PR All-St★rs 5: Finally! The Finale!!

Let’s not beat around the bush … Sam is gone, and along with him most of the drama, so we can just dive into the challenge and what happened in the finale!

The Top Three — Ken, Dom and Kini — meet Alyssa on the 102nd floor of the new One World Trade Center — with those amazing views of La Grosse Pomme — and get down to the basics of the final challenge.

The designtestants will create an eight-piece collection — including a menswear piece — inspired by their time in New York City this season. They have four scant days and $3000 to get this thing done.

Let’s rip …

DOM

She’s inspired by her first visit to New York and the sensory overload she felt as she arrived; she’s going for chaos, and people and lights and sound, and will handpaint her own prints and then mix those with some striped fabrics from Mood.

Zanna is worried about the silhouettes — the word ‘blob’ was bandied about … not a good word for fashion — but she loves Dom’s painted textiles.

WHAT I SAID

I love that print on the first look; it reminds me of a wet street with the lights of New York reflected in a puddle. I don’t even mind the shape … blob that it may be. The second look is better on the body and very urban edgy, while I was not a fan of the black skirt on Number Three — though I liked the draping of the top. The all-black Number 4 didn’t do anything for me until I saw it up-close; it seemed kinda shapeless until you could see the shape.

The menswear look was a miss; I loathed that painted fabric; it looked First Grad Butcher Paper Art Project to me; and the pegged pant seemed like a cheat. I loved the kimono jacket, though I wish she’d gone bigger and more exaggerated with it.

Oy. That high-low side skirt thing again; Dom, it didn’t work the first time why give it to us again? Lastly, the gown; bad print and an odd construction; the model seemed to have trouble walking and yet the skirt was so big.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it amazing and energetic, and she loved the impressionist print far better than the bad plaid. She loved the all-black look, but also agreed with me that the last skirt was off, but disagreed with me … she was no fan of the kimono. She did say that Dom has a very clear message with her designs.

Isaac says she nailed it; he loved Dom’s chaos inspiration of New York and loved the black skirt on Look #2 the best — he said he could wear it every day. He also wasn’t a fan of the skirt on the last look, but he loved the top.

Guest judge, actress Debra Messing loved the elegant, effortlessness of the first look but gave the last look a “Meh.” And she didn’t care for the kimono, either, but loved the jumpsuit beneath it.

Fellow guest judge, Marie Claire Editor-In-Chief Anne Fulenwider, loved the first look, hated the kimono look, calling the jacket clumsy … though she hated using the word clumsy. But she applauded the risks Dom took.

Alyssa loved the man’s shirt — seriously? — and even loved the wackadoo skirt of the last look, but she didn’t like the handpainted textiles as much as the others.

KEN

He first starts off thinking about the Harlem Renaissance but then shifts gears to a more blasé idea of being inspired by the architecture of the city. He chooses a black and white color palette with some vibrant, taxicab yellow thrown in for good measure.

Soon, though, he nixes the yellow and I worry the collection will be boring; even Zanna urges him to bring the yellow back and he relents.

WHAT I SAID

The clothes are pretty and well-made, but man I wanted some color and some pizazz; Ken has his own unique style, with an edge, and he should bring that to his designs.

I loved Look #1, very elegant, and loved the coat on Look #2, though I loathe a Capri pant, especially a skintight Capri pant. Looks #3 and #5 seemed like nothing at all—just basic black dresses—but I did love the menswear look a lot. Look 3% had a weird crop top that made the model’s boobs look like a shelf. As for #7, I don’t like culottes, but I liked this look because of the shock of yellow. Lastly, the gown; a simple gown, but the neckline and back made it special, though I wished it was longer.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Isaac loves the idea of Look #2 and the wide-legged pants on Look #1; he calls Ken’s collection “the most commercial, most cohesive, and in a way, the most chic.”

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ agrees about the oversized “trouser” — I’m’a have to start saying trouser instead of pant — and loves that there was a dash of yellow in a black and white collection. She was not a fan of the too-simple black dresses.

Debra Messing loves Look #2 and also agrees about the yellow — take note, Ken, color is good.

Anne Fulenwider, however, does not like the pant on Look #2 or the top on Look #1 — she calls them schizophrenic. She dubbed the collars ‘Cruella de Vil’ and wishes there had been a ‘Wow’ moment.

Alyssa disagrees; she likes the strong look of the cropped pant on Look #2 and she admires Ken for taking some risks, but then she said the collection looked like the cast photo from a TV show.

KINI

He was moved by the gridlines of the city as seen from One World Trade Center and so he picked plaids in a rainbow of colors because he’s Kini. And he’s doing Kini … some fabulous, some wacky, some over-the-top.

Zanna warns him to pull back on the gimmicks — mostly, though on the menswear because she seemed fine with the over abundance of ruffles.

WHAT I SAID

Kini’s was “The Show.” I’ll give him that. The first look was uptown girl headed downtown in a cool jacket, while Look #2 was basic dress with a side flounce which I didn’t get. I loved the menswear, especially the pants which I would pair with the shirt Ken made for his male model; I did not, however, like the cheat of the pegged leg — and I say cheat because I wonder if the pants were even hemmed or just rolled up. 

Look #4 seemed a little ‘school girl secretarial pool,’ while the bubble dress was interesting but kind of a blob. Kini brought out the same back ruffle — although less exuberant — that he used in the Fairytale Challenge but made up for that with the blue plaid dress with the big bow at the neck; by far my favorite because it was cute with an edge. 

Then Kini ended the show with a fabulously over-the-top coat and simple dress. I did love the use of color, though I wished they hadn’t all seemed like the same plaid in different hues and I wish there’d been less ruffles.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa says the collection made her smile, and pointed out the amazing construction. She liked the blue dress and called the last jacket ‘ballsy.’

Isaac called the collection "refreshing" and liked the more evening gown looks; in fact, he wished Kini had done the back ruffle dress — Look #6 — as a gown.  He does have issues with hems—some could have been shorter while others needed to be longer.

Debra Messing thought Kini’s menswear look was the best of all three designers.

Anne Fulenwider sees an '80s aesthetic in Kini—Madonna, 'Desperately Seeking Susan.’ She is no fan of the blue bubble dress calling it ‘prom,’ but agrees with Debra that the menswear look is great. 

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved the collection because it was fun, and loved the pink back ruffle and the white shirt with the pointed shoulders of the schoolgirl piece. She does think Kini would pick a side — crazy or sedate — because when he tries to do both he misses the mark a little.

Just what I thought. 

Ken was strong and sleek and simple, but needed a punch to be more than safe … in Third Place.

Kini needed to bring it all on every single look and roll with it to be anything other than Second Place.

Dom nailed it. She was Dom all season long, and ended with just being herself. Her clothes were fun and edgy—though that painted plaid was a misfire—and she really has an eye for how to design with mixed fabrics.

As I said, No Sam, no drama; except when the mannequin “fell” onto Dom’s freshly painted leather. But nothing came of that so, yeah, no drama.

And no drama with the helpers who came back because, again, No Sam. Alexander, Asha and Layana just helped, though Layana made a bad choice in seam allowances forcing ken to try and patchwork a pair of pants together.

All in all, though, I loved the finale; the three designers were designers and not just seamstresses. Each had a clear POV and each made some stumbles, but there was art thanks to Dom, commercial appeal, thanks to Ken, and crazy fabulousness thanks to Kini.

Anne Fulenwider was kind of bitchy, and not in a Nina-Garcia-I-Fear-You-But-I-Love-You kind of way. I thought she came off mean and not very helpful.

I adored Isaac; I wanna be friends with Isaac and just sit and listen to him call things “mad.”

And I wanna sit with the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ and just listen to the words she uses; I mean it, I’m’a start saying trouser from now on.

What did YOU think?

PR All-St★rs 5, Ep 11, Briefly, And Ep 12: The Prints Of Ties

A brief recap of PR All-Stars 5, Ep 11 … where the challenge was to create a wearable piece of avant-garde art with a $400 Mood budget and two days to work; here’s the breakdown …

KEN [top left] was empowered by an artist who is empowered by empowered woman; his piece, with a slit for the model to see into the light, was the only thing that resembled avant-garde — though I agree with the judges who said it should have been longer — and so he wins.

KINI [top middle] created a gown, a very pretty gown, but the only thing avant-garde about it is the pretention … having the model wear a full black body suit. Other than that it’s just a Kini gown.

DOM [top right] took a mosaic piece of art and created a mosaic dress; the dress itself isn’t avant-garde, but the coat does give it an edge. So I guess it was Dom-vant-garde?

SAM [bottom left] saw a digital image of an owl and made a rainbow flag kite — as Alyssa called it — because nothing says LGBT equality like an owl? But his sad, draped mishmash nothing of a dress is safe while …

EMILY [bottom right] was inspired by the colors in a painting and created an almost literal translation of the piece; it’s not avant-garde, though it is cool, though not enough to cool down the producers love affair with Drapey Sam who should have gone home; Emily gets the boot.

Now, onto the last episode … PR All-Stars 5, Ep 12 …

Alyssa meets the designtestants on the runway wearing a digital billboard to advertize the show — seriously, talk about product placement. I figured this week would be the Electrified Design week, but, alas, I was wrong.

However, before we good get back to Billboard Alyssa she introduces special guest judge, Nina Motherf**king Garcia, Creative Director of Marie Claire and project runway diva icon judge, and even I begin to tremble.

Nina tells the designtestants that our iPhones and tablets and notebooks and whatever else you call your electronic thing-a-mah-bobs, are the new fashion accessory and that Otterbox — I’m such a luddite I thought it was AutoBox — uses fashion designers to create phone cases; to that end, one Barbara Meyer from Otterbox, steps onstage — and then quickly disappears … never to be seen or heard from again — to tell the designers that this week’s challenge is to create their own prints and then pair that print with another print purchased from Mood and that the winning designer will create an Otterbox case to be manufactured and sold worldwide. Um, Okay?

Let’s rip …

DOM

It’s clear Dom will win this and the producers don’t even bother with an Oh no! She’s going home! edit … though we get a mild scare when Zanna says she doesn’t really like Dom’s idea of painting stripes on the white leather coat.

Dom took her print and her Mood print and made a side-mullet dress worn under a longish leather zebra-stripe-looking coat … not my favorite look … the dress.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina Garcia likes the look, and Dom’s print, but she’s with me on the side-mullet. Alyssa, however, loves the asymmetry of the wrap dress though she wishes it wrapped the other way … which I think it could, given that it, um, wraps? And, naturally, Isaac and the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ love the way Dom mixes prints and prints and prints and stripes.

KINI

He wants to give Dom a challenge — good luck with that — but then he returns to what he does best: an 80s-inspired Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan gown with starship shoulders and a tight fishtailed skirt. In a visit with former All-Star winner Anthony Ryan Auld, he’s told to sex it up because, well, grandma-looking.

Kini’s print, a leaf pattern — which was evident in his computer sketch but less so on the actual fabric — makes up the tuxedo-esque coat, while he uses his Mood print for the long skirt.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loves the silhouette though she thinks Kini needs to reign himself in a bit, and Isaac agrees; he is not a fan of the “cheap” fabric lapels on the coat. Nina says she knew at once this was a “Kini Dress” but she also agrees that the look is over-designed.

KEN

He’s nervous; Ken don’t do prints! And he isn’t good at designing prints either, because he created a sad looking gray “textured” print that he used only on the top half of his look, and used his Mood print — a better looking one, I might add — as the skirt.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says “there is a lack of polish” in his look, which is odd coming from Ken; she also doesn’t care for his prints, both handmade and store-bought. Isaac thinks the proportions are off saying the skirt could have, should have, been shorter, and Nina says she likes the Mood print much better than the Ken print. Ken, I thought, would explode, but this new Ken simply nods and agrees with the judges … no one’s life is threatened during the critique.

SAM

I liked Sam’s print; it looked a little Hawaiian shirt, though he pixilated the print and made it seem more modern. But then he ruined all that by going for that same tired neoprene mesh he’s used challenge after challenge and making a jumpsuit like he’d made in at least three other challenges this season. He tried to justify both choices by saying he loves the mesh and that a jumpsuit is his “signature piece.” I think that means “I make the same look over and over until I get it right.”

Zanna loved the print, hated the mesh, hated the jumpsuit, and with good reason. The jumpsuit was a sack, and the mesh looked like those things you put under area rugs to keep them from sliding — and I know this because one of my chores while at my Dad’s house was to put the non-skid mats under the rugs.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa liked the print … as a phone cover, while the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it “challenging” and the jumpsuit a bit lifeless. Nina likes the coat but not with the jumpsuit and Isaac … Thank You Missus Mizrahi … called out Sam for using the mesh again!

The judges deliberated for TV and then, surprise, Dom wins! She’ll make a mini-collection as will Kini. Quelle surprise.

Then they talk losers … Ken or Sam … and that’s when I note that the show is ninety minutes long this week and so I assume they’ll have Sam and Ken do a Sudden-Death-Redesign-In-A-Hot-Minute Challenge. And they do! Seriously, I saw that coming at least a mile away.

Suddenly, there are two “mystery” boxes with giant question marks on them, and a whole workroom behind Ken and Sam … as if we’re to believe that the producers decided at the last minute to have a Sew Off. Ken and Sam will have one hour to take a winning and a losing look from a previous challenge and make an all-new creation. Ken gets his winning look, and Mitchell’s losing look, from the Baroque challenge, while Sam gets Asha’s winner, and Alexander’s loser, from the Fairytale challenge.

Sam makes a micro-mini — Hi Fine China — dress and then, using Asha’s pants as sleeves and Alexander’s bodice, makes a jacket. But, as per usual, Sam’s construction is a hot mess — I haven’t seen so many loose threads since my crocheted thong unraveled at a pool party last year … just saying. Plus, even though the judges liked the bodice-backed jacket, it looked like a coat worn the wrong way; not a fan.

Ken used his original dress, but made it shorter and removed the beading and added a cap sleeve and tall collar with chiffon from Mitchell’s look. It was all Ken; sleek, sexy, strong … and well-made, given the hour he had.

And so, as the tick-tock begins I am thinking that if the producers send both to the finale I would cut a bitch … and make her into a sport coat … but in the end … sigh of relief … Sam’s out and Ken’s in.

Ninety minutes for this? Seriously, enough with the faux drama and the pre-planned OMG last minute redo challenge nonsense.

That said, I’m glad Sam is out; during last week’s episode when Ken went off on him about how all the other designers work and create and sweat while Sam basically drapes and pins, I knew I wanted Sam gone. It’s true; the others really worked at their looks week after week, while Sam draped and made circle skirts and jumpsuits. I’m happy with him gone.

And ... that said, I did think it was nice that Anger Management Ken took Sam aside and apologized for going off on his; he didn’t mean to be so harsh, though at least this time he didn’t hurl an iron. If only Kini had the balls to build a bridge and get over I Made That Look Gate.

But. Really PR? Why the return of the former All-Stars winners? Oh yeah, to fill ninety minutes. I mean, it was nice to see them all — mostly Mondo, whom I love — but it seemed like a colossal waste of time … airtime and my time.

And Ken will get many Lines of the Night for calling Dom the “Queen of Prints” and the “Goddess of Prints” and the “God of Prints” and then the “Prince of Prints” — that that last one stung a bit since Ken brought up the recently departed Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

I’m looking forward to the finale because these three will really put on a show and there will be fashion. And there will be blood … metaphorically speaking.

What did YOU think?

PR All-St★rs 5, Ep 10: Does Anyone Really Know What A “Badass” Is?

Well, it’s the Final Six, meaning there are no more Safe designtestants; everyone’s a Top or a Bottom … and I’ll leave that there. Still, let’s leave it to Sam to cite that age old Reality Show Mantra: “I don’t like being safe.”

Yeah, we’ll see about that. Alyssa Milano meets the designers on the runway to talk about the “Project Runway All Stars” tradition of giving back. To that end, she introduces Yvonne Niami, founder of n:Philanthropy, a women’s apparel company that gives 10% of its profits to fight pediatric cancer through the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Yvonne says the winner this week will design an exclusive look for the n:Philanthropy summer line.

The designtestants will have $250 and one day to create a modern, sophisticated summer look with a “badass” edge, and we hear every from Ken to Emily to Asha to Sam say that they only design for “badass” women.

Yeah, we’ll see about that, too; let’s rip ….

THE BOTTOMS

KEN

Since “badass” is Ken’s aesthetic, he’ll be making a bell-sleeved top and a skirt because nothing says “badass” like a look inspired by The Flying Nun. Trouble is, Ken then switches it up from a dress to separates to pants to what ends up looking like a jumpsuit after Zanna and Yvonne Niami warn him that his look needs more edge and more sex. And maybe more time because once again Ken is stuck at the last second scrambling to make a top for his look … “badass”?

WHAT HE SAID

Let’s keep in mind, I put this together last minute.

WHAT I SAID

It’s chic, but it is so not “badass”.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ calls it a summer badass, but then, to Georgina, a stark white jumpsuit must be a gang uniform; she does call Ken out on the cheap looking belt, but he did create it in about 90 seconds. Guest judge, actress Debi Mazar, felt that the top was giving her a sort of medical vibe; she clutched her throat and I seriously thought Ken’s look would kill her. She also felt the model's but was more wedgie than edgy. Fellow guest judge, designer Zac Posen, said it was neither fashion forward nor “badass” and called the pants badly constructed,  while Alyssa had trouble justifying a white jumpsuit as a Top Six design. Isaac called Ken out for the too-long pants — to which Ken snapped that the model had no trouble walking. Isaac then said, “It’s not easy for me to be the biggest bitch in the world,” causing the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ and Alyssa to say, in unison, “Really??”

DOM

She spent a great deal of time telling anyone and everyone that she’d been in cancer research for three years before giving that up to do something more worthwhile like fashion design; she says she is inspired by rubber gloves and stainless steel … and I’m also gonna leave that there without comment.

She doesn’t want to do lightweight fabrics even if this is a summer look, and picks metallic’s and brocades and silvers and ribbons to create a Dom Textile. The skirt that she quilted from lamé looks suspiciously like the pants Layana created for the athleisure wear challenge last week and yet no one called her out on that. Zanna and Yvonne did, however, call her out on the heaviness of the fabrics and the length of the skirt, though Dom didn’t shorten it at all because of the neck-high — I kid, it was thigh-high — slit.

WHAT SHE SAID

That slit is too high!

WHAT I SAID

It’s a space-age look that doesn’t say summer, or sophisticated or edgy or “badass.”

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Debi Mazar loved the inspiration — she dubbed it “butterfly” — and called it chic and elegant, but said it lacked a waist. Zac said the slit was too high—uh, duh—and wanted some movement in the skirt. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ agreed that the skirt was too heavy and that the look was over-thought, while Isaac called the top an “inside/out aluminum foil” mess and felt that Dom let them all down.

ASHA

She also rode the I Design Badass Train into the workroom, and opted to create a strappy leather top with nude illusion because she was inspired by Josephine Baker. For reference, Josephine Baker used to wear banana leaves while she danced so I didn’t quite get straps of leather to mean La Baker!  Especially straps in dark oxblood leather, which Asha called fresh for summer. Um … okay … until both Zanna and Yvonne called Asha out for the heaviness of her fabrics and the color palette which screamed fall … into the Bottom.

WHAT SHE SAID

It’s such a cool take on this challenge.

WHAT I SAID

The skirt seemed bunched up at the waist because the fabric is so stiff that it won’t lie down; plus, from the rear, the print creates a vah-jay-jay-esque look which isn’t pretty.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said the look wasn’t at all Josephine Baker because La Baker was playful with fashion; she called the look strict and buttoned up and said the harness needed to be juxtaposed with something flowier. Alyssa did, however, love the neckline and the back, but agreed that the fabric was too stiff; Isaac called it “not summer” and “moderate.” Debi Mazar it was dated, like Brigitte Nielsen in the 1980s — and Miss Nielsen was over in the 80s, so, yeah, there’s that.

THE TOPS

SAM

His aesthetic, like Ken’s and Asha’s and Emily’s, is “badass” and so he’s going to make a seersucker jumpsuit because that’s what all the “badass” girls are wearing in Boston in the summer … of 1919. Seriously, you’d really have to know “badass” to make seersucker edgy.

And that’s what Zanna and Yvonne  say, though Zanna adds that she’s seen a jumpsuit from Sam before … and before that, too, and called it safe and the Hamptons … and we all know how “badass” the Hamptons can be. So, again, Sam shreds his look and starts over, and then mutters something about how he’d rather be risky than safe … which begs the question: then why do you always start out making something safe? He ends up with a deconstructed tuxedo that he says a rock star would wear to the VMAs … if they had the VMAs in the 1920s.

WHAT HE SAID

I’m so happy that I decided to shred that initial jumpsuit.

WHAT I SAID

This is the hottest of all hot messes. I can’t even begin to figure out what it is.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Isaac liked the seersucker, though he called it anemic and felt the top looked a little baby bjorn. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ liked it, too, but thought the front piece — the bjorn — was too heavy. Debi Mazar called it a homecoming queen sash, but she did like the shoes … if only this were Project Runway: Pick The Right Shoe, then Sam would win! Zac Posen said a skinny pant and cool top are not enough, and when Sam said this was his second try, Zac said it looked like a save. Alyssa didn’t think seersucker was “badass” and said the design didn’t go far enough.

KINI

Kini is taking a risk; finally, someone is taking a risk, though I am kinda scared. His risk is a genie pant with a swimsuit top and a yellow hounds-tooth cropped jacket. Risk, yes. And he worries that maybe it’s too crazy for the judges, and it doesn’t help when the other designers call it crazy and asks what it is … Seersucker Safe Sam called it an iguana.

Zanna and Yvonne says it’s a lot going on and ask that he tone it down and take away what Zanna called the “disco banana.” So, Kini dyes jacket into an ombré fabric that looked good but did not tone anything down. In the end he loses the jacket and keeps it as a simple white top with genie pants.

WHAT HE SAID

I’m so happy I scrapped the jacket.

WHAT I SAID

While I liked the jacket, without it the look seems edgier and a bit more summer.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zac loved the 50s throwback, which I totally do not see but … and Debi Mazar loved the draping on the pants, calling the look both edgy and feminine; she also stole Sam’s line — that he uses to describe his own looks — and says the model is “serving it.” The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ was perplexed by the look, but intrigued as well because she liked the risk. Isaac said the look had wit and was edgy and ballsy and summer time.

EMILY

She designs for the “badass” girl and is a “badass” herself, though I think blue hair molded into horns and pink eye shadow under and over the eye is more “look at me” than “badass.” And I disagree with Emily that black is “badass,” even in summer; I also disagree a palazzo pant and structured vest power suit is “badass” and I cringe at the idea that she’ll handpaint it.

No handpainting, please! Luckily I get my wish when Zanna and Yvonne love the idea of the suit — minus the pant — but think it needs to be shorter to create that edge. Emily then takes the sheers to the palazzo pant and makes culottes. I’m worried … because I loathe culottes.

WHAT SHE SAID

I love it. I think she looks great.

WHAT I SAID

I’m not getting summer, but there is an edge to the look. And the culottes are so wide they seem like a skirt, which I like better than culottes.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa wants to be the girl who’d wear that look, saying it has a punk quality to it, and that she loves the feminine culottes and the masculine vest. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loves the deconstructed, rebellious schoolgirl attitude and believes that Emily has come into her own as a designer. Zac hated the shoes … again, if this were Project Runway: Pick The Right Shoe, Emily would lose, and Isaac called it tongue-in-cheek sleazy, and said he didn’t get it, but that if Emily could make him feel like an old geezer with her designs she was doing something right.

Ken’s very safe white jumpsuit, with the too-long pants and the wedgie ass are safe, while Dom’s refusal to do a summer textile, and Asha’s use of fall colors for a summer look land them both in the Bottom. In the end, the non-Josephine Baker look of Asha’s sends her home.

As for the tops — and I think there should have been a Bottom Four to include Sam — Sam’s seersucker suck of a look is safe. It comes down to Kini’s risky genie banana pants and Emily’s punk-edge culottes look. And the win goes to Emily.

I would have given Kini the win just for the risk and the fact that his color palette read summer, but, Emily did step it up this week so I’ll give her props. 

Now … Sam really needs to go for several reasons: he always plays it safe, then he says he hates being safe; that little pat on the back he gives himself after he completely scraps a look and starts over is annoying. Howsabout doing something right the first time and not relying on Zanna to give you direction? Plus, that little cutesy wave he gave to Zac Posen was just another attempt to seem flirty and fun though he comes off desperate. Plus, he like says the word like, like every other like word and it’s like the most like annoying thing like ever. Like, stop it.

Dom gets off a couple of Lines of the Night — mostly at Sam’s expense — when she says:

“I don’t understand Sam’s woman, He designs for, like, fifteen year olds.”

“The challenge was not to create a jumpsuit for a breast-feeding mother.”

Ken’s scoop-neck-pec-revealing t-shirt was a little distracting … in a kind of a good way.

So, last week I said it was Emily’s time to leave and here she is a winner. So, maybe next week she goes? Nothing against her but I don’t see her showing a mini collection. I wanna see Dom and Kini show, and then Ken, though I think they’ll keep Sam around for the drama. Unless they let all four show … ?

What did YOU THINK?

PR All-St★rs 5, Ep 9: Touched By An Angel, er, Alyssa

The designtestants are off to Coney Island and a baseball field—home to the Brooklyn Cyclones—where they find Alyssa Milano and the PR Models all wearing Alyssa Milano’s athletic wear designs from Touch by Alyssa Milano. The challenge will be to create an athleisure — elevated streetwear — look that can be worn to a sporting event, but also worn out to dinner or on a runway or catching a foul ball …

The winner this week will have their look made—after it’s modified—and sold as part of Touch by Alyssa Milano. They have one day and $200 to make Alyssa Milano happy so, without another Alyssa Milano, let’s rip …

THE SAFE

EMILY

She said she was taking a plain white ‘T’ and reworking it. She did, though I cannot see a woman cheering on her team unless she wanted her lady parts to fly out. I also didn’t get the slits in the leggings.

THE BOTTOMS

SAM

This is Sam’s wheelhouse; he does athleisure in his sleep … or something. But he also wants to redeem himself from last week’s mesh disaster so he opts to use the same mesh, that blue color I loathe, and lace to create a circle skirt—ooh, how first year design student — that is reminiscent of a cheerleader — ooh, how not the challenge.

Zanna takes a look at his piece, which is mesh in the front and lace in the back — perhaps he saw Dom’s two-sided look and thought he’d give it a go — and she dubbed it two different dresses, Sam loses the back; makes a basic dress and tacks on lace details on the shoulders and hem.

WHAT HE SAID

This is really athleisure couture.

WHAT I SAID

This is really an ice-skating dress for a girl just starting to ice skate.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Kristen Cavallari called it gorgeous, and had a great silhouette and she loved the lace and it was all so beautiful … for a cocktail party, not a game. Alyssa agreed and said it was wrong for the challenge wand was kinda pissed that Sam didn’t adhere to the constraints; she called the look a slap in the face. Isaac, though, said, “This girl loves that dress.” — to which Alyssa said, “Thank you Miss Isaac,” and he replied, “It’s Missus.” — while the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said she would wear that to a game because, to her, it was athleisure; Isaac reminded her that she’d probably prefer it with fur or feathers; the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ also, however, pointed out that it was too simple and not very well executed.

KEN

He’s a wee bit tired of making gowns so he says he’s up for the challenge and will do a hoodie, in black and white lace … apparently for night games … in the bedroom? But ken has all kinds of issues and, according to Zanna, too many ideas.

He didn’t buy red thread; he sewed part of the look wrong; he has to rip it apart. He storms out … well, he summer storms out because it wasn’t all that; it was just drama because the next day he’s back and scrambling to finish his look in two hours and scrambling to sew on a couple of black lace pockets in the front.

WHAT HE SAID

My look is a little more ‘downtown’ than the girl I normally dress.

WHAT I SAID

Those last minute pockets are just bad, and that dress underneath seems like an odd choice, and then for some reason, as she’s walking away, I get a vibe that it’s kind of a nurses uniform or something. It was a mess.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa loved that it was sleeveless but said she, too, hated the pockets. Worse than that: the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ was disappointed that this was a Ken Creation; bad proportions, bad length for the skirt; bad. Guest judge, reality show star and now a designer… uh huh … Kristen Cavallari, loved the simplicity of it and said she “could see a million girls wearing it.” Isaac said, “Could you see a million girls wear it, or do you see a million girls wear it?” He said girls already have that look, only theirs doesn’t look so cheap.

LAYANA

Another week and another challenge where Layana says she has this … this is what she does … this is who she is; Oy! But then, because she’s been Bottom Feeding for a while now, she takes on a pant that has thousands and thousands of pleats in dozens of panels because she wants to throw everything at the judges.

Sadly, Zanna thinks it looks more sportswear — high-end sweat pants would have been more accurate — and then Layana does herself no favors when she makes a simple white top and the scraps it for some more heavily details sports-bra-t-shirt smashup.

WHAT SHE SAID

She looks so cool, so high fashion!

WHAT I SAID

The top seams too rigid for the pleated sweats and, again, I loathe that shade of blue.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved the pleating detail but thought the proportions of the top were a bit off; she also felt that because Layana was in the bottom so many weeks, that she tried to do too much and created a visual overload … huh, me and GC … GMTA.  Kristen Cavallari also loved the leggings … just not with that top. Isaac sounded the same bell: good leggings, bad top, while Alyssa said it just wasn’t “game wear.”

THE TOPS

ASHA

She’s riding high on last week’s win and has a cool idea; she’ll take the look of a man’s baseball jersey and turn it into a skirt, topping it off with a sports bra. My first thought is: Is a sports bra supposed to be seen? Zanna loves the idea of the skirt but says nothing about the top, so it’s sports bra mania at Asha’s work table.

WHAT SHE SAID

My model looks sporty and badass.

WHAT I SAID

It’s cute, though as I see it, I think it’s kind of a costume, and, yeah, I don’t like the sp0rts bra. I mean, I cannot walk around Camden with a jockstrap on the outside … well, I could, but I don’t wanna spend one more night in the Crazy Tank.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved it, thought it very creative, but wasn’t keen on the buttons down the skirt front; it was also a bit too junior for her. Isaac also disliked the buttons, though he thought the skirt idea was clever, while Alyssa agreed about the skirt and agreed with me about the sports bra. Kristen Cavallari liked the sports details: the striping and the mesh, but also agreed that a better top would have made the look.

DOM

Her ideas scare me a bit; she wants to do a bat-wing dress with a detachable piece along the bottom in mixed fabrics. And here I thought Layana had too many ideas. But, as usual, the mix of fabrics seems to work, and she, once again … like last week, created a kind of peek-a-boo back.

Zanna loved the back and called the detachable hem — taking the dress from long and dark to short and lean — was unique.

WHAT SHE SAID

I love my look … it’s very sophisticated.

WHAT I SAID

It’s kind of mummy from the front, and the head scarf is odd, but the back is, once again, a wow.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Alyssa loved the detachable hem — and I thought it looked so much better short — and called the look brilliant. Kristen Cavallari also liked it better short, but thought it too high-fashion to be game-worthy. Isaac disagreed; he loved the drama of the longer length; and he loved the shapelessness of it, though it still hugged the model’s body. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it a 1920s tennis dress-and by that she meant she loved it; she loved, again, the back detail and the way Dom mixes patterns so well.

KINI

He’s doing three pieces: a coat, some jeans, and a simple top. He also bought the same mesh fabric that Sam used this week—and the same mesh fabric Sam used last week—because, he says, he wants to show Sam how to make mesh work. I seriously wish these two would f**k already and stop sniping at each other like schoolboys with a crush.

Anyway … Zanna loved the jeans, but worried that the coat might be too sportswear and not athleisure enough for the judges.

WHAT HE SAID

It’s so different for me to do ready-to-wear with no drama in it.

WHAT I SAID

I hate Capri pants … or whatever you call that length. But I like the look and the coat is cool.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Kristen Cavallari called the jacket smart and creative, though she thought the rest of the look wasn’t all that.  Alyssa also loved the coat, especially the pleat in the back that made it more fashionable. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called the coat chic and loved the splash of color, but she took issue with the crotch of the jeans. Isaac marveled that Kini, who usually does dresses, pulled off a coat and jeans and a shirt; he praised Kini’s versatility.

Sam, though he swung at it and missed, is safe; Ken, though he fouled out, and took a walk, is also safe. And that leaves us with Layana, who committed her third strike and was sent home.

Howsabout those sports metaphors? Not bad for a queen who can’t throw!

As for the tops: Asha made it to first base despite the button, while Dom rounded second with her dramatic look. But it was Kini who scored a home run this week, his first All-Stars win.

When Sam said, “If I don’t at least end up in the top in this challenge, I might as well go home,” and then finished in the bottom, I kinda hoped the producers would say, “Bye Sam.”

And if they didn’t send him home for that, they should’a booted him for donning his drab circle skirt and spinning like a dreidel.

Line of the Night goes to ken, who knows nothing about sports:

“I don’t know too many sports, but I figured red, black and white had to be somebody’s team.”

Now, as for his exit: that look he gave Dom when she asked if he was all right scared the bejeesus outs me. I’ve been told that I give Good Dirty Looks, but I ain’t got nothing on Ken. That said, his walk-out was a TCV Walkout because if he wasn’t coming back the producers would have sent Alyssa or Zanna in to tell the designtestants and to clear out his stuff. Plus, Ken has to stay in the PR Guest suites with the other designers so even they knew he wasn’t really leaving. Give me real drama, not this made up shiz.

I wanted to smack Sam for his eye-roll when Kini was bragging about his critique because Sam is always bragging about how much the judges adore him; he even bragged about what Kristen Cavallari and the Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said about his look and apparently missed it when Kristen said it was a cocktail dress and not athleisure!

Emily. Emily. Emily. You had one win, which I think was given to you, and always seem to be Safe. It’s time to go. I’m tired of the blue hair—in that blue—and the pink eye shadow. Go home, dear.

What did YOU think?