This (past) week's Project Runway All-Stars featured everything but the kitchen sink.
The challenge featured male models, female models, androgyny, avant garde...and Joanna Coles telling everyone to push themselves further than they've gone before.
Right.
This isn't our first rodeo. The number one rule of Project Runway is to send out a good looking garment. It doesn't matter if you miss the challenge just a little bit here or there. If you send out a crappy, poorly made piece, you're off. Push yourself to fix those hems and collars. Forget about going for broke with the design because once you've started out on the wrong track, there's no amount of pushing that can get you back on the right track.
So without further ado...
Althea
I would like to think that Althea was safe this week because a coat is something easy to make androgynous. The coats were well done and she was safe.
Ivy
It's too bad that Ivy was safe this week. I would have loved to hear a critique of the male model's shorts. I'm not getting a heavy androgyny vibe here, either.
Joshua
I had to chuckle when Joshua sat in the stew room all petulant about being safe again this week.
What, exactly, about this look makes it androgynous? Oh, the flowing coat and a blue, fur handbag. Right.
Fur sleeves! Bwaaahahahaha! Other than making her look like she had muppet arms---and let's face it---muppets can be androgynous, I'm not seeing a whole lot of androgyny here.
Anthony Ryan
If I see one more horizontal stripe out of Anthony Ryan, I'm going to scream!
Everyone gushed all over the horizontal bands. Just like last challenge. There's a bit more androgyny in the male look with the over-skirt, but I'm not seeing as much in the female look. Still, Anthony Ryan was on point with the judges and got off the best line of the night. "To me, androgyny is quiet." That philosophy kept him from going over the top into crazy town.
Uli
At first, I hated these outfits when they walked out. Then, as Uli began to explain them and show what was under the woman's jacket, etc...I began to see the appeal. Carolyn Murphy was right when she said that these looks could be easily mixed and matched. It's hard to tell who is the male model and who is the female from first glance. This might have been my winner, had Uli produced something other than skinny leggings for her female model.
Emilio
Emilio continues to be the one to watch.
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| Nothing says "androgyny" more than two bare backs.... |
It's hard to see in the photos, but Emilio constructed a "wing" on the woman's left side that flared out from behind. On the man's left side, he replicated it with a wide lapel. I wouldn't say, necessarily, that this was a triumph of androgyny or avant garde as much as it was impeccable tailoring.
Funny, though, that one of the critiques from Isaac was that the "wing" was placed too close to the woman's waist--thus messing with her silhouette. It's androgyny and avant garde. If you can't fiddle with the silhouette in this challenge, when can you?
Emilio is this week's winner.
Can I express, at this point, my utter disappointment that not a single designer put their male model in a skirt, flat-out? I bet Epperson and Jerell Scott were screaming at their TVs.
Casanova
Oh my, how I wanted to like these outfits...
The cut-outs are exquisitely done. However....the woman's shorts are a hot mess. They are both wearing pants AND we're securely in the gender comfort zone of having a man in hiking boots and the woman in heels. This is one instance where pushing yourself does no good if your plan is wrong to start.
Laura Kathleen
She suffered so for this challenge.
I know what she was trying to do here. She was trying to replicate the cut-outs in the woman's leggings in the man's shirt. In the process of putting both looks together, she completely forgot about the androgyny and the avant garde. These are two, mediocre, cheap looking outfits, and nothing more.
What's with the loosely tied hiking boots, again? Was that the only shoe-wear that fit our male models? Are the sneaky petes behind the Nine West accessory wall exerting their influence?
Kayne
Kayne was the only designer to experiment with high heels on his male model, who walked just fine with them on. Joshua, of all people, thought it was too much. Rule one: Never listen to Joshua when he tells you something is too much.
But where Kayne went horribly wrong this week was with the collar on the woman's jacket.
I also think he went wrong with the houndstooth print as well. Nothing gives that "old lady" vibe more like houndstooth. So, let's face it, he nailed the guy's look. (Sneakers....hmm...)
But with the woman's look, the waist was nipped in far too much and the collar was super cheap looking. If he had just played with the woman's silhouette a bit more and worried about a statement collar a bit less, this could have been in the running.
So it's buh-bye to Kayne. It's sad to see you go, but you had a pretty good run, all things considered.
See you next week...I hope a little sooner next time!
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