Project Runway All Stars - October 25, 2012 | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Project Runway All Stars - October 25, 2012

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My sewing skills can best be described as self-taught, and I sew only for my dollies, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. When I think of the singers who are curvier, such as Aretha Franklin, they tend to wear drapier garments, often with several gauzy layers, which means that Ulli actually would have managed to craft a flattering outfit for her. But another way to go might be something more structured, sleeveless but with a v neck. (Not a deep v--not to show cleavage but to lengthen the neck.) I'm not sure that Anthony Ryan would have had the skill to go either of those ways, because I'm sure that's not something people learn in design school. His idea about how to use the ombre fabric, darker on top and lightening downward, was very clever.

Heyang, that's a good point about how some of the celebrities are more involved. I don't know the extent of involvement of everyone you mentioned. I know the Olsens have a lot to do with the business itself, being apparently rather savvy businesspeople by now, but I know nothing about their clothes-making savvy. (I wouldn't want to judge them on the grounds of what they wear themselves; they're so petite, and their clothes often swallow them up!) Could you tell us more about the ladies you mentioned and how they take part in their businesses? I'm always curious about how those things work. Some celebrities really work to learn the other field they lend their name to, and it's interesting to see that.

Dee, I'm glad you remember that scene, too. I was so impressed with Michael's self-restraint. He spoke the truth without any hint of trash-talking or snideness. I was also a bit taken aback at Sheree's lack of follow-through.
 

heyang

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Here's some looks from Holmes and Yang

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spri...yang#holmes-yang/full-length-photos/gallery/1

From what I know of the Oleson's, they are pretty active in establishing the theme and look of their clothing lines - selecting materials, etc. I don't get the sense that they actually put pencil to paper and sketch, but that they explain to designers what they envision and the designers sketch. Then they collaborate on the details for manufacturing specs, etc. They aren't necessarily what I would wear either. I believe they have several lines.

http://olsenboye.com/

http://elizabethandjames.us/

BTW, a lot of big names have designers who work for them. I work for a PVH - we own Calvin Klein, Bass, Izod, Van Heusen and Tommy Hilfiger and own the manufacturing licenses for Geoffrey Beene, and other brands. Neither CK nor Tommy are involved in the day-to-day design work. At this point, Tommy is the 'face' of the brand and the company must adhere to his requirements for the theme of the line (preppy with a twist.) but he is not actively involved in the design process. Francisco Costa is the designer who manages CK Womenswear Collection - what you see on the runways at Fashion Week.
 
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Thanks so much for the links and inside information! That's about six times what I knew before reading your post.

I just watched what I suppose is the semifinal of Project Runway All-Stars. Ulli must be the luckiest contestant ever: she has gotten to go to Paris twice.

I won't say more until some more of you check in after seeing this week's episode. To me, the garments were all lovely; there was nothing I disliked. The final twist brought out something unbelievably impressive in the contestants. Everyone, please report soon on your reactions; I can't wait to hear what you think.
 

louisa05

Final Flight
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Thanks so much for the links and inside information! That's about six times what I knew before reading your post.

I just watched what I suppose is the semifinal of Project Runway All-Stars. Ulli must be the luckiest contestant ever: she has gotten to go to Paris twice.

I won't say more until some more of you check in after seeing this week's episode. To me, the garments were all lovely; there was nothing I disliked. The final twist brought out something unbelievably impressive in the contestants. Everyone, please report soon on your reactions; I can't wait to hear what you think.

I thought Emilio's seemed heavy and bulky and not young at all. AR's was meh. Too much black. Uli's...I don't know. And Joshua...I liked what he did with it for the "twist", but the original, not so much. Maybe if the floral had been a smaller print, it could have worked.
 
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I am a bit tired of black dresses too, but I loved AR's dress because of the lines. The front panel and especially the collar really attracted me. Wish he'd used burgundy or aubergine or midnight blue instead, but the dress itself was lovely and showed his ability to cut and tailor (or whatever they call it in a formal gown).

Wasn't it amazing what Joshua and Ulli did for the "twist"? The thing that gets me about Ulli is that she always seems so calm. She seems to pull this stuff out of nowhere, and she never looks stressed or sleep-deprived or anxious. Also, I'm impressed at how much she seems to have learned since her first stint on PR. She always did flowing print dresses the first time around. Now she seems to have acquired a whole raft of other techniques. I'd love for her to win, though I suspect Anthony Ryan will. He's certainly deserving of it, and I wouldn't be disappointed if he did pull it off.
 

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
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Olympia, I recorded the show and the last few minutes was cut off. Didn't Josh get the boot?? How did the judges come to the conclusion??? I actually liked both of their new designs, I thought Uli's was the best. I didn't like Josh's original design maybe if the top was all black lace I would've like it better. Emilio's dress was super constructed. His darts and seaming all matched....how difficult. I used to have arguments with this guy at work because he would judge based on what he thought looked good. I said but you missed the detail and work What a great challenge...I would love to have seen Alexander McQueen's challenge when they said he did the same thing.

So Olympia, how did the judges come to their conclusion???
 

heyang

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Overall, I thought they all had good concepts.

I agree that Emilio partly won because of the quality of the craftsmanship. That dress looked really well made and the seaming and lines were interesting, although it wasn't a 'young' dress, but that doesn't mean that it's not couture.

I didn't care for the all black of AR's dress either, but, again, it was really well made. As the judges mentioned, you couldn't see the lining even though it was lace.

I thought Uli's couture dress was good from the front, but there was something off about the back.

I agreed with Emilio about Josh's couture dress - the material for the top and bottom were just too different and the material for the skirt didn't say 'expensive'. The 2 materials did look better together in the 2nd look which was for a younger person, which made the print more appropriate imho.

For me, Uli was safe because the over all looks of her 2 pieces were cohesive individually and together. Whereas Josh's pieces were cohesive together but the 1st piece wasn't as cohesive as an individual item.

I really don't remember AR from his 1st season, while I do remember Emilio and Uli. For some reason, I don't think Emilio will win, but I think it's a toss up between AR and Uli for the win.
 
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Olympia, I recorded the show and the last few minutes was cut off. Didn't Josh get the boot?? How did the judges come to the conclusion??? I actually liked both of their new designs, I thought Uli's was the best. I didn't like Josh's original design maybe if the top was all black lace I would've like it better. Emilio's dress was super constructed. His darts and seaming all matched....how difficult. I used to have arguments with this guy at work because he would judge based on what he thought looked good. I said but you missed the detail and work What a great challenge...I would love to have seen Alexander McQueen's challenge when they said he did the same thing.

So Olympia, how did the judges come to their conclusion???

I think they decided that Ulli's two looks went better together and were more original and exciting. The judges didn't really comment specifically at the end. They just voted by paper ballot: each wrote a name down on his or her scorecard, and the votes were tallied. Beforehand, Cynthia Rowley said laughingly that Ulli's dress was a big "[bleep] you" because the judges had expressed a dislike of the lining, so Ulli made her second dress entirely out of the lining.
 

Dee4707

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Heyang said:
I didn't care for the all black of AR's dress either, but, again, it was really well made. As the judges mentioned, you couldn't see the lining even though it was lace.

For some reason, I thought AR said there wasn't any lining.


Beforehand, Cynthia Rowley said laughingly that Ulli's dress was a big "[bleep] you" because the judges had expressed a dislike of the lining, so Ulli made her second dress entirely out of the lining.

I loved that even though I don't necessarily use that kind of language. The look on Uli's face was OMG. I think after that was said...the recording ended. Did they say who voted for who??? I would think it was unanimous for Uli.
 
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I don't use that language either, but it did work well, didn't it? I don't recall that they said who voted how, but I'm just glad they kept Ulli.

Like you, I also remember that Anthony Ryan said that there wasn't a lining. I think the guy is a really wizard technician, which is one reason I'm so glad he's lasted until the final. Between him and Ulli, I'd be happy for a tie.
 

Dee4707

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I'm glad that Uli is in the final too. I think if Josh would stop being arrogant he might be a good designer. I think Uli was good before but now I think she is great. Josh reminds me a little of Laura Kathleen of being a little on the snarky side. He made a comment about Uli's dress being in pieces and so it should be easy to reconstruct it. Laura Kathleen & Josh seem like they know it all where Uli & Anthony Ryan look for new techniques.
 
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I looked up Anthony Ryan and found that he actually got a degree in fashion (a B.A.) and business administration from Louisiana State University. So his technique isn't self-taught. This kind of training can give a great deal of freedom, because a designer can make all sorts of creative leaps and know that his technical skills can get the job done. In a show like this, with such high-pressure challenges that have to be done in double-quick time, technical strength can be a huge advantage (though it certainly can't replace creativity!). This guy has a lot of potential whether he wins or not this time around.
 

Dee4707

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The top 4 in Fan Favorite

1. Anthony Ryan (92369 votes)
2. Andrae (52606 votes)
3. Casanova (38846 votes)
4. Uli (35169 votes)

and this is hard to understand but

5. Laura Kathleen (23680 votes)
 
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Really, Laura Kathleen ahead of people like Peach? Well, to each his own. Glad Anthony Ryan and Uli did so well, though.
 

Dee4707

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I'm also shocked that Andrae is 2nd. I liked Casanova, I hope he gets it but I think Anthony Ryan will, I think he got it on his season. I don't remember how far he got but it seems like he was sent home right in the middle.
 

heyang

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The top 4 in Fan Favorite

1. Anthony Ryan (92369 votes)
2. Andrae (52606 votes)
3. Casanova (38846 votes)
4. Uli (35169 votes)

and this is hard to understand but

5. Laura Kathleen (23680 votes)

I agree, but then again it is a fan based contest and some contestants actively campaign for votes more than others, which skews the title IMHO. I was surprised by the fan fave of last season's Top Chef - Chris 'Malibu' Crary and it was alluded to that he actively campaigned for fan fave. If not for the nickname, he didn't particularly stand out and finished 9th out of 16. What made him 'favorite'? There were many other contestants who were as likeable if not more likeable than him.
 

Dee4707

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My order for win

1. Uli
2. Emillio
3. Anthony R.

Actually any of the 3 would be OK. I'm excited to see their collections tonight. I was surprised to see the show is only an hour long.
 
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Yipes, just an hour? This is unbelievable. They get five days to show a collection.

I know what I'd do. Years ago I saw a video of a fashion show where a single model kept taking off layer after layer. Each layer was an entire look. All of them were graceful. (The outer look was surprisingly unbulky--kind of an Elizabethan silhouette.) Wouldn't that be fun to try?

I'm sorry that Uli is doing mostly white fabrics for her collection, but I'll trust her. In terms of team, I think that I feel most confident about Anthony Ryan and Kayne, who seem very compatible in terms of temperament, focus, and techniques.
 

Dee4707

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Just a little surprised who won, not because I don't think they're good but I thought their collection was the weakest of the 3. The 2nd guest judge was getting a little on my nerves but other than that I'm Ok with who won, just not so impressed with the collection. When everyone had a chance to watch then I'll say more.
 
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I thought that young Miss Missoni was a bit arrogant, but in her defense (1) she's speaking not in her native tongue but in a second--or third, or fourth--language, and (2) she's part of a family that is fashion aristocracy and probably doesn't ever have to take anyone else's opinion into account. This is a moment to feel sorry for her in any case; I don't know all the family relationships, but that might be her father who was missing on the airplane in Venezuela or Brazil or wherever. (Remember that these shows were filmed awhile ago.) So I mind her attitude less than I thought I would. The other judge was great fun, wasn't she.

I'll also wait to say more until more people view the show. I agree with you about respecting the designer but not that collection. But all three of them really pulled it out of thin air, didn't they?
 
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