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make it work
November 9, 2012

Project Runway All Stars Recap: ‘Everyone’s Last Gay Nerve’

By Lauren Hoffman

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Photo: Lifetime

Now that the election is over, I think it’s time for us, as a nation, to begin identifying and eliminating any roadblocks that prohibit Michelle Obama from appearing on an episode of Project Runway. Doesn’t reelection give her a mandate for one teeny, frivolous reality-television appearance? Please?

The designers meet Carolyn at what she calls “the world’s largest collection of legal aerosol art” — 5Pointz, in Long Island City — where three renowned graffiti artists (Zimad, Sen 2, and Meres One, who’s the curator of 5Pointz) are hard at work. I wish that instead of telling viewers which celebrities the artists have collaborated with in the past, All Stars could’ve dedicated a quick sound bite or two to the history of 5Pointz, which is pretty fascinating.

Laura chirps, “I’m not a graffiti artist, but I like to spray-paint old furniture!” in a way that reminds me of that video of Lauren Conrad destroying books from earlier this year. (I love Lauren Conrad, but please note that this is not a favorable comparison.) Carolyn tells the designers they’ll be creating “wearable art” using a crate of spray paint, seven yards of white fabric, and $50 worth of extras from Mood. It’s an odd challenge, for sure, and one dependent on a skill (spray-painting) that isn’t essential for designers, but it seems like it’ll be fun to watch, at least? This is All Stars; cautious optimism is the name of the game. Kayne starts off by interviewing the three artists for inspiration, which is adorable, while Ivy talks about her plans to reference “girl power” and rely heavily on comic-book-style text. The three artists give the designers a series of spray-paint tutorials, and most of the designers are legitimately excited to learn the techniques and apply them, which they immediately start doing, with varying levels of success.

After a quick trip to Mood and a night’s sleep, it’s off to the workroom, but before getting down to business, Ivy and Kayne eat a quick lunch while venting about Laura, who — as Kayne puts it — is “getting on everyone’s last gay nerve.” Laura walks in partway through, and there’s some petty bickering, and while I don’t care for Laura either, I’d rather see more of the artists at 5Pointz or the designers’ techniques than watch people complain about her. Joanna shows up for critiques and starts off by telling Althea that she’s concerned that the sheer parts of Althea’s fabric are “letting the body do the work and not letting the dress do the work,” and I spend an inordinate length of time trying to figure out whether or not I also think this is a problem. (Verdict: maybe?) Joanna is dismayed to find as much rainbow sparkle as she does, but seems really impressed with the work completed so far by Anthony Ryan (who’s leaning heavily on his graphic-design background), Casanova, and Uli, with whom she has a brief, touching interlude about how little exposure Uli had to art as a child in East Germany.

There aren’t any notable J. Coles Zingers to speak of, but she does declare her love for a dress one can wear with a bra, and has a perfectly placed meaningful silence after Suede tells her his look was inspired by “earth and sky and stars.” ” … Right.”

What’s interesting about the way All Stars has been shot so far is that it seems like the designers’ work is a bit in the workroom so that there’s more of a “reveal” moment on the runway. I’m guessing that this is less of an intentional decision and more a result of having a smaller workplace to shoot in, but it does add a bit of suspense, which is always appreciated. The judges are joined this week by Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapetra, and it’s an uneven runway, largely because — as always on Runway and All Stars — everyone’s idea of “wearable art” seemed to differ. But strangely, the judges are very complimentary; they even go so far as to congratulate this week’s safe designers before sending them offstage, since apparently they loved everything so much? Weird.

Still, someone has to go, and after Emilo is proclaimed the (very deserving) winner, Suede is told he’s out. While I won’t miss his determination to discuss himself in the third person, but it’s still a little sad to see him leave the competition this early.

Next week, the challenge has an “interactive” element with viewers at home. No good can come of this.

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Anthony Ryan Auld — Top Three First of all: Major points for pockets, Anthony Ryan. Well done. Georgina said this look was dead-on in terms of pr... Anthony Ryan Auld — Top Three First of all: Major points for pockets, Anthony Ryan. Well done. Georgina said this look was dead-on in terms of proportion, especially because it was short but didn't feel too short; Georgina, Carolyn, and Isaac all liked the cutout in the back. Robert loved the print and liked how it read as tagging, but Jeffrey thought it looked young. He pointed out that there's nothing wrong with that, but for him, it made it difficult to see this look on a gallery wall some day. Still, it's another strong look from Anthony Ryan, who I'm already planning to see in the top three.
Casanova At one point during his critique, I heard Joanna briefly ask, "That's a technique you learned?" The frustration of a 60-minute... Casanova At one point during his critique, I heard Joanna briefly ask, "That's a technique you learned?" The frustration of a 60-minute All Stars format (as compared to Runway's 90 minutes) is that you miss out on seeing and understanding moments of the design process; I'm bummed that I didn’t know what technique Joanna was talking about, because even though this look isn’t my favorite, it interests me. Casanova called it harmonious, and even though there's so much going on, it really is. It's probably a little too insubstantial for a gallery wall, but it's an interesting look nonetheless.
Ivy Higa — Top Three I'm pretty surprised about this; I had this look pegged for the bottom three for sure. I'm glad the judges made note of the ... Ivy Higa — Top Three I'm pretty surprised about this; I had this look pegged for the bottom three for sure. I'm glad the judges made note of the fact that this is the same jacket Ivy did the first week; while I agree with the judges that a good jacket is difficult to make, it's time to see something new from Ivy, too. Georgina described this look as modern with a sensual edge, and Jeffrey thought it was a great play on a suit look, although he didn't like the white in the skirt, which Ivy had referred to as a superhero's cape. That said: I'm not going to debate whether this is art, but I'm going to go ahead and say it isn't particularly wearable.
Althea Harper I was eager to see what Althea would come up with for this challenge, since she does a lot of work with prints she designs herself.... Althea Harper I was eager to see what Althea would come up with for this challenge, since she does a lot of work with prints she designs herself. She was one of the more excited designers during the visit to 5Pointz, but the next morning she showed up in a dress that Joanna pointed out was almost identical to the fabric she’d designed for the challenge. There’s nothing technically wrong with that, but it was a bit odd for her to wear what amounted to a life-sized cheat sheet. It’s an okay look, but I’d hoped for something more ambitious.
Uli Herzner When Joanna critiqued this dress, she was very impressed with how well the colors Uli chose worked together, and I agree, even though... Uli Herzner When Joanna critiqued this dress, she was very impressed with how well the colors Uli chose worked together, and I agree, even though they aren't the first three colors I'd consider combining. But I also agree with what Uli herself said when this look came down the runway: "I like it, but in this week's competition, it's not strong enough to stand out." I wasn't crazy about the shoulders, but I loved the print and loved how light the look seemed, even though it was made of stiff, spray painted cotton.
Kayne Gillaspie – Bottom Three Kayne said that his model looked like Kate Middleton coming down the runway. The judges didn't agree, but Isaac di... Kayne Gillaspie – Bottom Three Kayne said that his model looked like Kate Middleton coming down the runway. The judges didn't agree, but Isaac did say that this was the most dramatic thing on the runway. Even though he liked the top, there was far too much going on with the paneled skirt; everything ran together, and that made the work that went into the spray-painted panels hard to see and essentially insignificant. Georgina said that there were too many ideas at work, which made the look labor-intensive on the eye and no longer fun. And Jeffrey had the best diplomatic statement of the night when he pointed out that the ribbons on the skirt created "an optical illusion of girth."
Suede Baum – Eliminated  What's hard about seeing Suede go after this challenge is that he just worked so hard. The circles on the skirt and bodi... Suede Baum – Eliminated  What's hard about seeing Suede go after this challenge is that he just worked so hard. The circles on the skirt and bodice took him such a long time to cut out and then stitch back on, but just didn't work, particularly because they made the fabric lose the feel of being spray-painted, and didn't distract from the issues with the fit of the dress. Isaac said that it didn't feel wearable under any circumstances, while Carolyn was a bit more kind and said she liked the fantasy and that it could be a good dress for a black-light party.
Andrae Gonzalo It pains me to say this, but Andrae's look was far more deserving of a spot in the bottom three than Laura's, and that's largely b... Andrae Gonzalo It pains me to say this, but Andrae's look was far more deserving of a spot in the bottom three than Laura's, and that's largely because I haven't seen much evidence of strong technical skill from him yet. Maybe it's a time-management issue, but it seems like each of his looks culminates in tying tulle around his model's waist and hoping for the best.
Emilio Sosa — Winner  I was glad to see Emilio on top this week, and this challenge was right up his alley, since he grew up in New York City in ... Emilio Sosa — Winner  I was glad to see Emilio on top this week, and this challenge was right up his alley, since he grew up in New York City in the seventies and has always been inspired by the bright, bold colors of graffiti. Carolyn loved it and said that both the design and the shape were "perfection." Georgina loved the silhouette but suggested using a wider belt, which all of the other judges agreed with. Robert said that it felt very honest, but Isaac gave the strongest praise when he said that it was not only chic and dead-on, but that it captured the soul of the challenge.
Joshua McKinley I'm surprised that this look wasn't in the top three; it seems pretty in line with what the judges have been responded positively... Joshua McKinley I'm surprised that this look wasn't in the top three; it seems pretty in line with what the judges have been responded positively to so far. I like the fact that it uses a rainbow of colors without being visually overwhelming or distracting, like Kayne's was, and the peplum was really nicely constructed and flattering on his model. There was a little bit of a disconnect between the top and bottom of the dress, but this seemed more wearable than Ivy's look. (Joshua also gets points for being self-deprecating enough to joke about having extensive aerosol experience due to his permanently Aquanet-ed hair.)
Laura Kathleen — Bottom Three I appreciate that Laura talked about the techniques she'd been taught being her critique (a lot of the other design... Laura Kathleen — Bottom Three I appreciate that Laura talked about the techniques she'd been taught being her critique (a lot of the other designers didn't mention what they'd learned at 5Pointz). That said, she was done in by the hemline and what Isaac described as the "piano shawl fringe" in the back, although Isaac said that he wanted to like both the fringe and the "galaxy print." Robert suggested that using more of the splatter-paint technique would've helped the dress read more as graffiti, but Georgina summed it up best when she said that on the whole, this dress just looks cheap.
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  • project runway all stars recap
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  • joanna coles
  • carolyn murphy
  • anthony ryan auld
  • casanova
  • ivy higa
  • althea harper
  • uli herzner
  • kayne gillaspie
  • suede baum
  • andrae gonzalo
  • emilio sosa
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