Project Runway All Stars: Go Big or Go Home

For the finale the designers had to make a mini collection. They picked their own themes, and they picked the number of pieces they'd put in each collection, which is a frist. Usually the number of full looks is strictly dictated, but no quandary came up about too few or too many looks or pieces.

The designers also got a little help from "out" contestants. I only mention this because I wanted to strangle Casanova. Uli picked him to help her and (at least by how it was edited) it looked like he slept on the lounge couch the entire first day. I'm sure he helped somewhat, but come ON. If you want to stay on vacation, stand up and say "no" like poor Joshua.

Emilio: Urban Plantation
It was easy to pick my least favorite collection. Emilio almost completely missed the mark for me. I understood his concept, but there's almost nothing I liked in his interpretation. First of all his main fabric choice of eyelet felt too 90s and too little girl. My impression was that he was looking at women of color from the past as heroes, and Easter eyelet (even in black) doesn't quite cover it for me. While heroes can come in all sorts of packaging, there are archetypes and symbols that probably shouldn't be ignored when you're trying to get your point across quickly. Also the graffiti fabric was simply an ugly, muddled pattern.

His first dress was such a snoozer in design, and it was so ill fitting that I cringed.

I did, surprisingly, like the idea of his mini bustiers over a shirt. It was kind of neat how the top and skirt evoked dress even though the shirt broke them up the overall silhouette. Unfortunately the proportions were off between the bustier and the volume in the shirts. In fact he had a lot of volume that I didn't understand, but I've never been a fan of voluminous tops and jackets.

 

His best piece was the red jumpsuit. It had the balance of strength and femininity that I think he was going for. And I think it would look even better on a not so teeny weeny model.

Uli: Winter Wonderland
I must say that Uli's collection was spectacular. I didn't love every piece, but everything was cohesive and certainly contributed to the whole. When I saw her collection walk, I thought for sure she was going to win. Her designs, fabrics, stylings, and the models walking slowly down the runway equally evoked excitement and wonder. It was both dreamlike and slightly menacing. But even though I loved the collection, I found much it to be more artistic than wearable, which is perfectly fine.

From the first dress I was hooked. It looks like snow-topped and soft apsen bark.

Don't ask me why I live these metallic cigarette pants, I just do.

It's funny how I should be so tired of Uli choosing white and/or feathers, but I'm not. I'm especially intrigued by the little gold number with feathers on one shoulder, although I don't think it was the right fit for the model.

 

Anthony Ryan: The Thin Line (or Dark vs. Light)
In the end, like the judges, I had to pick AR as my favorite, and it's not only because I've been rooting for him (and overly attached to him) all season. I liked all but one of his pieces to some degree, but that's not to say all his pieces were perfect either. And I hated the shoes. But his collection was true to AR: graphically strong yet feminine and wearable. [Slight tangent: I gravitate toward women's clothes that stay feminine, but are based in menswear or that have strong masculine features. In other words I usually want all designers to keep their frills and fussiness to themselves. I just want to put clothes on, feel good in them, and not mess with them until I take them off. Continual adjusting and tucking will simply not do. So you see, AR's aesthetic and mine greatly overlap.]

His finale dress was terrible. It was the only piece that didn't quite fit with the others, and the construction and finishings look suspect. Additionally the proportions of the color blocking made the model's torso look overly long. If he had to keep it in his collection, he should have hid it in the middle and made his first dress the finale dress.

The first dress is exquisite. It evokes the careful tailoring of a man's shirt and suit, but the tailoring is suited to a feminine figure. This is my favorite piece of all the finale collections.

I'm also particularly fond of this ladder dress...if both the neckline and hemline were slightly lower.

I was scared that this yellow and black 60s piece would read bee, but it's sweet and truly perfect in silhouette. (It also let me say one of my favorite movie quotes from The Baxter: They're picking wedding colors. "Yellow...and black? Like a bumble bee?!")

Congratulations, my sweet southern cherub, winner of Project Runway All Stars!

Next up: Project Runway Teams. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It sounds like more drama than fashions, but the only thing for it is to watch and see.

Project Runway: "Couture de France"

I know that producers of reality TV are always looking for the twist, the shock, the gasps, but I thought this runway was downright mean. Sure, I gasped as Uli and Joshua were given a mini challenge, but then I was angry. Not only is it awful to give a surprise challenge after a long, arduous challenge, which came on the tails of a long arduous season, but they made the designers cut up their couture gowns. It was especially a slap in the face, because deep down everyone knew that Joshua shouldn't be in the top three. While I think he's greatly improved in attitude (and maybe a little in aesthetics) since his regular season, he still lacks construction skills, consistency, and the ability to edit.

But let's talk about the delicious part of the challenge. This week the contestants had to create a couture gown, as you know. But first they got to fly to Paris!, visit the incredible House of Valentino!, see the Valentino runway show!, and shop for couture fabrics at the world famous Janssens & Janssens! I mean, I was overjoyed, and I wasn't even going, so I can't imagine how they felt.

One of my favorite parts is when they visited the work room in Valentino and all the employees look like they're working in a laboratory with their white coats, goggles, and gloves. It was glorious.

Emilio scored the best fabric, it was absolutely gorgeous. I know the glee the judges felt as the walked up to the runway to touch the fabric. I can't describe the thrill of encountering an amazing fabric, but it was written all over their faces.

Whether his fabric choice carried him or not, he had the good sense and taste to pick this fabric in the first place, so I'm 100% behind his place in the top two. And his dress proves that less is more. If he tried to add more design elements to this, like he was originally planning, the dress would have been heavy and cumbersome. So he focused on making a well-constructed and well-proportioned yet simple garment, and it paid off.

Anthony Ryan won the challenge! I'm so glad he's in the top three. And I'm glad he pulled a second dress out of thin air, yipes! It takes a lot of courage to scrap a design under a tight deadline, but I'm sure glad he knows himself well enough to trust his instincts. At first I wasn't sure about his dress, but it really is a beauty. The design lines and panels down the sides only whispered art deco, but it gave the classic touch he needed for his modern, dark mood dress.

Uli's application of her fabric choice was thoughtful and creative. The whole dress looked like it was covered with antique gold leaf rather than gold fabric. I fully agreed with the judges' assessment about the lining and the proportions in the back, which certainly put her in the bottom after what we saw from Emilio and AR, but it was still a beautiful dress.

Oh, Joshua. I don't necessarily hate his idea, in fact I like to play with putting things together that initially seem like they would never work together (The cliché "opposites attract" does not apply only to people, right?) But his odd taste level is once again revealed in his fabric choice. That too small, bright floral looked like a Joann's special, and the white details on the black lace felt forced.  Additionally the skirt silhouette read prom to me. I also wrote in my notes "traditional Spanish on acid."

In the mini challenge, Uli and Joshua had to create whole new looks in one hour while on the runway. Again Uli was clearly the better of the two. Joshua shortened his skirt and tucked the bodice of his dress in, and Uli made a whole new dress with a sweet little jacket. No contest.

Next week we'll see AR, Emilio, and Uli make their mini collections as the battle for the win. I like all three designers, so I wouldn't mind a win from any of them, but a win from AR, my sweet southern cherub, would make me the most happy. Fingers crossed, and good luck designers!

I Guess I Knit Now

I've taught myself to knit several times in years past, but it's never quite stuck. This was before the days of the massiveness that YouTube is now and personal easy access to a local yarn shop that employed competent and helpful knitters. But this past October I decided I would knit a scarf for my mom for Christmas. I bought some yarn, consulted with local knitters, watched some knitting tutorials on YouTube, and went to work. And now I cannot stop knitting (even though I'm still a mistake-riddled beginner). I think about knitting a lot and I dream about it. In one dream in particular, I dreamt that I started growing fur on my legs, which I then spun into yarn and knit into sweaters. Disturbing? Yes. Awesome? Absolutely. 

This is how Mom's scarf turned out. It looks complicated, but it was an easy beginner project because it hides mistakes, and the laciness is just a matter of counting. I got the pattern from Ravelry.com, but I can't find it again. I thought I had a better pic, but apparently I don't. This is when I was blocking the piece into the correct shape. The color is a lovely deep teal in real life.

Project two was Purlbee's Bandana Cowl, and I ended up making four of these: two for myself, one for nephew Adam, and one for niece Daisy (they paid for their own yarn).

Bandana cowl in progress.

Project three was a hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits for a knitting contest. I came in third (because half my family voted for me, and there's a lot of us, ha!), but my head got first place in warmness for sure. I even crocheted the buttons! 

Somewhere in there I crocheted this scarf.

Project four was very exciting for me. I knit my golf pro baby brother three golf club covers. We decided to base them (color-wise, see sweater below) on the family favorite movie How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. In the movie the boss knits to relieve stress, and he knit his whole golf kit. I used this pattern, again from Purlbee.com. These were challenging because of the small nature of the club cover openings and using double pointed needles, but I got the hang of it...eventually-ish. And I made pompoms, so nothing else matters.

 

 And now I'm working on a chunkiest of chunky cardigan sweater, again from Big City Knits. It's both nerve wracking and exciting, and I really hope it turns out, especially since I made some changes to the pattern. I'm even commissioning some wooden buttons for the project. So that's what I've been up to instead of blogging, I suppose.

Project Runway: "All Stars & Stripes"

I thought this challenge was one of the most successful "average woman" challenges on Project Runway. It wasn't because all of the women on the show were military veterans, even though that was fantastic, it was because each client had a specific event that had specific design requirements. In the past the "average woman" challenges have had more vague parameters like "this is my lifestyle, make something that fits into it." 

It was a bit difficult to see the root of the critiques because the judges stayed smiley and positive in front of the veterans, and rightly so. It was a bit funny to see some 180s when the judges deliberated amongst themselves. 

Joshua designed for Leslie, an Army veteran. She needed a dress for black tie military events, because she wanted to be more feminine than her dress uniform allowed. I was nervous about that leopard print, but Joshua really stepped up and edited his design so hard for the first time in ever, so I do not begrudge him his win. In fact, I think this is the most edited and best challenge I've ever seen from Joshua. He might be a better designer within strict parameters, because otherwise, let's face it, he's just designing for himself if he were a woman and not actually considering what actually functions for a client. Also, puppy!

I was so scared for Anthony Ryan and his design for the Air Force veteran Donna who needed a dress for her 40th birthday party. He had really good ideas and intentions, but it's hard to know how to design for and distract from a large bust if you don't have one yourself. Sadly almost all this design features drew the eye right to the bust. First the amount of belting at the waist accentuated the bust, then AR had to resort to that weird, wide, white band to keep the dress up, and the the halter needed to angle a little more into the seam so it wouldn't gap. But his fabric choice and execution were beautiful, and I like it better in the image below than I did on the runway.

Uli, oh Uli, making another Uli dress for Marine veteran Jessica to wear to a wedding. It was executed well, but I was a bit bored with another resort style Uli dress. I was also nervous about what was or wasn't happening in the foundation garment department. 

I was more than relieved that all four designers were "in," because Emilio also had me shaking in my boots with his Vegas dress for Navy veteran Lisa. I know he chose to start over to "save time," but what he ended up with was horrific, especially in execution. The color may be the design's only redeeming quality. I think that strap in the back was zigzagged on at the last minute and pulled to within an inch of it's life. Also, two bust darts would have taken care of the sad gapping at the side. 

Based on the promo for next week (which I only saw half of), it sounded like next week was actually going to be the second to last challenge, so we really have two weeks of Project Runway: All Stars left? I could be wrong, please correct me if I am. Still rooting for AR to win the whole thing and hoping Joshua doesn't, but I feel like any of the designers could win at this point.

Project Runway All Stars: Whatever I Want

It doesn't matter that I've missed writing about the last six Project Runway All Stars episodes, right? Right. I'll just "catch up" with the last two.

"Flapper Fashion Face Off"
I like face offs. They bring out a little more intensity in the competition, and I think it's a good reality check for both the judges and contestants when side-by-side comparison is forced upon them. Since one of the up and coming trends is once again looking back to the 20s (I've been seeing it crop up here and there ever since I first saw The Great Gatsby trailer months ago), the challenge felt immediately relevant for once. Each set of faced off designers had a different 20s theme as their inspiration and parameter.

Emilio & Joshua: Afternoon Garden Party
Anthony Ryan & Ivy: Social Soiree
Uli & Laura Kathleen: After Hours Speakeasy

Joshua: This was probably my favorite look ever from Joshua despite the fact that the color combo, at least from the front, looked a bit old and dowdy. He should have put that lime stripe in the front too and left all the other fussy details off. He's always shooting himself in the foot with "more is better."

Emilio (winner of face off): I did like Emilio's look better than Joshua's, at least idea-wise. It wasn't an iconic 20s silhouette, but I bought his slightly stretched argument about it being a 20s-30s transitional dress...and admittedly I was partially swayed because I absolutely adore Emilio's personality. The lace cutouts were lovely, and his vintage-inspired print was a great choice, but the length looks more calypso than vintage.

Ivy: Oh, Ivy. I was shocked that she didn't go home for the last challenge. And this week she was wide of the mark again, but managed to scrape by. Her fabric was truly beautiful, but how she made it look so heavy and cumbersome is beyond me. I actually think her beaded fabric mixed with that grey leather could have been something amazing, but she didn't actually design anything, she simply constructed an ill-proportioned, mediocre sheath.

Anthony Ryan (winner of face off): I mean, y'all should know by now how much I love this boy. I'm certainly glad he won the whole challenge, but I can't say his design was perfect. Certainly 20s, certainly well-constructed and thought out, but still not a wow. But no one was a wow, so the best of the okay sometimes takes the cake.

Uli (winner of face off): I had mixed feelings about Uli's dress. There was nothing offensive, but nothing eye-catching either. I didn't understand the shoulder wrap, but her dress moved beautifully and was well-made.

Laura Kathleen: I was absolutely shocked that LK was out. Aside from the fur vest, this was one of her best silhouettes. I loved the color and the amount and placement of the sparkle was just right. No, it was not perfect as is, and no, it wasn't the best of the challenge, and no, I don't love LK, but the design certainly wasn't go home material. Ivy and Joshua have the same problems over and over again and they keep turning up like bad pennies.

"There's No Business Like Sew Business"
This last week the designers were challenged to make a modern, sophisticated, and feminine dress for designer Elie Tehari. They also had to keep their garment at a retail price point of $500-700. (Which isn't really all that difficult if you ask me.)

The bottom two were Josh and Ivy, but the funny thing is that if Ivy had listened to her critique and swallowed her pride (like Emilio did), she would have been in the top three, because the top of the dress was pretty great. Instead she went home with her nowhere length dress that had slits that cheapened the whole look.

This also meant that Joshua had a very narrow escape. Everyone agreed that his color and base fabric choice was absolutely gorgeous, but he couldn't not add and add to it until he ruined it. The lace and exposed zipper quickly took to the look to "lady of the night," and we don't really need to go into the droopy boobs nonsense.

Uli's look was okay for me. The silhouette and execution were fantastic, but it looked a little too much like crochet, and I do not enjoy crocheted clothes. (Yes, Virginia, fabric choice is key.) I'm not exactly tired of her doing white dresses, but I would like to see her do something else, because I like Uli and want her to be in the top.

I like Emilio's color choices and silhouette. Of course, as the judges mentioned, mustard can be hard to wear, but it doesn't mean that it's unsalable. In fact, a lot of "high fashion" I see is hard to wear in some way, yet it still seems to sell.

But my wee lamb Anthony Ryan wins again! Which is okay by me. He's remarkable in his ability to create clean, sharp looks that don't all look the same, and this challenge was no exception. The neckline could use a little pattern adjustment, and I might play with the proportions of the color blocking a bit, but that's all a bit nitpicky.