This week on Project Runway Allstars, we are down to the final nine designers. We begin with the designers heading to Broadway to the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory set. Christian Borle, who plays Willy Wonka in the play is there to help Alyssa Milano tell the designers that they have ONE FUCKING DAY to create an avant garde look which also has “an invention” of their own design included in the theme and construction. The thing is, I have liked the challenges this season, it’s just so sad that these poor people don’t get more time to DO them. The thought of JCP recreating an avant-garde look makes me spit out my wine.
The Designers. Inventions
The designers each pick a chocolate bar and whoever gets the golden ticket gets an extract $100 for their $300 materials budget. Of course Evan Biddell gets it. Anthony Ryan has some deaf friends who always pull out their phones or note pads to communicate, so his idea is to do a garment that can be written on. Michelle Lesniak is designing a garment that is inspired by a friend’s autistic son. It’s a cocoon to cut off sensory overload and anxiety. Several Broadway shows have done versions of their plays and musicals for kids with special needs. They take out the loud noises and flashing lights and giving the children a place to retreat if they get overwhelmed. It’s a great concept and I like Michelle’s idea. Irina’s girl is going to be in a flying dress. The designers also have the option to use unconventional materials. Sean is designing lego clothes with zebra print leather.
The Workroom
Michelle Lesniak reminds Dmitry Sholokhov when they did this challenge on their season he won and she was in the top two. He says, “Ah, yes…let’s do that again.” Django is NOT getting this challenge. At all. He thinks having a purpose in a garment is the exact opposite of avant-garde. He needs to read my past blogs regarding the subject. Christina Exie’s woman is going to be a walking speaker. Michelle has a ginormous roll of carpet padding, this is either going to work or be a disaster.
Anne Fulenwider’s Critique
The Female Designers
Anne loves Michelle Lesniak’s idea and look. She suggests that instead of covering the carpet padding she should use it as it is. Cynthia Hayashi is doing a “new kind of armor”. Anne tells her if she’s going to be working in metaphors she really needs to focus on the shape to keep it avant-garde. She tells Cynthia that her look could go super eighties Madonna dominatrix which is a look, just not an Avant-garde look. Next, she checks out Irina Shabayeva’s flying dress. She says it should be in an action movie. Irina beams. Django is NOT impressed.
The Male Designers
Anne thinks that’s Dmitry Sholokhov’s idea of temperature clothing is great, but wonders what the judges will think of temperature control not ACTUALLY being in the coat. She loves Anthony Ryan’s blank slate clothing idea and gets Dmitry Sholokhov’s bitchy wondering who needs to write on clothing when people have electronics? Anne is worried about Sean Kelly’s fabric choice, but likes his idea. She reminds him to keep it high fashion.
Gird your loins, here she comes Django Steenbakker! Evan Biddell is doing “anti-surveillance” fashion to stay off the grid so to speak. He picked fabric that doesn’t show up on cameras? Anne loves the story but doesn’t want it to look like a sweatsuit. Oh Lord, here we go. Django is doing an apron that you can wear different ways? Anne rightly asks if he thinks this is brand new to fashion. He insists the way he does it, it will be. She’s worried. He’s not. He tells her “whatever” like my fourteen year old son whenever I scold him about something these days. When Anthony says, “Thank you Miss Anne!” like way he always does, Django basically tells him to fuck off. Anthony, very wisely, decides not to get into it with an angry Dutchman who has just been told he has no design concept.
Workroom Drama!
Later, Irina thinks Django is being a jerk when he judges Christina’s look to her face and tells her it’s not the job of the designer to be an inventor. Then, of course Irina is about to totally be a bitch regarding Michelle’s look, so pot…meet kettle. She thinks Michelle keeps making the same look over and over. Biddell hates Irina’s, so there.
Dmitry LOVES MIchelle’s look and says so on camera. Django loves it too. Michelle loves Anthony Ryan’s….Biddell loves Django’s hat…there’s a love fest going on except for when Django demonstrates how he will give the judges the finger if they don’t like his look. Sean Kelly is starting over?? With thirty minutes left? Not good. On Runway day he knows he’s going home. Anthony is sewing like a madman. Michelle is worried her fabric is going to fall apart. Cynthia in a rare show of shade, is NOT impressed with Irina’s look because it is too heavy and she’s done it before. (HA)
The Runway
Alyssa comes out in a look that undoes all of the nice things I have recently said about her. I look forward to your descriptions in the comments. Thierry Mugler gone very, VERY wrong. The guest judges are Anna Camp and Andrew Rannells, both actors I like and have been on Broadway quite a bit so I guess we are sticking with that theme….
The Looks
Irina’s dress looks like a voluminous pregnancy gown. Too much fabric, not enough concept and I hate the color. Looks like something Kanye West would do. That is NOT a compliment. I love Cynthia’s look, it’s like Matrix in the front and an awesome bad eighties futuristic movie in the back. Not sure just how avant-garde it is, but I dig it. I think Anthony Ryan’s is fun, inventive and all around awesome. I take it back, BIDDELL’s design looks like something Kanye would do. You want to avoid attention so this is what you wear? She looks like a deflated Michelin man.
Oh Sean Kelly, the pocahontas punk princess with interchangeable parts? You are in trouble my friend. But not as much trouble as Django. This is for mosquito prevention?? He should have just sent out that awesome hat which is the only part of this look that works. I LOVE the idea of being a mobile DJ. Great concept. Well done Christina. Not sure how avant-garde THIS is but she and Cynthia’s woman can go out together, play some tunes and kick some ASS. I feel like Dmitry’s look is a direct response to Michelle winning with the cut-outs. That being said, I don’t think it bad, just not thrilling me. Love Michelle’s, love the shape, love the concept, love the use of material….love it.
CJ’s Hits & Misses
My top looks are Michelle, Anthony Ryan and a tie between Cynthia and Christina. Sean Kelly and Django are in the bottom with Django to go…but who knows? Stranger things have happened. Like the last three episodes with Django still here.
The Judging
Tops
Isaac Mizrahi thinks that Christina’s design comes from an industrial perspective and he loves it. Andrew loves how functional it is. Alyssa wants a DJ jumpsuit and I shudder at the thought of her in this. Anna thinks that this is the coolest girl in the room and that the tailoring is impeccable. Georgina Chapman thinks she wins based on the idea alone even though she went to far with the horsehair applique.
Andrew Rannells thinks Michelle’s dress moves beautifully and was stunned by the material. Alyssa loves that it is beautiful and has purpose. Georgina thinks it is graphically stunning to look at. Isaac called the dress underneath “one of the best dresses of the season” and I can sense Irina’s rage from my couch. Anna loves the element of surprise.
Georgina Chapman loves the childhood imagination aspect of Anthony Ryan’s outfit and thinks it would look at home in Italian Vogue. Alyssa calls it smart and innovative. Anna Camp thinks it looks like a sketch come to life and Andrew is getting cartoon in a good way. Isaac thinks it comes across very chic and avant-garde.
Bottoms
Anna got an emotional response from Irina’s dress. I did too, but I don’t think it was that same one. Georgina loves the concept but thinks it’s too costumey. Andrew thinks it looks too heavy. Isaac hates the little tacky tank dress underneath and says that it hurts him that this look came from her. Alyssa loved it.
Anne is confused by the bottom of Sean’s look. Andrew loves it. Georgina didn’t get avant-garde. Isaac thinks it looks junior-ish.
Andrew finds Django’s look to be super “weird”. Anne is nicer and calls it cinematic. Georgian says her issue “this week” is that it isn’t avant-garde, it looks historical. Isaac is angry because he was expecting Django to go “hog wild” this week.
Anthony Ryan is the winner of this challenge. Auf wiedersehen Django!
I am ever hopeful that Les will be with me next episode, if not on the couch at least by phone. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
I could have sworn Anthony Ryan won. But either way, the top two were both great.
He did.
I got confused for a moment cuz I could have sworn Anthony won
I’ve always loved Project Runway, and I heard that we will be getting it back on Bravo. Does that mean
Tim will be back? I can’t stand the so-called mentor on this show. She sounds so phony when she gives
critiques. I read that this season of PRChampions was recorded months, maybe years ago. That means
that Georgina Chapman hadn’t had to face the scandal of her husband’s mess. When I look at her, I cringe
at the mental picture of someone as lovely as she being married to such a gross pig. The lives of celebrities aren’t always lived in fairy land, sometimes they could be hell.
No. Tom and Heidi are going to Amazon with a new show. Christian Soriano is going to be the new mentor.
The commercials for the new PR have given me hope that we’ll have a good season, I’m excited!
Only ONE MONTH to go!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory closed on Broadway in January of 2018. They were saying happy birthday to Sean in this episode. His birthday is August 3, so I suspect that this episode was likely filmed on that day in 2017, about a year and a half ago.
Wow! I knew this season was in the can for a while but that is a long time! Huh, interesting.
Really good detective work, Starry! That means everything on the show happened almost two years ago. Wow!
Yes, Anthony Ryan was the winner. Wondering what a “version” of this outfit available at the JCPenney website will be…
JCP stopped selling these items a while ago. I saw it in their website .
Oh, thanks SJU. I didn’t realize that. But I suppose with the Weinstein mess…….that makes total sense.
Django puts a lovely strong black woman in tattered fabric and says she’s working in in a field and this is like mosquito netting protection? My husband and I were appalled. Was she coming from a cotton field? What the heck.
JC penney said this after the first episode aired: Season 7 of Project Runway All Stars was taped before our collaboration with the show ended. We will not be producing the Season 7 winning looks from the show’s designers and apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
Soooo, not only is there no dry erase coat, there ain’t nothing at all. Please let the Bravo Gods fix this mess
I think that when Weinstein got busted and went bankrupt, the deal was voided. Sucks for the designers. Kind of. JCPenney would’ve botched their looks.
Irina’s model looked like a Navy cruiser coming down the runway. She could’ve gone so airy and light, but chose to go with the color of concrete.
Anthony Ryan deserved the win. Django, well…bless his heart. And his poor black model “working in the fields.” SMDH!
That’s what I thought! Were they cotton fields? She should have called him out. How offensive.
It seems more suite for the sugar cane fields! I wonder if part of their decision was to avoid racist comments. You could tell Sean totally expected to go.It seemed like Django was a judge’s darling. Until he wasn’t.
Oooo I wonder if that is the case. It does stink for the designers. It might not be Barney’s, but it’s still great exposure. And either way, it was something they were promised that was not fulfilled and that’s a shame.
I’m amazed Django made it this far and was happy to see him finally gone. He was way more humble on his exit statement than I had expected. I imagine Sean’s time is limited as well.
I was very confused when Isaac said he think she Irina is a true all star. She falls flat for me every week, and this color was a shame; concrete is a great descriptor.
ummmm Anthony Ryan won. And Issac needs to stop with Irina. We know she is a favorite but just stop.
Alyssa’s dress at the runway looked like a cross between a half plucked chicken and a hooker.
How can she critique clothing when she wears clothing like that! It was horrible from every angle!
I cannot understand how Cynthia’s was not a top look. Its what I would have chosen to win!
Yes Anthony Ryan did win..this is what happened when you are working all day and doing final edit at 2 in the morning.
happens….sorry, still exhausted 🙂
Don’t sweat it. We love your recaps!
Definitely love your PR recaps! We get it! 2 am is that quasi-dream state! Who knows what is real at 2 am! 😉
Thank you for the recap CJ, you do a great job with these recaps.
Django was awfully snotty this episode, I really thought will all his quirky ideas this would be his challenge. I won’t miss him although I did strangely find his hat wild in a good way.
I was really impressed with Anthony Ryan’s finished look, he deserved the win in my opinion.
Irina needs to go. The dress this week was horrible, she can sew but can’t design…
Wow, Anne gave good advice to Michelle! Her dress and comfort cocoon turned out amazing, I sure didn’t see it until the runway.
I wanted Michelle to win. I did like Anthony Ryan’s a lot. I also wish Django’s mosquito net material from the hat draped down into a dress or jumpsuit. That would have taken it avante garde IMO. Then his “working the fields” with a black model. What was he thinking? Ugh. I had hopes for his weirdness too.
I’m finally starting to like this season. I didn’t connect the black model in the “working in the field” outfit because I don’t look at race like that. All I wondered is why in the world did he think about swatting flies off of people. Where is he from where that would be in his head????
Meanwhile, I really loved Anthony’s outfit. Kids would LOVE something like this. Drawing on each other? What a great idea.
The ripple effect of the Weinstein mishagas is apparent in so many places. I would think there would be a disclaimer about JCP before each episode. With today’s technology, it would seem they could cut that part out. It’s going to be lots o’ fun next week when they Dumpster dive, I mean shop, at JCP.
Alyssa … I wonder if she has a stylist or what. Whether you hate or love her looks, there is no consistency. She looked good in the black jumpsuit at the start of the show … Then, in that trashy Mode o Day outfit … so bad. And not just a matter of taste, there are ways to accentuate a person’s good features and to subdue the not so good. Whomever dresses her does not seem to have that skill.
Oh … Irina … threatened by Michelle much… every week she gets snakier toward Michelle. It must have killed her when they called her “underdress” trashy and loved Michelle’s (the one she ripped in her ITM).
CJ – you obviously know a lot about fashion, and I LOVE your recaps, but could you please explain to me, an unabashed WalMart shopper, exactly what avant-garde is? Does it mean “something no one would wear in a million years”? Does it have any function at all other than to create a stir on a runway? Is it strictly for theatrical purposes? I enjoy seeing what they come up with, – mostly – and envision a lot of it as being something people might wear in the 24th Century. Clever, but ultimately quite useless for the average shopper today. Is it supposed to be futuristic and experimental? I’d like to be able to appreciate it more.
Django’s look was so horrendous that I can’t imagine what category it would fit into . Demented Southern Lady in Need of Mental Health Evaluation? He definitely deserved to go home.
I may be the only one, but I loved Irina’s look – I think it would have been a show-stopper on any runway, but probably wasn’t avant-garde enough for this challenge.
Anthony’s design left me completely cold at first, but gradually grew on me. It gave me a kind of “japonaise” vibe (that one’s for you, Wendy Williams), but I don’t know that the concept really made any sense.
I understood Michelle’s concept, but her carpet padding look was almost like a joke to me . Then she added green lipstick? It wasn’t until her model walked down the runway that I really got it. I also thought the wild hair balanced the overall look.
I don’t understand why this show takes so long to make it on the air. I also read somewhere that it was filmed over a year ago? Is that correct? Wow, with delays like that the human race could have destroyed itself and the only ones eventually seeing this would be on distant alien planets. Maybe there’d be a market for these designs there.
Django is from The Netherlands. Fields of tulips?
I guess I have no fashion sense cause I hated the dry erase coat. I did love Irina and Cynthia’s looks.
I hated it, too.
Dmitri and Irina say quite mean things about other designers in their talking heads, while Anthony Ryan makes fun comments and he was smart not to get into an argument with Django.I loved so much what AR did, very inspiring. I am glad that he won.
Seems that only Irina’s and Michelle’s were avant-garde, loved Irina’s other than the material, Michelle’s not so much. I liked Michelle’s thought process of protective clothing for those with autism. Would wear it to keep away the tunes from Christina’s outfit which didn’t seem inventive or avant-garde. I like Django’s, liked the Chanel influence, maybe it didn’t meet the challenge. Having to be both avant-garde and inventive just gives the judges more reasons to get rid of someone they don’t really like. Anthony Ryan — his looks on past seasons escape my memory but I sure like what he has done this year other than the first episode. I find that the eye makeup and lipstick used on the models is incredibly distracting and detracts from the look of the designs. and yeah, who the heck is styling Alyssa. It breaks my heart that she thinks she looking cool.
CJ — Thank you for another great recap. Like many folks here, I truly appreciate your fashion insight. I also wish I had about 10% of your knowledge — my “style” consists of jeans and a blazer, jeans and a blazer. Sigh.
Since the first episode this season, I have felt that the winner has been chosen from the top three with an eye towards ease of mass production or commercial appeal. There have been several weeks where when the winner is announced, I find myself thinking “of course, that will will well on the JCP site” It is a shame for the contestants that this season fell victim to the Weinstein affairs (quite literally). While I don’t think the scoring would have changed much between “safe” and “top”designers, I do think when the decision between the top two was close, the judges picked what was best for JCP — this week may have been an prime example. Anthony Ryan and Michelle both made beautiful pieces but Anthony Ryan’s design makes more sense for a mass market, especially a children’s market. Heck, Christina could have snuck through and won this week if not for the JCP partnership.
First of all, this show had the most time consuming post of any other show covered her, BY FAR.
CJ Bomb, fashion expert extraordinaire, had a real very important and time consuming job in the real world. I don’t think she knew what she was agreeing to when she signed up for this. She goes above and beyond to get these lengthy recaps to us every week. The first few weeks are particularly brutal because there are so many designers to comment on. and things get ever so slightly easier each week but creating these in depth posts takes a SHIT TON of her time.
She is not the only one who works on these posts. Lady C kindly pulls the photos this week, just like on other posts she searches for the best photos, resizes them to fit the website, adds the Tamara Tattles logo and sends them in. She actually does it twice. Because this show is a competition, the runway photos that you see here do not come out until the wee hours of the night. Well after everything has aired on the west coast. Or sometimes they don’t come at all. So she does enjoy photos for the long post TWICE. FIrst with workshop previews with no spoilers just in case the runway doesn’t come, and also to provide variety, and the she sends them to me. Then I have to figure out which ones will fit in the post leaving many of them unused.
I don’t always have time to watch the show before piecing everything together and I try to watch eary the next morning. Or in the case of this extremely busy week I am watching now.
Then the very special fuck you I had for all of my writers this week is the new “more readable” yet much more excruciating format with all the restrictions about length and heading and the whole nine yards.
I say all of this to point out that it is a miracle that the three of us are able to coordinate everything to get it up in a timely manner.
SO it is no shock to me that the winner was incorrect this week. With the new format, it was a miracle it all came together.
So a huge shout out for this week to CJ and Lacy C. I may have been a bit…um… cranky… this week dealing with the news editing changes to the site. I am hoping I will get used to it and better at it but multiple times this week I have wanted to throw my laptop out the window.
There was something in the atmosphere this week. I feel like mercury is always in retrograde these days so it must have been something else.
This comment needs my new, “Don’t be so wordy” use more headers format. UGH.
If a person is reading — and commenting — on the PR post, I think you can choose ANY PHOTO that calls out to you. Even more so if you haven’t seen the episode; the ones you find interesting likely are the ones us readers would like to see. We have seen the show, so we know who did what and the photos are a BONUS. REALLY.
You and CJ and Co and Cho are all so fantastic. Best writers on the Web. And that is TRUTH, not ASSKISSING. Sorry about the computer woes. Don’t you just love when BETTER isn’t EASIER.
Watching the runway now.
I love Irina’s dress. It looks beautiful on the runway, I don’t think she met the invention challenge if you take it literally. It’s beuatiful on the runway, and I am going through my gray phase where I like to weary anything gray. Perhaps I am embracing my elephantine body?
When Lady C sends me photos (it takes a village around here) she always labels them with the show name or acronym and the name of the people in them. This is for indexing them but also so I know who people are because I don’t do well with faces. So when I go to insert a photo sometimes I haven’t seen the show yet and have to guess whose design is whose. I all mutter, “Well that one is Djangos… I did that this week with Anthony Ryan’s look. It is hideous and stupid and I can’t believe it won. I did continue looking through the photos and say Djangos and said, ph God, that is Django. Who did that other POS?
OH! THAT IS WHO ANDREW RANNELS IS! I love him.
Oh my god. I just saw Alyssa;s black chicken suit.
Cynthia’s look is stunning and I could see it on the streets of NYC. Maybe. But what season is it? It’s like winter in the front and spring in the back…
Evan did a great just with the avant garde part though it is normal enough to be street wear in some cites. Also his photograph proof invention is not his invention, it’s been on the streets of LA for a year or so and some celebs do wear that material when they don’t want to be papped.
Is Sean the guy who won with the fringe last week? Because I hated it then and I hate it more this week. Is interlocking fashion an invention?
It is all I can do not to shoot the damn TV every time some full calls Django’s get-up very southern. It literally makes my blood pressure rise. What is his invention? Something beyond tacky?
Cristiina… why do women designers think it is okay to add to their models hips?
Dmitry’s look is avant garde with the help of the hair and makeup I suppose. I don’t think his invention is functional. Wasn’t he the one who knocked Irina for her invention not being functional?
Michelle should have one. She used unconventional materials which I forgot was even an option until I saw her look. She has and invention that works and it was avant garde. How did this not win?
Why do we call Evan Biddell?
I’m secretly in love with Andrew Rannels.
Anthony’s critiques have my mouth on the floor? Italian Vogue. How bout Italian NOgue.
Irina’s is costumey? There is a fine line between avant garde and costume. Then Alyssa likes it and I realize my opinion must be all wrong.
Michelle’s model’s makeup was atrocious. I get what they were going for but it was way too literal. Micheal looks exhausted in sweat room. I forget how fast these seasons are filmed.
Is Anthony Ryan Isaac’s “special friend” this season? Michelle was robbed. AGAIN. Who the hell would buy Anthony’s look at JC Penney;s? WHO?
Has anyone seen Alyssa in “Insatiable”? She’s playing this stereotype of a bible belt-middle class housewife, but the whole 1950s twinset and pearls and teadresses silhouette ACTUALLY looks really good on her. Perhaps she didn’t kick her stylists Chihuahua on that show, or whatever the hell shes done on PR to piss off the Gay Mafia.
If she does have a stylist, that person or team should be fired and blacklisted!
This challenge I thought my fav Michelle was either going to win/place (can I do that w/people?) and on the runway I thought her dress/outfit was amazing but the mouth makeup- NO! I thought she’d be dinged bc of that- but she wasn’t yay!
Georgina- ugh I dislike her bc I mean c’mon, but at the same time I do like her bc she’s beautiful (yes I’m shallow) and she puts out (ha) beautiful designs. I think it was her that said Django’s was historical- which is not this challenge.
I must really be getting old and out of touch with fashion. I really hated MIchelle’s look. Anyone who has seen carpet padding would know emmediatly that’s what was used as fabric and of coarse it’s thick and bulky. The judges oood and awed over the dress underneath like it was new and inventive. It was a plain straight line mini that’s been done a million times. I don’t know I’m just confused by it all.
I see your point, but there was an unconventional component of the challenge that was apparently optional. I totally agree with the magical shift dress underneath being some sort of new and cutting edge fashion.