PR All-St★rs 4 Ep 2: A Wicked ... Bad ... Outcome

The show starts and we find the designtestants walking the streets of New York, headed to the Gershwin Theatre. Now, as a show queen — end even though I live in South Carolina — I know the Gershwin is home to Wicked, the story of the Witches of Oz before that pesky girl from Kansas came a’calling. See, I loves me some Wicked and so I know I’m gonna love this challenge, even though I was frightened to see nineteen-months pregnant Alyssa Milano descending from the heights of the stage in Glinda’s Bubble.

But she landed safely and introduces the designtestants to Elphaba — played by Christine Dwyer — and Glinda — played by Jenni Barber. The three announce that this challenge is meant to reflect both good and wicked, around which Wicked is based, because in the show — which I have seen many times … like I said, Show Queen — Elphaba is not necessarily bad, and Glinda is not entirely good.

The challenge is to create a couture-inspired gown that conveys feelings of "wicked" or "good." And, after picking one or the other from Elphaba’s hat, the designtestants will compete in pairs, with each pair receiving a high and a low score; the highest of the highs will see the winner, the lowest of the lows will see someone being swooped up by a tornado and sent home.

Let’s rip ….

SONJIA v KATE

KATE 

She usually works in white and bridal and girly and, well, she would naturally pluck the Wicked card from the hat. But, she tells us she has a naughty side—like she drinks milk straight from the carton—and she’ll bring the Wicked. Zanna seems to like what Kate has done, but is worried that it borders on costume.

WHAT SHE SAID It is so me and so not me

WHAT I SAID I loved the skirt, and the branches, but the top seemed like a cheap vinyl thrift store vest.

WHAT HAPPENED Kate is Wicked, but just enough to be Safe

SONJIA 

Sonjia is a sportswear, ready-to-wear, definitely not couture girl, so she is far from her element. And, of course, since she is more edgy than Kate it’s not at all surprising that she is the Good designer, so to speak. Zanna loves what she’s doing, calling it both modern and couture, and decidedly Sonjia.

WHAT SHE SAID I’m so proud of myself … to see something that I think could have been made in Paris

WHAT I SAID The long over-skirt seems stiff, but the lace dress beneath is pretty. It’s pretty good.

WHAT HAPPENED

Sonjia wins this match-up and goes Top Three

JAY v SAMANTHA

JAY 

He’s just adorable; I wish I could remember him from his season but I can’t. Maybe he wasn’t adorable back then?

But I digress. Jay is Good, and he’s just positive that he’s gonna win this match-up because he does gowns and Samantha does not; we all know how this will end. When Zanna sees his work, she’s intrigued, but thinks a dress might be too much and suggests a wide pant. Jay runs with that.

WHAT HE SAID 

If I were a couture designer, this is how I would design

WHAT I SAID 

It’s kind of a bathrobe worn over pants, with a top that looks like it exploded.

WHAT HAPPENED 

As expected, Jay is the lower score of this duo, but is high enough to be Safe from Judgment!

SAMANTHA She is Wickedly out of her element in this challenge and she knows it.  And Zanna makes sure she knows it when she calls Samantha’s design dull and boring.

Dull. And boring; it’s a two-fer. And so Samantha does a two-fer and completely scraps her first look and creates a second gown that features sequins and sheer mesh panels.

WHAT SHE SAID 

Not as bad as I thought it would be.

WHAT I SAID 

It’s slinky and sexy, dripping with sequins, but I hate that the model has to carry it so she doesn’t trip.

WHAT HAPPENED 

I think Samantha was more surprised than anyone when she won her challenge, and probably shocked that she went Top Three.

GUNNAR v DMITRY

GUNNAR 

Gunnar is Good, and I can’t stop laughing at that. But he’s less concerned about the challenge and more concerned about beating Dmitry in their head-to-head. In fact, he actually says, "I could go home next week as long as I beat him on this one."

Careful, Gunnar, careful. Especially after Zanna gives his design the once-over and calls it :::gulp::: old-fashioned.

WHAT HE SAID 

All I can focus on is how short her dress feels.

WHAT I SAID 

If a Zebra is Wicked, then this would win ... but it's not.

WHAT HAPPENED 

Gunnar doesn’t get his wish to beat Dmitry, but is still safe from elimination. I’m hoping that next week I get my wish and he goes home.

DMITRY 

His evil side comes out, probably because he’s designing Wicked, possibly because he’s just a bitch. He complained about people talking in the workroom and dogs every single designer’s work because, well, he’s Dmitry and he’s the best … in his head.

He’s not the best to Zanna because, while she likes his look—and that’s not high praise—she thinks it’s missing a Wow.

WHAT HE SAID 

She looks amazing … the dress has drama … sex appeal.

WHAT I SAID 

It’s very Wicked meets Into The Woods — Google it, I’m a Show Queen — meets Icecapades.

WHAT HAPPENED

Dmitry beats Gunnar—and it’s really no surprise—and his look is picked Top Three.

FABIO v JUSTIN

FABIO 

Fabio is given the Good, but, well, Fabio doesn’t do evening gowns so he’s gonna do a long dress in the front, over a pair of pants that can only be seen when the model turns around. Zanna, like me, is worried; she thinks Fabio has one too many ideas, between the front gown, the back pant, and the straps.

WHAT HE SAID 

I’m nervous. I know I’m not presenting a gown

WHAT I SAID 

I love it, both coming and going. It’s totally Fabio.

WHAT HAPPENED 

It’s not up to the challenge and Fabio loses to Justin and goes Bottom Three

JUSTIN 

Justin is Wicked, but he cannot seem to pull off the idea. Like I said, he’s one of the nicest people on the show, so I think he struggled with being bad. And I guess there isn’t any more to say because the critique by Zanna wasn’t even shown on TV. She mostly talked about the two winners from Ep 1 and Ep 2 going head-to-head.

WHAT HE SAID 

She looks stunning

WHAT I SAID 

It’s dark, and kind of wicked, and there’s some great detail on the bodice, but it’s too simple to be truly evil.

WHAT HAPPENED 

Justin wins over Fabio, but is just Safe and not in the top.

HELEN v BENJAMIN

BENJAMIN 

I like Benjamin but I don’t really think he follows the challenges very well. He plucked Wicked from the hat, but decided to go pretty instead.  Zanna warned him that the competition was tough—especially against Helen who designs gowns—and to try not to be so predictable.

Too little, too late.

WHAT HE SAID 

I am ecstatic … I have a shot.

WHAT I SAID 

It’s just too simple, and so not wicked; in fact, it looks like pillow case material and it put me to sleep. In that way, it works.

WHAT HAPPENED 

Benjamin, however, wins against Helen, but is Safe and not in the Top Three.

HELEN 

As with Jay, Helen is sure she has this in the bag because this is what she does. As with Jay, I think she shouldn’t be saying such things. Her Good seems to want to be ruffled organza and a lace gown, but Zanna is worried that that much ruffling makes it look like a shower loofah.

WHAT SHE SAID 

All I keep thinking is Paris Fashion Week … it’s really high end.

WHAT I SAID 

All I think is, Mary had a little lamb, killed it and turned it into a skirt.

WHAT HAPPENED 

Helen, so sure she would win, loses to Benjamin sleepy gown, and is bad enough to go Bottom Three.

MICHELLE v CHRIS

MICHELLE 

She doesn’t want to go up against Chris because this is what he does, and because she likes him; and maybe because she doesn’t do couture or gowns or showpieces.  And Zanna knows this, and tells Michelle that she can go minimal—which is her aesthetic—but it has to be perfect.

WHAT SHE SAID 

She just sparkles

WHAT I SAID 

Is she looking at her dress because nothing sparkles. I don’t get the cape-let thing in the back or the, what looks like, snakeskin trim. Not Good, but seriously Meh.

WHAT HAPPENED 

She bests Chris at his own game. I think she should bow down to the Goddess Chanel and thanks her lucky stars that Chris really effed up.

CHRIS 

He makes costumes! He makes gowns! He makes showpieces! This is his challenge.

Uh oh. I know how this ends.

Zanna is confused—as are we all—because this is what Chris does, but she warns him that the fishtail detail and mermaid skirt are looking kind of crafty.

WHAT HE SAID 

It has great movement and screams Wicked.

WHAT I SAID 

I will defer to Carlos and say it looks like a Piñata … a piñata that has been kicked to the ground and dragged through the mud.

WHAT HAPPENED 

Chris should’a had this, especially given Michelle’s lifeless creation but he totally missed the boat.

THE TOPS—What The Judges Said

DMITRY  Isaac loved it, and called it pretty, though he said it lacked drama. He also wishes it showed more skin and that its waist was slightly longer to better flatter the model. Guest Judge, designer Betsey Johnson didn’t  think it's wicked enough, while fellow Guest Judge, Modern Family actress Ariel Winter called it beautiful and said she was obsessed with its power and elegance. Alyssa said it was gorgeous, but said the back looked more Wicked than the front.

Dmitry, for all his smack talk, is just Safe.

SAMANTHA  Alyssa loved the rawness of the design, and the way it was both structured and flowy. Isaac said it should have been shorter in the front, and longer in back to force more movement; he does, however, love the black-and-blue colors. Betsey Johnson said it was less wicked and more glamorous and felt the back lacked the same beauty as the front. Ariel loved the sequins and the silhouette.

She’s Safe.

SONJIA Ariel called it beautiful and powerful, and said she looked like a heroine in an action-fantasy movie. Isaac agreed that it was amazing and loved the lace dress and the design of the over-skirt; he called the front divine and the back beautiful. Betsey Johnson called it a “full” dress in that it was gorgeous from all sides.

Sonjia wins! Her gown will be on display at the Gershwin Theatre.

THE BOTTOMS—What The Judges Said

FABIO After he explains that he likes to play with masculine-feminine designs, Ariel said she likes the idea, but can’t help but thinking it looks like an apron over pants—which is what Michelle said Isaac would say!  Isaac, though, went deeper and said it was the opposite of couture, and called it messy. Alyssa loved that it was different, and loved that it was all Fabio, but annoyed that he chose to basically ignore the challenge.  Betsey said she didn’t understand the demure “lady” in the front and the strapped “not a lady” in the back.

Fabio is Safe.

HELEN Betsey Johnson said she "liked it because I felt like wherever I went I'd have a side table to put my drink on." Ariel said it looked like a duvet cover or kiddie pillows, while Alyssa appreciated the work that Helen put it turning ten yards of organza in to a Salute To The Ruffle! Isaac cut to the chase, saying just because you spent so many hours on those ruffles doesn't make them good; he also called it an “epic failure."

And this week, sadly, epic failure doesn’t get you sent home.

CHRIS  Isaac said it looked a little too much like a shredded T-shirt, and that the fishtail design does nothing for the model’s body. Betsey kind of liked it, at least the “costum-ery” of it and said it was “wonderfully wickedly wrong." Alyssa is surprised because, like all Chris March fans, of which I am one, she thought he’d nail this one.  Ariel Winter simply called it a trainwreck.

A trainwreck Chris has to ride home because he’s Out.

MY TAKE

I thought Sonjia’s gown was nice, but not a winner by any means. I would have given it to Samantha or Dmitry instead.

Speaking of Dmitry, I kinda want a double elimination week and see him sent home with Gunnar. That’d be fun.

Where was the beautiful Georgina Chapman™? I was devastated!

Why is the Wicked Witch called Elphaba, you ask? Because the author of the book upon which the musical is based, Gregory Maguire came up with the name from the author of the Oz books’ name, L. Frank Baum … El-ef-ba … Elphaba.

Do they make all of the models wear the same black tank top when they come into the room, or is there now a new Model Uniform?

Line of the Night? Definitely Michelle, who said of Dmitry’s look, and I quote: “You can tell he was a ballroom dancer cuz he just made {slips into an Oprah impression] A BALLROOM GOWN!!! I don’t know where the couture is except for the fact that you can see her cooter … so it’s cooter-ture.” Priceless!

Next week? Nina Garcia!!!! I’m.Dying.Already.

What did YOU think?