Friday, March 25, 2016

PR All-St★rs 5, Ep 7: Ah, The Old Switcheroo!

Oh the twists and turns of PR All-Stars!

Alyssa Milano inside Mood! Yes, because, as she tells the designtestants, they have been making some pretty awful fabric choices, so this week she’s handing out envelopes telling them what fabrics to use.

The designers will use these random fabric choices to create a high-end evening resort look, but the trouble is, most of the designers — save Alexander who got upholstery fabric — like what they’ve been given so how is that a twist? Just you wait …

Alyssa Milano inside The workroom? Yes, because now she’s pulling what she calls a bait and Stitch, forcing the designers to give up the fabrics they’ve chosen and use another designers’ textiles.

Cue terror; let’s rip …
THE SAFES
left to right
ASHA went from Neoprene to Dom’s Jersey Knits
It’s cute, though it gathers weirdly at the floor … and there’s a turban. Is Joan Collins a guest judge?

KINI went from Brocade to Sam’s Lace
Evening wear is a sheer lace cover-up over what looks like a swimsuit? Is there a buffet in the pool?

ALEXANDER went from Upholstery Fabric to Denim
Yee Haw!
THE BOTTOMS
EMILY
She was given Denim and then took Alexander’s Upholstery fabrics and then cried and whined about them. Of course, she was stuck with a little bit of red fabric and a whole lotta sheer fabric covered in large polka dots.

She is stuck, and angry and bitter and weepy, and when Zanna sees the look that mood doesn’t change. Zanna wants it amped up, sexy, resort evening.

WHAT SHE SAID
I think she looks adorable.

WHAT I SAID
Uh oh. There are some good ideas, but the execution is awful.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ wasn’t feeling the crop-top, the cut-out, or the midriff, and wished Emily had done more with the sheer; she did, however, give Emily props for standing by her design and said that it had a “good attitude.” Isaac loved the top, while guest judge, Alyssa wishes the shorts were more high-waisted because there was a lot of skin. Isaac suggests during deliberation that Emily be removed from the Bottom and made a Safe.
LAYANA
She was given Lightweight Cotton but then snagged Ken’s Silk Charmeuse.

And so here we are: another week, another challenge, and one more time for Layana says this is her win because no one can do what she does … like make a jumpsuit.

An old-fashioned gown of a jumpsuit, according to Zanna who wants Layana to infuse it with a more youthful vibe.

WHAT SHE SAID
I love the way it flows … beautiful … feminine.

WHAT I SAID
It’s a gown, still … a nightgown.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Isaac hates the shoes, and said the look needed flats because, as the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ pointed out, the hem is off and should have been to the floor, or at a higher more modern level; she also said the dress was made for a flat-chested girl, and Broadway star Megan Hilty — love her — agreed; she loved the back but was afraid of major side boobage since the front was cut so narrow.
VALERIE
She was handed a bolt of Linen fabric and then forced to choose Layana’s Lightweight Cotton because some of Layana’s colors were similar to the ones she’d chosen.

And she, too, will be making a jumpsuit and adding a turban because the look is for resort-wear for an episode of Dynasty circa 1983, I guess. Zanna is less than impressed and says the look needs a wow, and a lotta cleavage doesn’t necessarily fill the bill.

WHAT SHE SAID
It’s comfortable … easy … simple.

WHAT I SAID
Valerie describes it like it’s a tampon, which may be accurate because this look shouldn’t be seen in public.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it sweet and loved the back though the fabric appeared cardboard-like. Alyssa wasn’t feeling it at all, calling it too simple and saying only the giant cleavage path was at all evening, Isaac suggested the look lose the pockets and the necklace and the turban and then go back to the workroom and star over … say on a Sumnmer’s Eve? He said it was retro and not vintage and he loathes retro. Megan Hilty loved the back … that’s all.
THE TOPS
SAM
He was given Lace and then, as the last to choose, had to switch with his arch-enemy Kini for Brocade. And he bitches about the colors and the prints and the fabrics and the lighting and his hair and anything else he can bitch about … except for making another jumpsuit because, as Kini points out, that’s what he does. And Zanna points it out, too, but calls this look Disney Cruise.

And she’s right; the jumpsuit is hideous and so Sam bitches about it and flops on his work table then scraps the look and drapes another brocade on the mannequin, puts a couple of seams in it and calls it “Gorgeous.”

WHAT HE SAID
I am at a loss for words at how good my dress looks.

WHAT I SAID
I wish he’d be at a loss for words more often, but let’s talk the dress: it moves well, but it’s a simple summer dress and nothing more. It’s less Lido Deck and more Garbage Barge.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Isaac liked that the brocade wasn’t a heavy scary brocade and called the look fresh. Alyssa, who Sam used to love, called it homemade, and not in a good way; she was bored, and said it was the same silhouette and that only the fabric — which Sam didn’t pick, made it interesting at all. Megan Hilty again loved the back but hated the high front slit. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved it from the side profile and called it buoyant.
KEN
As the winner last week, Ken was given his fabric choice first: silk charmeuse, but at The Switch, for some odd reason, he took Asha’s Neoprene, a fabric he doesn’t like in a color he hated. Um, okay?

But he’s going big silhouette, big gown, big color, all things Zanna finds to be wrong. But, as usual, Ken does Ken and keeps the look relatively the same — he does go one shoulder — and it’s … big.

There was a moment of terror when it became Ken’s turn to bust a zipper before the runway but Ken, yes, Ken, stayed calm and fixed it in a jiffy.

WHAT HE SAID
I’m a little bit nervous because it’s simple.

WHAT I SAID
It’s sort of ball gown to me and I am with Ken about the color. But he worked it to his benefit I guess.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said it was totally Ken, and loved that he had a clear aesthetics, while she did think the draping at the top was too heavy; she wants more. Isaac, on the other hand, was crazy about the whole design, including the color and urged Ken to keep doing it. Alyssa loved that he took a sporty fabric and turned it into a gown, while Megan Hilty loved the color and the shape and the texture.
DOM
She was thrilled when she was given Jersey Knits but a little less so when she took Valerie’s linen. But she works it, taking two of the fabrics, cutting them into strips, and making her own striped fabric. There were some scary moments, I’ll call them Beetlejuice moments, when the striped fabric looked like a coat, but Dom used a simple white for the top, and then threw on a black-and-white belt.

Zanna’s one critique: Don’t be safe. Dom wasn’t safe, she was on top.

WHAT SHE SAID
I love my look! I love the striping and the drape.

WHAT I SAID
I didn’t quite get “evening” but I got beach-y edgy resort. Loved it.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ was shocked to learn that the striped fabric was created by Dom — “What? No! Stop!” — and called the look incredible; she loved that the top had all the drama in the back while the skirt had all the drama in the front and said this look makes her want to see a Dom collection. Isaac loved the textile and the striped belt, but said it was a lot of look, while Megan Hilty loved the drape of the back and said it took her breath away. When Alyssa mentioned that the striped fabric looked like a beach towel Dom said she it was intentional.
With Emily saved by Isaac it comes down to Dueling Jumpsuits: Layana’s jumpsuit that she was sure would win, or Valerie’s one-note jumpsuit that was neither here nor there.

Valerie gets the axe and Layana lives to brag about herself for another day.

As for the winner, it comes down to Ken and Dom — Sam’s nothing dress is not considered worthy. Ken scores for the drama abut Dom gets points for the wow and the creativity … and gets her first win of the season. And the added bonus of having Megan Hilty wear her look at a Broadway event … Broadway Goes To The Hamptons? Maybe.
I loved when Alexander revealed his Upholstery card and even Alyssa was like, WTF? And then Alexander also gets the Line Of The Night when he said this about Kini’s look using Sam’s fabrics:
“Kini may be in trouble [but] it’s not his fault he had three yards of sh*t crappy lace.”
I am glad Dom one because this look was a standout in a sea of kinda one color nothingness. And I agree with the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ that a Dom Collection would be cool.

I am also glad Valerie took her defeatist ass home; her constant whining was gnawing at my last nerve. And when she seemed annoyed that Dom won using her textiles I screamed at my TV:
“Maybe it was your fabrics, but there wasn’t a chance in hell you would’a used them better.”
And the turbans? Ken? Honey? No. Not even you could pull it off.

Next week Fairy Tales … and I don’t mean the stories Sam and Kini tell about one another as their Bitchfest rages on.

What did YOU think?



1 comment:

  1. Kind of an interesting challenge. And we got to see Swatch! :-)
    Good reporting as always. xoxoxox

    ReplyDelete

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