Project Runway All Stars: Once Upon a Runway

April 1, 2016 9:13 AM - Season 5, Episode 8

The designers have to put a modern twist on clothing inspired by classic female fairy tale characters.

For the first time this season I pretty much agree with the judging.

I thought how worked up Mizrahi got over the Rapunzel sandals (my god I never would have thought of that, it's genius!!!) was hilarious. Dude. Women do not wear 5 inch heels with everything. Imagine what he would have done if she had been wearing black leather ballet flats with a really pointy toe (which is what I would have styled her with if available)....he probably would have had to go lie down.

Sam's outfit was a travesty unto humanity.

I adored Dom's look and her model's swagger.

Final looks here.

Also, been thinking all season who Kini reminded me of. This guy.

posted by the webmistress (18 comments total)

Wrong winner, it should have been Dom. Otherwise, yes to the judging, and 100% YAY KESHA ON TV. I would like them to put Layana out of her misery soon, though. Poor girl. It must be awful to realize you have no chance but they won't give you the grace of letting you stop being on tv with your horrible designs.

Also, I'm tired of Emily's pink eye. It makes me itch.
posted by donnagirl at 9:44 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I liked the concept of Sam's look--netting, ocean blues His idea had a correlation to his fairy tale character that others' didn't but I didn't like the finished garment. It looked like he slapped it together. If he'd used the stiffness of the netting to make an a-line coat...

Dom WAS ROBBED. How brilliant was that mod Tinkerbell! Loved everything about it. Funny, I wasn't mad keen on her during her original season but this year, I really hope she wins it (again).

Asha's regal jumpsuit, eh. Safe at best.

Kini's denim mullet needed to be in the bottom. Even as an OTT runway look, it didn't work. It looked ridiculous, like a tortoise hauling its shell on its back, the movement was so stiff and bouncy. Mizrahi and Chapman oohing over the white collar? The diamante necklace and the white ankle socks? ugh.

Alexander was destined to go home as soon as Ken said this was his challenge but I really thought it would be Layana. She made a pretty dress. I don't like her color sense, the acid yellow and that black and white print were not a good combo. It would've looked better with a golden yellow and the multi-color print she used in her sketch; it still would've been just a pretty dress though.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:38 PM on April 1, 2016

I think that if anyone other than Dom wins this thing, it's going to be a travesty. Maybe Ken, but Kini is a one-note designer at this point (BIG! DENIM! FLOUNCES!) and the rest are...meh.

Sam should have been let go, but he's there for a reason, and that reason isn't design. Asha is there for basically the same reason (both of them were shown to be not-great-designers who Tim Gunn loved for some unfathomable reason in Under the Gunn, and the producers want to....change that impression? No idea why), so they'll hang on for a bit longer.

It's all so lackluster, and the Weinstein's really have to stop bringing us Finding Neverland: The Challenge, because we keep seeing it, and there isn't any more inspiration to wring out of that puppy.
posted by xingcat at 3:29 PM on April 1, 2016

Dom was robbed. Ken should have been in the top instead of Kini. Sam should have gone home twice now.
posted by Glinn at 5:20 PM on April 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

there isn't any more inspiration to wring out of that puppy.

- Design an all-black utility ensemble for the crew to wear during the show and at a casual party after the show.

- Design a pirate- or British navy-inspired ensemble for a party

- Design an evening look that says "I haven't completely grown up, but I'm still sophisticated"

- Design a contemporary day look inspired by the era of J. M. Barrie

(BTW, I loved Kini's look. I'm not sure when I'd wear it, but then I'm not sure when I'd wear most of this stuff. On the other hand, I'd love an all-black utility ensemble.)
posted by amtho at 5:23 PM on April 1, 2016

I'm at a loss to understand why the bottom two weren't Emily and Sam. As much as it was time for Alexander to go home, his outfit wasn't the worst thing out there.

I really enjoyed Dom's garments - they were fun to look and and I found myself wanting to rewind to see them on the runway again. I guess I'm a sucker for someone who can combine prints well.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:59 AM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yes, combining prints well is a particularly mysterious kind of genius that I love to see.
posted by amtho at 7:28 AM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

I actually hated Asha's and couldn't believe it won. It looked like a velour ballet costume. And the sandals were just inexplicable (not bc flats, but bc I didn't think they went with that much red at all). Also I am beyond sick of peplum-looking things. Giving her this win over Dom's print alchemy was just straight up wtf wackadoodle.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:14 PM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

Alexander's was boring and didn't seem to fit well so I can't say I disagree with his auf, tho.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:16 PM on April 2, 2016

I was sorry to see Alexander go. I haven't loved his clothes but I like him, he has a twinkle in his eye. Inexplicably Sam scraped through again. His outfit showed so little skill in its execution that he should've gone home.

I can't believe Dom didn't win. Her outfit was fabulous, original and beautifully-made. Asha's was ... okay. But compared with Dom's it was second-rate.

Kini, wtf was that? But the judges liked it, once again proving I know nothing about fashion.
posted by essexjan at 12:29 PM on April 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

...the judges liked it, once again proving I know nothing about fashion.

or that things look very different in the studio from on the screen...I keep wondering about this.
posted by amtho at 6:41 AM on April 3, 2016

Sam isn't particularly a deep design thinker. The netting + strips of fabric could have been good, but he stopped after his initial idea and never looked to see that his design looked like (and was executed like) flotsam caught in a net. How he could not see the terribleness of that thing is a sign of his immaturity as a designer and depth of his ego.

Both Sam and Layana's outfits were worse than Alexander's.

And Dom clearly deserved to win this round.
posted by julen at 2:22 PM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

Too many jumpsuits this season.
posted by likeatoaster at 3:25 PM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]

...I know nothing about fashion

...I keep wondering about this

Two words: Gret. Chen. That says all you need to know about the quality of the judging. And the next season they doubled down and chose Anya as the winner. And they rejected Fade at the beginning of this season. "Fashion" has very little to do with the outcome here.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:10 PM on April 3, 2016

#justiceforfade

Wouldn't you love to see what Fade would have done with this challenge? Wonder what he's up to now?
posted by amtho at 6:50 PM on April 3, 2016

It looks like Fade is making interesting shirts in Miami.
posted by amtho at 6:59 PM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

This isn't a complaint or a criticism, but the links that are posted to the photos on the Lifetime website only work in the US. Still, thanks for trying to be comprehensive in the post.

I have to ask, was I the only person who wanted to see a big fur collar or cuffs or something on Belle? And if there was somebody who should have been in a jumpsuit or pants or maybe shorts it should have been Ariel. Overall, it was a pretty uninspiring group. And I'm with everybody here on not being able to believe what a fuss was made over a pretty bad pair of sandals. I know styling is part of the overall look, but it shouldn't be the primary focus. Not to mention it was bad styling.
posted by sardonyx at 1:36 PM on April 5, 2016

I could've sworn I was able to see the final looks on the crappy Lifetime website when I was overseas but looking back, I see that I was linking to this page's final looks.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:23 PM on April 5, 2016