Project Runway All Stars: Luck Be A Lady

December 13, 2014 3:55 AM - Season 4, Episode 6

Designers roll the dice to determine their fabric and the occasion for which the outfit will be worn. Denim/Brocade/Lace/Silk and for Dmitry, "I'd rather shoot myself" Velvet. The events were Bachelorette Party/Awards Ceremony/Gallery Opening/Sunday Brunch and wtf? Masquerade Ball?

The second go-'round for these designers has been remarkably drama-free with Helen seeming to have had a personality transplant in the interim. However she did take it upon herself to give Unremarkable Jay some advice which he did not take kindly to and it was Michelle's opinion that Sonjia's fabric was not actually brocade.

Side-by-side photos of the outfits posted here.

posted by TWinbrook8 (17 comments total)

Masquerade Ball was a poor choice - all the other occasions, and the resulting garments, were on the serious side, but you can only wear something crazy/costume-y to a Masquerade Ball. Compared to all the other garments, Fabio's and Gunnar's stood out, and not in a good way. They were set up for failure.

My top 3: Sonjia, Sam & Michelle. Michelle should have won for that layered lace number.
posted by travelwithcats at 5:11 AM on December 13, 2014

I about died when Jay had his tantrum about Helen's club girl brunch comment, which was followed almost immediately by Jay in the makeup room telling the guy he wanted his model to look like she slept in last night's makeup and rolled out to brunch like that, which was followed almost immediately by Jay having more Helentantrum and saying that his look was perfect for a nice classy Sunday brunch.
posted by phunniemee at 6:19 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

I agree that Michelle should have won. I loved the lace colors she used, from olive to chartreuse and the layering concept was brilliant although the finished garment was just "okay". It was still a lot more creative than Sonjia's party dress. I believe she said she was aiming for safe.

I thought Justin should've gone home for that boring, ill-fitted dress.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:20 AM on December 13, 2014

This episode was pretty boring to me, although my partner did have a giggle over Dimitri's deadpan delivery of "I'd rather shoot myself" and "it is a bitch to work with".
posted by chainsofreedom at 6:25 AM on December 13, 2014

The second Gunner rolled his fate I said outloud "whelp, he's going home." I liked the colors and layering of Michelle's dress, but I couldn't forgive that weird hip flare. Did anyone watch more carefully than I did to determine what fabric and event DIDN'T get rolled? The designers only rolled 5/6 for each.
posted by missmary6 at 8:08 AM on December 13, 2014

IIRC the other were Tweed and Music Festival, missmary6.
posted by travelwithcats at 8:16 AM on December 13, 2014

I also thought that Justin should have gone home. I am guessing the decision came down to who had more potential as a designer in general, and Gunnar has been pretty lack-luster all season. Still, I appreciated that Gunnar at least took a risk, and I thought Justin's dress was just terrible. And I agree with the judges on Fabio -- what the hell was that even -- but I am so, so glad that they didn't send him home over it.

Also I would have put Dmitry or Sam in the top over Helen.
posted by likeatoaster at 2:10 PM on December 13, 2014

Gunnar's work hasn't been up to snuff this season, but he shouldn't have gone home on this look. It was definitely more adventurous than Justin's, and more appropriate to the occasion than Jay's club girl dress.

I wasn't wowed by Michelle's colors, but it was the best thing produced that episode. Sonjia's was baffling to me, and I think Samantha should have been in the bottom 3 for that awful peplum in plaid.
posted by xingcat at 8:05 PM on December 13, 2014

Oofta. I thought jay would have been in the bottom. It absolutely was a club dress! It's Sunday brunch not hungover walk of shame brunch, right? I mean I don't think Sunday bruch needs to look like a grandma or anything but why not something a chic affluent woman would wear to meet her friends?

I also liked Michelle's. I think maybe the skirt with all the same layering plus the wide hip was a bit too much. Maybe the skirt should have been sleeker and less layered.

I agree that masquerade ball was really out of place plus both people that got it made pretty boring dresses.

The gold dress was cute but I felt like it was something I could see at forever 21 or something. The gold did look cheap and itchy. I wish in general that the brocades were more lux and noticeable.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:44 PM on December 13, 2014

For some reason all fabrics looked kind of cheap - Sonjia, Gunnar, Dmity and Jay went for shiny at that. Helen's looked like weirdly vacuumed carpet or a threadbare sofa.
posted by travelwithcats at 10:15 PM on December 13, 2014

Horrible clothes this week. Michelle's was about the best, but she used that green several times during her season - I remember it particularly from the Lord & Taylor challenge that she won because I saw the actual dress in L&T. So not particularly original from her, but the best of a bad bunch.

I thought Fabio's dress was by far the worst. That colour was awful and the dress was boring. At least Gunnar's had a little flair to it.

I love Dmitry. He is so sarcastic and funny. And he can make great clothes. I hope he wins.
posted by essexjan at 1:00 PM on December 14, 2014

This was a great challenge and the designers just screwed it up. First of all a Masquerade Ball? What IS that? It's not a costume party, but kind of is? Help me out here, it's confusing. Also, no one made a mask? Frankly, you could do about 700 things, none of which is a pink, denim gown. What a paucity of imagination.

Justin's dress was so fugly. Too short and so drab and sad.

Michelle's green thing, I loved the effect of the fabrics, but what was up with the damn hips? No more horsehair!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:19 AM on December 15, 2014

I was expecting Jay to be in the bottom for that boxy thing he made. But overall there were lots of disappointments this week. I don't know how anyone could have won with "masquerade ball", there's an inherent costume element in there. In itself that isn't terrible, but it is when put against "gallery opening" and similar. Although, maybe Kini from last season could have won with denim masquerade ball.

TWinbrook8: "Unremarkable Jay" makes him sound like the most disappointing version of Katniss in the Hunger Games.
posted by bjrn at 6:57 AM on December 15, 2014

No more horsehair!

Can someone explain to me what is the deal with horsehair? I don't know what it does. Michelle used it here and Kini was all talking about it last season, and it turns out when you google horsehair you get a lot of pictures of horses.
posted by phunniemee at 7:11 AM on December 15, 2014

I didn't like a single one of those dresses. Michelle's got uglier the closer you got. The construction was smart, but the individual colors were not good, and the lace wasn't particularly lovely. Justin and Sanjia were disappointing, mostly because I expect better from them.

I was happy to see Gunnar go because I find his work unremarkable, but man, his attitude has really improved from his first times on the show.

It felt like to me that Jay's reaction to Helen's advice was a little calculated. But maybe that's just because it's felt like a lot of his clothes this year lacked personality when they weren't grating.

All in all, meh.
posted by julen at 8:50 AM on December 15, 2014

The only horsehair I know about is to add stiffness to a piece of clothing. For instance, crinolines usually have it built it to keep them from just hanging straight down.

I don't know anyone who uses actual horsehair- there is a plastic version of it these days.
posted by small_ruminant at 10:43 AM on December 15, 2014

Jay's girl was totally Castro day-after. She should have come down the runway with giant sunglasses and a mimosa in a pint glass. At the end she could have muttered "ughhh, an hour?!" and then started sullenly texting.
posted by en forme de poire at 3:24 AM on December 17, 2014