channel various characters from Alice in Wonderland, but her dress came out too short and poorly constructed. In the end, the judges chose to sent April home. Since she'd been in the bottom before, I felt it was her time to go home.

So, in the end, I felt that Mondo got robbed of the top prize and that Jerell, Kara and April should have been in the bottom 3 with April going home.
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 Episode 5 aka. Street Muse

In this episode of Project Runway, the designers were taken to Central Park where they were asked to collect articles of clothing off of the backs of park visitors to use as fabric for 50% of their looks. The designers were also asked to find a park visitor to be their muse for their looks.  While looking for fabric and muses, Anthony encountered a hunky shirtless man in jean cut-offs and convinced the guy to get down to his skivvies for the challenge. Awkward! Let's take a look at their looks:

Safe

Kara

I thought Kara's look was okay. She kept the "hip-mom" feel in her model and the street fabric was predominately featured in her look; however, her look lacked a wow-factor.

Kenley

I originally thought that Kenley's dress looked more like a Mila dress with it's bold use of graphic prints and predominate black/white combination. I liked the stripes/graphic prints on this dress and it's probably the only look that I would immediately wear off of the runway.

Mila

 Mila's look was just okay. She had some good ideas (namely, the pants), but the rest of the outfit seemed too generic-like something you could buy in a store.


Top

 Rami

Initially, I thought the judges might give Rami the top spot from the way they discussed his look. I thought Rami used his found materials well, and made a very wearable look. My only criticism was that Rami's outfit seemed to target an older audience than others, and his look didn't much resemble his "muse". The judges decided that they also weren't huge fans of his hat, which I didn't understand because hats are awesome!

 Austin

So this is Austin's idea of punk rock!? I liked the way Austin was able to merge his soft, girly side with his muse's punk rock vibe, but I doubt any real punk rocker ladies would be caught in an outfit quite so girly.

Mondo

 The judges chose Mondo as the winner this week for his ability to manipulate the street fabric into a hip look worthy of his muse. Did I think that Mondo deserved the win? Yes. Do I think that Mondo can do better than this? Yes.

Bottom

Jerell

I said it for the previous outfit, and I'll say it again. What the hell, Jerell!? I thought this look was aweful! It was like a bad belly dancer costume, or bad Gwen Steffani stage outfit. I really thought that Jerell was going home this week, but the judges kept him safe.

Michael

I think that Michael forgot that he was creating street wear, not street walker wear. I liked Michael's fabric choices and initially thought his look had a lot of potential, but his final look was more suited for the beach than anywhere else. I expected the final scene to be a showdown between Jerell and Michael, but the judges thought otherwise and kept Michael safe.

Anthony

 I liked Anthony's look (even thought it reminds me of Carmen Verandah), but the judges didn't think that Anthony used enough of the fabric he got on the streets. Although I agree with the judges that Anthony should have used more street fabric to create more than just a handbag, I still thought his look was better than Jerell and Michael's atrocities.

How did you feel about this week's challenge? Did you agree with the winner/loser, or do you also feel that Anthony got robbed!
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Episode 5 aka. Fashion Seasons Face-off

On this episode of Project Runway, the designers were asked to randomly select a handbag. Each handbag contained a tag indicating which season the bag represented. The two designers with the same season would be in direct competition with the designer of the same team. Here's how they were paired:

Spring: Austin vs. Kara

Summer: Kenley vs. Mondo

Winter: Jerell vs. Michael

Fall: Mila vs. Rami

As soon as the designer's were paired off, I thought I'd had the episode pegged and that wins would go to Austin, Mondo, Michael, and Rami based off of past performance, BUT I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG. Check it out:

Spring:

 Austin and Kara went head to head on creating Spring looks. Austin created an impeccably sewn pair of high waist capris, but went a little overboard with the floral and ruffles on top, making his look appear a bit granny-like. Kara, on the other hand, created a spring lounge wear look that looked like anything you could find at Old Navy, JC Penny's or Dress Barn. The judges decided that Austin's granny top was unforgivable and gave Kara top billing, but in the end both designers were safe.

Kara

Austin

Summer:

Kenley and Mondo faced-off for summer.  The day of the challenge was also Mondo's mother's birthday, so Mondo dedicated his design to her. I thought Kenley's romper was cute, but could not imagine anyone actually wearing it over the age of 18. Mondo's look was more my taste, but the judges said that they thought Mondo's look was too junior and was "too all over the place". Therefore, the judges put Kenley at the top, but in the end both designers were safe.

Kenley

Mondo

Fall: 

Mila and Rami had a fall face-off. Mila's look reminded me of an outfit that I had my eye on at Asos last season (minus the awkward ankle zip pants). I thought Rami made an interesting move when he decided to pair chartreuse with royal blue and I thought he'd nailed the challenge with the coat. But, Rami really tortured and overworked the chartreuse shirt underneath and in the end, Rami was sent home.

Mila

Rami

Winter: 

Jerell and Michael had an epic battle over winter coats when Jerell accused Michael of copying his coat design. The designers settled with a "may the best designer win". Although I've disliked Jerell's previous 2 designs, I sided with Jerell on this challenge and thought his coat, cardigan, skirt had a hip, young feel and could easily be seen in Anthropologie. The judges agreed with me too, stating that Michael's model looked like she could be Jerell's models mother. The judges awarded Jerell with the win and placed Michael in the bottom two, but by now you know that Micheal was saved. 

Jerell

Michael

What did you think of the face-off episode? Where you as shocked with the designs/winners as I was? Do you think the right people won/lost? Let me know in the comments below.