PR All-St★rs 4 Ep 13: Finally The Finale! aka Seasonal Affective Disorder

We find the Final Three! Final Three! on the rooftop of the Gotham apartments, sharing a lovely brunch and a gorgeous view, and waxing philosophic about being in the top. Then Alyssa appears to spoil, the mood with the last challenge and suddenly it’s all real … or reality TV.

The designtestants are tasked with, not creating a show for a season, but a show of seasons; all four seasons in one show … and an 8-piece collection that represents Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

So, wait; eight looks in four days … two looks per day. That is far faster than other challenges, but give ‘em a budget of $3000 — much better than a budget of $150 per look — so I guess it’s six of one, half dozen of the other.

Let’s rip …

HELEN

Helen bothers, or amazes, me; I mean, she’s so morose and dark and sad, but then she design pretty little dresses. If I was looking for a pretty dress, and I saw a picture of Helen, I wouldn’t equate the two.

That said, I loved her idea of Coco Chanel Meets Wednesday Adams, because it does kind of combine her two aesthetics: dark and drab Wednesday, with girly refined Coco.

Zanna thinks Helen is making pretty feminine little dresses but worries that’s all she has … and all in black and white; she urges Helen to bring in some color.

WHAT I SAID

I love the first look; it screams “Coco on Wednesday.” And the second one wins because of the bold color. The third look, that little slip dress, seems more Spring than Summer, and isn’t cohesive with anything, while the fourth look is also kinda Spring and also too long.  

The Fall looks work, though I hate the cape, but the one Fall look is Uptown Chic, while the second is Downtown Cool, so they lack cohesion together. As for Winter, the black pantsuit seems like a thruway and why, why why, a glittery disco bomber. 

But, it’s the last look that has me stumped; it literally said Nut House to me, and not in a good way. It was creepy and sad and kinda evil looking.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Adorable Zac Posen™ wanted to see more of an evolution in Helen’s designs; he thought he looks were contemporary, and that the Spring looks worked the best. He loathed the flats on the first Summer look — he said they threw off the look — but adored the black pantsuit.  He called the last look lackluster … which was very kind. Guest Judge Mira Sorvino loved the black pantsuit as well — she saw Angelina wearing it in a movie, or something — and loved the Chanel-ness of the first look. 

Isaac loved that her girl was flirty, but demure — kind of ‘Come here, no, go away — and loved the heavy skirt; he wanted the heavy skirt … he could rock that heavy skirt. But he thought Helen needed top pick her battles because her last look seemed unresolved, unfinished … and scary?  Alyssa loved the two Fall looks, but felt the Winter pieces didn’t go together and didn’t belong in the collection. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loves Helen’s sensibility; the Bohemian, yet controlled quality of her clothes. She loved the fourth look, but felt it had some problems, and she hated all the different hemlines and wanted to wander through with scissors and cut some dresses off. Lastly, she, like everyone else, loved the long wool skirt.

WHAT HAPPENED

Isaac calls Helen compelling, but says her clothes carry too much emotion, and The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ agrees, saying Helen is better when she goes lighter in her designs. Isaac suggests that, while he does like Helen’s aesthetic, that she is not a contender.

Helen goes Third.

SONJIA

She decides that her girl is … her; bold, sassy, edgy and cool. But then she somehow translates that to what she calls Urban Egyptian. And she buys lace … again … perforated leather … again … bold colors … again … and some knits.

Zanna likes Sonjia's plan for a knit gown, but calls the coat fabric drapery fabric and warn that it might be shapeless.

WHAT I SAID

We’ve seen the first look before. Perforated leather crop-top? Check. Sheer long skirt over mini-skirt? Check? Only the flounce is new and, well, I don’t like a flounce. We’ve also seen the second look before: lace dress over a mini-skirt. 

As for the third look, it’s almost an exact copy — though longer — in the exact same fabric of a dress she did during the season. And the swimsuit? Seen it this season, too.  The knit vest looks a little Bea Arthur as Maude, which, while I love me some Bea and some Maude, doesn’t make it look Urban or Egyptian. The pantsuit, though, does work, in both fabric and design. 

And that drapery coat? The best thing she did; it looks so simply, but so cool. The last look, the knot gown? Okay, I see a little Urban and a little Egyptian, but that’s about all.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Isaac said she created some, some, really beautiful pieces, and that her strength is in redesigning proportions. He adored the mummy coat, calling it the ‘New’ Winter Coat, but hated the yellow skirt with its different hems and that flounce; it was too heavy. Mira Sorvino said some pieces felt regal — which means she got the Urban Egyptian vibe — and loved the pantsuit.

The Adorable Zac Posen™ thought she created a real mood with her looks. He didn’t think the gown was as modern as the rest — he called the yellow trumpet dress futuristic — but said the red lace number was market ready. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ agreed that the red lace dress was gorgeous, and loved the color; again? She loved all the colors and patterns and textiles in the collection, and thought the jumpsuit was good. She also loved the coat, but having it worn over a heavy sweater seemed off. 

Alyssa also loved the jumpsuit, but she felt that the vest, with the zipper, looked cheap; and she also cheered the coat.

WHAT HAPPENED

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ thinks Sonjia’s clothes could translate to the real world, as they are relevant, but not over-thought. The Adorable Zac Posen™ said she has a ‘real’ voice, while Isaac says her clothes liberate a woman. 

Alyssa, though, pointed outta ht some looks were retreads of clothes she showed during the season and The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ agreed, saying they weren’t any better ion the finale.

All that means is Sonjia gets Second.

DMITRY

I loathe his ego, and I loathe his repetition, and I loathe that he called his collection, fluid and fragile, asymmetrical and symmetrical, modern and cosmopolitan. It sounds like he was covering all bases so no matter what he showed, it would fit his aesthetic. In the end, however, he called his collection The Art of Fashion, saying they were pieces of art the modern woman would collect over time.

Zanna said his clothes were very Dmitry, though she worried because he hadn’t really created four season looks, but was creating looks that he would simply fit into a season — which is what Dmitry does: he designs and then explains how it works in the challenge.

WHAT I SAID

I loved the first look; edgy and cool and different. And while he employed that same see-though cut-out technique he used in his own season to win, and in the Couture Challenge this season to win, I liked that it was most of a subtle detail. It wasn’t so subtle in the second look which seemed too big on the model — like she was wearing her mother’s suit. 

As for the blue sequined number? Where oh where, and how oh how, does that fit into this collection at all? And then to follow it with the lone flowy dress, with the asymmetrical hemline? They don’t fit together, or in the collection. I liked what was called The Weed Dress, though it was better from the back, but then the second Fall look and the first Winter look seemed like a pair that went well together but crossed the seasons. 

The last dress with the splotches of fringe was just a WTF for me. I didn’t get it.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa likes that his work is so controlled; she called it amazing. She loves The Weed Dress, but felt that the second look was just too heavy for Spring. She loved the first look, and said the fit on the pant was great. Isaac, however, thought the fit on the pant was off, and it you design something that focuses on a woman’s crotch it had better be spot on.  He did like the heavy sleeves and shoulder pads because he likes the 80s and thinks they’re still here, and he also loved the op-art looks on the end of Fall and the onset of Winter. 

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called him a master of technique, and loved The Weed Dress because of its relaxed fit; She agreed that the second look was heavy, though she loved the coat, and called the sequin dress a hit-or-miss look. Mira Sorvino was all about the pink dress with the lace-up detail, calling it bondage, while The Adorable Zac Posen™ singled out The Weed Dress, but hated the shoulders on all the looks, and thought the second look’s skirt was dated.

WHAT HAPPENED

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ thinks Dmitry's looks are cool and aloof and not quite approachable, while Mira Sorvino says she sees confidence, consistency and strength in his clothes. Isaac likes that he’s bold in his silhouettes, and Alyssa loves that his designs are sometimes masculine. 

The Adorable Zac Posen™ agreed that he’s strong, but said the pink dress was a misfire and should never have been shown in this collection.

So, Dmitry, winner of his season, is the winner of All-Stars.

I felt all their final collections were kind of retreads of things they’d shown this season, or on their season — or, in Dmitry’s case, both. I kinda wish the show would have given them more time — I mean four days? Sheesh!—and then structured it so that they wouldn’t repeat looks, but could, if they were strong enough, improve on some looks.

As for future seasons? Well, let’s not have winners on; I think they need to give shots to those who didn’t win, not those who’ve already won. I mean, if the PR is supposed to jumpstart their careers, why are they back looking for another win?

That said: no more Kate. She’s had far too many shots at the PR and she needs to sit down for a good long time.

And, well, here goes: I may have to stop with “The Adorable Zac Posen™” because I think Isaac will now fill that seat; I love his critiques, because he seems fair and balanced — and not in a Fox News way — but he’s also fun and encouraging; yeah, The Adorable Isaac Mizrahi™. I like it.

Now, on to the show. It felt all season that Dmitry would show at The Tents — or the nightclub — and as it got closer it felt like he would win. Does that mean it’s all planned? Well, maybe not so much, but, again, I’d like some fair critiques, like calling out people for doing something you’re already done; like calling out people for the same drab looks; like calling out people for crap work.

Get tougher. Get better.

What did YOU think?