Project Runway: All Stars: Clothes Off Your Back

I was horrified by the challenge this week. I am introverted by nature (although not particularly shy), so not only do I fiercely guard my own time and my personal physical and emotional space, but I fiercely respect that same space for others. I don't want to be bothered and wheedled and cajoled by strangers, and neither do I want to invade their time and space by being the wheedler. The mere idea of approaching a stranger and asking for their clothes is mortifying. But I suppose my opinions on the topic are neither here nor there in the context of a reality show that I am not a contestant on.

False: My opinions are always relevant to everyone. Always.

Moving on.

As soon as I saw Jarell's final design, I was hoping and "please bless-ing" that he would get the axe this week. As you may know, I don't enjoy his aesthetic, and this week was no different. The thing is, I actually liked much of his pattern mixing, it was the proportions and shapes in the silhouette that were bothersome. There was so much midsection bared, and those gathered halter tops always look one move away from a wardrobe malfunction. (Said malfunction would of course be accompanied by this sound effect: bloop.)

However, the judges were right in sending Anthony home. He ignored the point of the challenge to use a street muse's clothing to create another look inspired by said street muse. Instead he created an outfit for his usual client. Plus his outfit was dated and boring.

I'll be blunt, I loathed, loathed, Rami's outfit. I was surprised he was in the top. It looks so cheap in fabrication and dated by the nothing special vest and polyester 70s color scheme. I just...I can't...that is all.

I was equally surprised that one of the girls wasn't in the top three. I had problems with each of their outfits, but they all seemed more thoughtful and reasonable based on their muses than, say, Rami's or Austin's 80s new wave revival.

Kara's asymmetrical top looked well-made and in good proportion with the high waisted pants. The vest was her misstep.

Very few women could wear a knit dress cut like Kenley's without miscellaneous bulges and jiggles being a problem. Additionally how she divvied and placed each pattern was problematic and awkward, but the general color and pattern mixing were awfully fun and forward.

Mila's outfit was also plagued by a weird winged vest that dated the outfit. She also had odd crotch pieces on the pants. Otherwise she translated her geometric sensibilities into the youngest and most forward pieced I've seen from her. As always, I love when soft or feminine is paired with hard or masculine, and Mila does it well here. I like it the more I look at it (sans vest).

Let's face it, Michael dodged a bullet this week with his mess of an outfit. He wasn't inspired by the challenge, which happens, but he didn't even construct his garment with care and attention. He's lucky that the judges felt that Anthony was even less inspired.

And finally Mondo won a challenge! I won't say that it's my favorite outfit I've seen from him, but he did say he was going for "Japanese street wear," which he surely accomplished. I loved how he worked out the pattern on the shorts. I didn't like that he gave his model a purse; she looked like she'd never carried a purse before. Awkward.