Project Runway All Stars: Rebel With A Cause

April 15, 2016 8:26 PM - Season 5, Episode 10

Zac Posen and Debi Mazar join the judges to critique sophisticated summer-chic looks with a badass edge.

Six designers remain. The winner of the challenge is chosen to collaborate with N:Philanthropy to create a design where the proceeds would go to pediatric cancer research. (It's never explained exactly what that means, are they auctioning off the actual garment created in a day?)

Final looks here.

Top Three: Kini, Seersucker Sam, Emily; Emily wins.
Bottom Three: Ken, Dom, Asha; Asha is sent home.

posted by TWinbrook8 (15 comments total)

I know Sam is insufferable, but this is why I hope he sticks around. The brief was sophisticated, bad-ass and he picks seersucker. Not just seersucker, but two colors of seersucker. I'm sure everyone else hates it but I loved it. No, I don't know what that flap was in the front but the blue edge made it.

I also loved Kini's. I loved the jacket too after he dyed the bottom edge because the yellows didn't match but I can understand why he left it off. It was a LOT of look. If the pants had been simpler, he could've included the jacket.

Ken was very lucky this week but it was Asha's turn.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:42 PM on April 15, 2016

I understand that mentors don't normally judge, but I still say the head of N:Philanthropy should have been one of the judges. Why wouldn't you want the person whose company is offering the prize to be one of the people deciding who gets that prize?
posted by sardonyx at 8:54 PM on April 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

His choice of seersucker was REALLY smart. It's a classic summer fabric not usually associated with women, but can adopt itself well to women's fashion. As usual, however, I wish he had gone through another design iteration.

It looks particularly good in comparison to some really horrible fabric choices this week. SUMMER, people, SUMMER.

Ken was incredibly lucky, but two weeks of last minute mashups is not helping his long-term cause.
posted by julen at 4:45 AM on April 16, 2016

His choice of seersucker was REALLY smart

Maybe if seersucker came in different colors. It's always in this pastel/white combo that we see it, for some reason.

My dude has a black/white seersucker shirt that's awesome.
posted by amtho at 6:10 AM on April 16, 2016

I like seersucker, but I can't stand Sam. It pisses me off when he does something I like.

The other thing is, all these folks need to remember that they're making RTW for these kinds of challenges, and mass production of your look has to factor into it. I thought Emily's was the most successful for summer because it was light and flowy, and because it would be easy to mass produce.

Also, I don't want to see any more jump suits.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:32 AM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

It looks like the winner of this challenge was given the opportunity to design something, anything, for the company, no doubt without being compensated. Emily created two tops, shown here.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:43 AM on April 16, 2016

And now I'm REALLY confused because here's the sweatshirt design they already produce. So Emily just... cut the holes in new places?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:47 AM on April 16, 2016

Oh wow. I guess... they have to keep their designs super super basic, because they want really high margins for philanthropic projects?

Oh, Emily, I'm so sorry... it's cool for your resume, I guess.

OTOH, that stuff is really wearable. If I wanted a basic t-shirt or sweatshirt, I could get it there.
posted by amtho at 6:55 AM on April 16, 2016

The fabric Asha used was used in another season recently, wasn't it? I seem to recall it was used not just once, but twice recently, maybe in a slightly different colorway. Someone embellished it by putting mirrors on it. But I spent 20 minutes looking through pics of final designs and couldn't find it.
posted by QuakerMel at 8:33 AM on April 16, 2016

Asha's fabric was used in Project Runway: Junior. Peytie won with it.
posted by Laura in Canada at 11:51 AM on April 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

I thought Emily's look was awesome and if she hadn't won it'd have been a travesty.

I hated the seersucker outfit. The top looked like some kind of medical outfit. Ken was very lucky that Asha's dress was so badly conceived and executed, or I think he'd have gone ahead of Dom. Although Dom's outfit missed the brief, at least it was well-made. Kini's taste levels continue to astound me. Disco Banana indeed.
posted by essexjan at 12:17 PM on April 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

I was just going to say that, Laura in Canada!

Ken should have been B2 instead of Dom but otherwise, I think this was reasonable. Good for Emily. A real bummer that the collaboration didn't seem to let her express too much of her design aesthetic, but hey, putting her name out there I guess.
posted by en forme de poire at 5:16 PM on April 16, 2016

FWIW I thought the seersucker could have worked (remember Mychael's amazing seersucker cargo pants from S3???) but I thought the resulting product was "meh of the week." (Maybe if he'd used a really out-there trim instead of the navy, like a neon or a pattern or something? IDK, I'm just a fan, not a designer.)
posted by en forme de poire at 5:21 PM on April 16, 2016

I want Emily to win! She has been so consistently great, and I don't understand why the judges haven't noticed more.
posted by likeatoaster at 5:09 PM on April 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I think Emily is too low-drama for the producers. The judges seem to like her designs well enough (she's safe more often than not), but when you have high-drama Sam and Ken and Kini all sniping at each other, folks like Dom and Asha (who has been very quiet this season) and Emily just kind of getting along, doing their things, you know the attention will be on those who can bring the sound bites.
posted by xingcat at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2016