Oh Thursday, I love you because you bring me delicious alone time with my beloved Project Runway. We open on the Highline which is an awesome park in NYC on top of an old elevated railway – if you ever have the chance, check it out, it’s worth it I promise. Carolyn lays the challenge out up there which, considering the location, isn’t surprising. The designers are to make a “green” dress for the red carpet using air dyed fabric and recycled trims and notions. The designers pick fabrics off a little ring – there are some interesting double sided prints. Ivy totally plays to clichés telling us that she is inspired by the sun with her golden yellow fabric. Good to see she is so very original. Althea picks last which means she gets stuck with this dreary blue and purple polka dotted fabric. Poor girl. Oooo! Guest judge this week is Diane Von Furstenberg, adore her. Additionally Carolyn will wear the winning design on the red carpet. Designers are off to sketch: Ivy and Althea look to have especially ambitious sketches.

Back to the workroom and it’s a mad scrabble to get notions and trims (adorably Joshua is skipping in the background) but Anthony Ryan points out rightly that he’s not in a panic as most red carpet dresses do not have a lot of feathery trims or an abundance of sparkly notions. I agree, the most successful dresses usually are more simplistic as far as embellishments go and really let the design and fabric take center stage.

 

It wouldn’t be a reality show with out a little smack talking so we get Laura Kathleen ragging on how Emilio is a costume designer and that costumes and fashion are light years apart. Don’t want to break her little heart but she realizes he’s won several challenges right? This of course leads to Emilio and Casanova trash talking Uli’s “bedsheet” designs in Spanish. Hilariously Ivy says that she can’t wait to watch the show so she can read the subtitles of what they’re saying heh. Nice. Uli speaks the truth: she always makes the challenge fit what she does. So Laura Kathleen is making a sort of jumpsuit. That could be….interesting. Joshua is not wrong – it could be awesome or it could be a nightmare.

 

Oh my. Uli is getting a little crazy with the feathers and trims. This could be bad, be sparing my dear.

Ivy is a little frantic, her sketch is gorgeous but she’s already behind. Oh goody, Joanna Coles is in the workroom to deliver her deliciously quippy judgments. She’s actually excited about Laura Kathleen’s concept, I’m skeptical but hey, I’m not the editor of a fashion magazine so there is that. Not surprisingly she’s a big fan of the color of Emilio’s fabric…probably because she’s wearing the same color. Naturally Emilio thinks he’s going to win after her comments. Joanna calls Althea’s fabric dreary and it is. Uff, she shares my concerns about Uli’s trimming use. That could get bad very quickly.

 

Models file in which is a huge issue for Ivy because she literally has no dress. She is very behind, man, do not envy her. Anthony Ryan’s dress is flowy but her breasts are also flowing out so yeah, that isn’t going to work on the runway. The designers leave for the day and they’re all feeling behind. Sitting at the hotel, they’re name dropping for celebrities they’ve dressed…and um, yeah, Althea? I don’t know that I’d brag that your biggest celeb client are the Kardashians. Aim higher girl!

 

Ouch, they have two hours until runway and no one is even close to being done. Emilio’s dress is half done, Ivy is incredibly behind (and her dress is a little scary). Anthony Ryan is so southern it hurts as he describes Laura Kathleen’s excitement over Diane Von Furstenberg “like a little pig squealing in the mud.” Oh my, Joshua is going for the full on 70′s look with his polyester shirt open to his belly button. Alrighty. We’re getting our first looks and Ivy’s looks so cheap. I think she’s going to be in trouble. Actually it looks like about half the designers will be in trouble. I don’t know why but the red carpet challenges always seem to hang people up.

 

Ok kids, Carolyn, who is wearing a stunning green satin dress that you have to have a flawless body to pull off, intros our judges – DVF is the only guest this week. With that, it’s time for the runway. Joshua is our first out with his model wearing an asymmetrical one shouldered design. His fabric, I’m just undecided about. It looks almost like a denim from far away but like a faint plaid up close. It’s a drapey design with the floral print that was on the other side of the fabric being used at the waist for a almost mosaic looking detail as well as showing up on the bottom as the lining. Overall I’m just not sure it’s a red carpet dress. It’s weirdly poufy aka not flattering at some angles. Uli is out next with her dress that used cookie monster as a sash. Ok maybe that’s a bit harsh. The dress isn’t bad but the sash with its shiny trim and feathers is too much. I can see someone like LiLo wearing it…Uli isn’t wrong, it IS very different from what the other designers are showing. Oh. My. Gawdy. Althea’s dress is just wrong. On every single level. It looks like cheap swiss dotted fabric all slapped together with a theses weird, unflattering wings at her hips. It is so very bad. If she isn’t in the bottom, I will eat my had. Althea is confident because it’s new and different…unlucky for her the judge’s faces are not exactly happy. Casanova’s dress is pretty and moves well but that’s about where it ends. His print is nice and the solid red details are a nice touch but frankly it is something we’ve seen a thousand times. Anthony Ryan’s design is next and it’s definitely a departure from his usually structured and graphic aesthetic. It is a flowy creation with a deep plunge in front and back. It’s voluminous but still manages to show quite a bit of skin. I love the color but am undecided about the rest of the dress. You’d have to be a twig to pull it off that’s for sure. Ivy’s sunshine nightmare is next. It looks like a cheap prom dress complete with puckered seams and an ugly rhinestone detail. She obviously knows it’s bad and says she is hoping just to not go home. Laura Kathleen’s jumpsuit is out now and it’s not terrible.

It’s interesting and different. It moves nicely and the print is great. Still, jumpsuit? Red carpet? Seems a bit like forbidden fruit. Emilio’s red dress is out now, gorgeous color but the details like the unfinished hem are a big no-no and the overly blingy trim are just bad, bad, bad. It’s a much simpler dress than what he originally described, no draping details that I think would have elevated it unfinished hem and all.

 

Joshua and Casanova are safe, not surprising. They both had simply ok dresses. Anthony Ryan is on the top – they love the color but there are a few issues with panties showing and a little extra volume at the hips, however the feel and the cut are great. Oh dang. Ivy’s turn is off to a harsh start when Isaac tells her that this is the worst the fabric has ever looked. They see her intention but she just did not get there. Also? Ivy your dress, the one on your body, is horrible and does nothing for you. It is way too short, pair it with some skinny jeans and boot and it would be fantastic but as it is? Oh girl, no no no. Well Emilio now knows that he will NOT be winning this week.

The judges have a big problem with the lining which is one disadvantage of not seeing these in person – you can’t tell the lining is a problem on TV. DVF says it’s a miss…harsh words from her. The judges love Uli’s dress with the excess of feathers. Alright. Isaac says he knows he shouldn’t like it but he does, I can see that. Whatever works for you baby. They’re totally puzzled by Althea’s dress, it’s just bad. Now we’re seeing all the unfinished hems and strings, there just isn’t any redeeming quality to it. I think Laura Kathleen’s head is going to explode when DVF praises her outfit. They applaud her for making the print fresh – it could have gone old very easily.

 

My predictions are Laura Kathleen for the win with Anthony Ryan as a close second and coming down to Althea and Ivy for the loss and ultimately Althea going home.

 

Well I was wrong, Uli was second but Laura Kathleen did win! She’s about to fly off the stage with joy haha. Cute. Emilio is safe, no surprise as while it was bad, it was nowhere near as bad as Ivy or Althea’s dress. Yep, Althea is out. I’m not overly surprised. I loved her on her original season but this All Stars season she has been muted and stuck squarely in mediocrity.

 

 

 

Next week? Unconventional challenge! Yay! This time featuring Christmas decorations, should be fun

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Tags: Althea, Anthony Ryan, Carolyn, Casanova, Diane Von Furstenberg, featured, Isaac Mizrahi, Joshua, Laura Kathleen, Project Runway, project runway all stars