Project Runway All-Stars: Villians. Razzle-bedazzle and snarky turkey disco!

[cruisin]

I forgot it was on . I'll look at the site photos.

Okay, based on photos, Uli definitely should have won. More creative, more intricate, more interesting, better made. I hated Emilio's, except for the red jumpsuit. The rest were choppy and would not look good on anyone. AR's was boring, but better made than Emilio's. AR's long dress, in royal and black http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/proj...pisode-12#id=1 is a total rip off of a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress from Fall 2012 http://www.farfetch.com/shopping/wom...-10289969.aspx It was also done in royal and black.

[danceronice]

I got a major Tilda Swinton vibe from Uli's models' makeup and hair, and the faux fur used in her collection had a very Winter Witch from Narnia thing going on .

I THOUGHT EXACTLY THIS. The first one turned the corner and I was like "JADIS THE WHITE WITCH! OMG SHE SKINNED ASLAN!" But it worked and it had a more mature-designer vibe to me.

I think Uli should have won. I understood what Emilio was trying to say but his collection just didn't grab me. Also, from his comments, I kept getting the uncomfortable feeling he was pulling some kind of a subtle race card which I admit I didn't get.

Yes. He even went out of his way on the runway to remind everyone he was using "all models of color" which felt a little like "So white judges, think carefully before you eliminate me how that's going to look." Also, I didn't really think he had much variety-it also had the 'junior' vibe the judges mentioned. (Also, one of this models really needs Miss J.'s remedial stomping class because he told her aggressive and she interpreted that as lurching with a weird hitch in her left shoulder.)

[skatesindreams]

Would Uli have had a better chance of winning if she hadn't used the "Tilda Swenton vibe" for her model's hair and makeup.
I believe it actually distracted attention from her clothes.

For someone who talked about "inclusion"; Emilio doomed himself with stereotypes in his concept, designs, and model's look.

[duane]

Just because someone mentions race doesn't mean they are playing the "race card". Sheesh.

[PRlady]

This from Uli I would kill for: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/proj...isode-12#id=18.

[duane]

Anthony Ryan brought nothing new to the table and his last look was bad in design and execution. I found the different lengths distracting. Putting the clothes together made Emilio and Uli's collection look better; it made Anthony Ryan's look worse.

When Emilio lost Seth Aaron, the judges criticized him for showing a collection rather than putting on a show. Here, both Emilio and Uli put on a show, but lost to AR who only showed a collection (and a rather drab one at that).

But as said, the winner was known before the final runway show took place.

[skatesindreams]

IMO, one of the reasons that the judges "preferred" AR is that he displayed an ongoing/developing aesthetic throughout the competition.
They also know that he was at the point of giving up designing for lack of money.

Uli and Emilio are older and more established than he was.
I believe that they will have other opportunities offered them, even though they "lost" All-Stars.

[peibeck]

Uli totally wuzrobbed... again!

I did love the yellow/gray dress AR did, but most of his clothes don't do it for me. I don't really find anything about them to be young or contemporary, and most would not flatter anyone bigger than a size 8.

I thought Emilo had a strong idea for a collection, but I don't really think the clothes reflected that concept particuarly well. And they styling was horrible. Those bows made the models look like they were channeling Madonna circa 1986.

[Cyn]

I've been reading over at TWoP this morning, and the overwhelming consensus over there is that Uli wuzrobbed bigtime. Even those who were fans of AR who actually liked his Star Trek Enterprise Flight Attendant dresses are in agreement that Uli and Emilio both put out better collections and put on a better show.

Regarding AR's dress (and all the Xerox copies of it), I'm still bumfuzzled at the idea that it was fresh and new, while at the same time saying that they'd seen Uli's look before . I'm pretty damned sure that I had a couple of dresses for work ( ) back in 1989 that were, if not identical, of such a strong resemblance in both the color blocking and the structure/shapes they'd have been mistaken as part of what AR sent down the runway. While watching his models on the catwalk, it hit me as to where I'd recently seen an outfit over the holidays that reminded me of his template:

While not patterned with right angles/rectangles, and severe lines, I couldn't help but think of that black and white monstrosity of a dress worn by Julia Louis Dreyfus in the movie Christmas Vacation . Granted, instead of the harsh angles and stark, straight lines separating the colors in AR's art project, the black and white fabrics of JLD's Christmas Vacation dress came together in a god-awful curving, swirly cut that epitomized the sheer tackiness of late 80s women's fashion, but at the same time, seemed to share the same (atrocious) fashion DNA. I've been trying to find a picture or screen-cap of this fashion travesty, but to no avail (though if you've seen the movie, it was likely seared into your retinas ).

******

In full disclosure, I haven't watched PR anywhere near as much since it moved to Lifetime from Bravo, especially after the ridiculous travesty that was the Season of the Wretch , but I was fortunate enough to witness the Amazing that was/is Dimitri for about half of his season. I missed the previous All-Star mini-seasons, so I don't really know how much fcukery went on with the judging/pre-ordained Chosen One(s) -- *note: I am operating under the assumption that it existed. That being said, I have read on a couple of other boards/responses following blog entries, etc., that Uli never stood a chance during this AS run -- she was basically selected for the role of "Bravo Era PR Token Representative" and was never intended to be a contender whatsoever.

Is there any merit to this Konspiracy? If so, that's an incredibly shitty thing to do (not that I'd be surprised if that was the case). I can only hope that with this mini-collection, Uli caught the attention of the likes of Balenciaga or another high-end fashion house.

[madm]

I loved Uli's workroom quip about creating the "Sasquatch" collection when someone asked what she was making with all the feathers and fur.

[jenny12]

I haven't been watching this season until the finale, but I loved Uli's collection. I thought it was beautiful and creative. For me, it put the two other collections to shame. Disappointed she didn't get the win but hope this will lead to great things for her.

[Aceon6]

Speculation over at TLo is that no one who was on Bravo had a chance.

[cruisin]

IMO, one of the reasons that the judges "preferred" AR is that he displayed an ongoing/developing aesthetic throughout the competition.
They also know that he was at the point of giving up designing for lack of money.

Uli and Emilio are older and more established than he was.
I believe that they will have other opportunities offered them, even though they "lost" All-Stars.

That may have been the PRAS logic. But, none of it is right. Imagine a skater getting first in a competition because they made the most improvement, but was not the best in the competition. His money issues are his issues.

[skatesindreams]

True.
However, I think the producers have a great deal of "say" in the outcome, whatever the reason - rightly, or wrongly.

[KCC]

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/proj...pisode-12#id=1

The model on slide #20 kind of looks like Johnny Weir.

[aftershocks]

Oh definitely, I thought Uli should have had the win in the finale. The judges seemed to really like a lot of her work during this season, even when some of us felt someone else should have won a challenge or two that she won. I was surprised she wasn't at least second, although I could tell that the judges have been in love with AR all season (plus the fact the producers made sure to keep in AR's admission that he really needed this win in order to continue as a designer -- at that point it was as if okay, he's definitely going to win). AR is talented, but he seemed to run out of ideas.

I think Emilio deserved to win the couture challenge last week, not AR. But for the finale, I had mixed feelings about Emilio's collection. I agree with the poster who said that he had a good theme, but not enough time to execute it well. I also agree that his styling with the big red bows did not enhance the look of his collection. I also think he could have included a couple of other "ethnic" models, i.e., Asian and Hispanic perhaps, and still kept a majority of black models. There just seemed to be something missing in Emilio's theme of portraying working women/ Rosie the Riveter/ black working women. Rosie the Riveter I think is more associated with the American women in small towns and big cities who had to go to work during the 1940s because most of the able-bodied men were away at war. While honestly, black American women have always had to work, from southern plantation to urban plantation (which IMO is a different concept than Emilio's reference to Rosie the Riveter). I just don't think Emilio had enough time to fully flesh out his ideas.

As the judges noted, there was something juniorish about Emilio's first look, and he did not have a final look that was a wow. Overall, Emilio's concept was rather ambitious, and he did not live up to his ambition. But, it seemed as if the judges were loathe to insult Emilio with a second runner-up placement. I guess the judges were caught betwixt and between because AR was their favorite all-stars designer, but Uli had the best final collection (although she didn't do well in the couture challenge), while Emilio was daring them with his colorful but not fully realized, nor well-executed "political statement." Personally, I don't think he was trying to make a political statement as much as he was trying to honor his mother's generation and express something dynamic re his personal aesthetic as a designer.

I think AR's collection was okay, but as judges noted, there were lots of problems with the execution of his final look, and there was too much of a sameness, plus the dress lengths did not work well together, and he did not put on as good a show as Uli and Emilio (as others have already commented). It seemed to me that guest judge, Margerita Missoni, was in love with Uli's collection, did not like Emilio's, and was impressed with AR's first look, but not with his last poorly constructed look.

Uli was obviously very disappointed, as she arguably should have won during her original season too. I agree re Isaac's "b*t*h-face" when Uli's models walked the runway -- everyone else seemed mesmerized I thought with Uli's dreamy collection. But, AR was the favorite all season (with Uli a close second it seemed during the season). The judges really did not have anything of substance to critique re Uli's collection. I don't see how they could say her collection wasn't unique. And the nitpicking about "afterthoughts," was such a nitpicky afterthought.

Josh was definitely pissed about not making the final, and in no way did he want to work on helping sew someone else's collection (despite his being friendly with AR during the season). The fact AR needed the win and the money just reminds me of Wretchen from season 8 who should never have won over Mondo. But AR is talented, and it is what it is.


ETA:

I looked up close at the collections on PR website's Rate the Runway (they don't let us get a good look during the actual televised runway show). I'm still very impressed by Uli's collection, especially completed within the time frame given (and with Casanova barely helping her at that!). Uli's was the most cohesive collection and the most fully realized concept, IMO. I think the makeup on her models worked well with the outfits, and each model looked fantastic with their makeup and what they were wearing -- it all came together in a dreamy compelling way.

I think AR's first look was great and the printed fabric with color-blocked looks were good, but nothing else was that fantastic. I don't think his "Thin line" concept was fully realized either. Unfortunately, his first look should have been last, and his last outfit which was supposed to be a wow, was poorly constructed.

Emilio's unique bodice looks were very good, and the red jumper was a cute, well-designed look. I also liked the jacket and dress for his last outfit, except it just wasn't a wow ending. I thought the jacket worked better than the suit look in similar fabric. Emilio's first dress was cute, but it actually didn't seem to fit his concept. The bows didn't give so much a sense of Aunt Jemima as they did Betty Boop. Both AR and Emilio received a couple of four-star ratings, but mostly three-stars, and rightly so. OTOH, everything Uli sent down the runway was gorgeous, and she received four stars for every look except her first look, which was rated five stars. So, with these viewer ratings, who were the PR judges fooling?

[cruisin]

True.
However, I think the producers have a great deal of "say" in the outcome, whatever the reason - rightly, or wrongly.

Agree, it is the producers. But, it devalues the show when the producers do that.

Margerita Missoni, was in love with Uli's collection, did not like Emilio's, and was impressed with AR's first look, but not with his last poorly constructed look.

That is the one that is a total rip off of a MJ.

I loved Uli's 1st and 3rd looks, would absolutely wear both.

[dbell1]

I blame Issuck for this. AR's final collection looked like he was channeling Mila's aesthetic. Nothing was a 'wow'. I also think he was gifted many times throughout this season and should have been dumped for that craptastic military challenge outfit.

Uli's FC was quite different and beautiful. She went away from the long flowing dress looks and did some spectacular work. Makeup was a bit too albino vampire for me, but I'll give her a pass.

No clue what Emilio was thinking. Aunt Jemima meets Rosie the Riveter? The hell? His pattern piece was as bad as Josh's Paris flower disaster dress.

[Latte]

To tell the truth , I didn't like any of the final three's collections.
I would have picked her to win because of her track record all season. She really is the best of the three.

[centerstage01]

Uli deserved that win, but the PTB have had their dewy fandom eyes gazing lovingly at Anthony Ryan since about the middle of the competition. He'd already been anointed the winner and no amount of brilliance from anyone else was going to change their minds. PLUS, he won the fan favorite vote and an extra payout for that. What?! Again, he isn't who I would have chosen.

Honestly, I really hope Uli can get a job at a major fashion house if her own collections don't immediately take off. A Christian Siriano-type storyline would be great for her, but if that doesn't happen, I'd love to see her as a designer with someone else.