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.
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