Project Runway All Stars 2/25/16--"A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N Roll" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”: the challenge was to make a garment that would be put in front of a wind machine. So supposedly the designers were going to think about movement and flow. In reality the movement only looked cool when shown in slow motion from the side. Otherwise the wind was very strong. Also in practice almost everyone made capes. Mitchell is still obsessed about Sam saying shit on his blog, which is a year old and maybe get over it? Although maybe Sam could offer some vague apology that everyone knows is fake but is technically the right thing to do? Anyway, Sam is the winner, for an actually decent dress. Fade is out, which is dumb because although his dress wasn't great, it came down to Emily and Fade, two low-drama people. As opposed to Mitchell's fugly dress with streamers in the skirt and drama with Sam. (click for more)

Alyssa introduces Little Big Town, which is a country group if you don't know. Asha has been to a concert. Not who I expected. The girls in the group talk about fashion and red carpet and style. The designers have to work in pairs to execute an “opposites attract” theme, but with two looks so they might as well have worked alone. The group will wear the winning looks on the red carpet at the Academy of Country Music Awards. OK so it's a red carpet challenge, for two women in the same group, so there needs to be coordination. Fine, I'm not opposed to having to coordinate, but team challenges are just an excuse to “randomly” pair people who hate each other.

Sam wins so he gets to pick all the teams. Sigh. He wants to work with Kini, because he sews so fast. At least Ken seems to respect that. Asha and Alexander, Leyana and Emily, Ken and Dom, Valerie and Stella, Mitchell and Daniel Franco. Ha! Daniel Franco hates it. Listen, this is lower-drama than it could have been. Stella and Valerie are already opposites in terms of aesthetic. Asha tells us she is going to “take on the light”. Kini's outfit looks kind of like his gown from last week: long and flowy and ombre. Daniel Franco is apparently doing neoprene on top and lace on the bottom. What? Oh, Daniel Franco.

10 hours to work. Mitchell has ended up with shiny pink satin. It seems pretty tacky, and Daniel Franco is bossing him around to make sure he does something good. Mitchell is pissed, so clearly it's not just Sam who pushes his buttons. The next thing we see is Mitchell bitching to Stella and her telling us in confessional that Sam is clearly trying to get someone eliminated. Mitchell thinks he can do elegant and beautiful with bubble gum pink satin but whatever. Sam claims he paired up people with their opposites, and Mitchell and Daniel Franco are “leftovers”. Kini laughs and immediately goes to gossip to Alexander. They try to get Sam to say some shit while Mitchell is around but he doesn't fall for it.

Zanna time. Alexander and Asha are doing “dark and light”. Both of them have tricky fabrics. Daniel Franco talks about bondage or whatever and Zanna tells him to not make straps underneath. Mitchell interviews that Zanna is totally right and it's terrible, as he stands next to a pink dress with a deep V and fabric flowers all over it and yards of light pink ruffles. Terrible. Zanna tells Daniel Franco to help him edit more. Hee. Dom and Ken need to stay cool. Layana and Emily don't go together; they're jarring. Sam is making a jumpsuit. Zanna is super concerned because it does not go with Kini's at all. Stella complains that Valerie talks way too much.

Model fitting. Stella's fabric is puckering. Daniel Franco is still ordering Mitchell around, and probably Mitchell should listen. Sam is still working on his pants, and Kini is actually getting pissed which is impressive. He has to do work for Sam, finishing the pants. That sucks.

Runway Day. Kini actually makes a top for Sam's garment, meaning the only thing Sam seems to have done is to sew the basic fabric together for pants. Valerie tries to help Stella by making a belt, and Stella complains that it's not how she does it and Valerie is so annoying. Just say “thank you” and don't use it. Come on, Stella. Hot makeup guy Scott. Daniel Franco's model keeps hiking up the top of the bodice.

Guest judges are Karen and Kimberly from Little Big Town. Asha: short white cocktail dress with full elbow length sleeves. The whole thing is covered in white lace and is maybe two pieces? There is a little sliver of skin at her waist. A little shimmery,and the lace is like big leaves. Alexander: long gown with one shoulder and a high slit. The gown is a dark blue with black tulle on top. The skirt is really big and the back continues the asymmetry with a cutout. I could see these two together.

Mitchell: the bodice is a deep V in white with dark pink fabric flowers on it. However they look like fur or something and don't make any kind of pattern. The skirt is light pink, gathered and looped and all pulled up to her waist in the front so she looks like she's trying to hide a pregnancy. This thing is terrible. I would have designed it as a 6 year old when I wanted to be a princess. When she turns around you can see all the pieces of fabric just attached wherever on her back. Is it a cape? This is not good. Daniel Franco: black bandeau top with a strip in the middle going up to a collar. Then black leather lace from under her boobs to the floor. One layer of lace, so she's basically wearing black underwear with a lace tube. This is also terrible, so I guess they go together because they both suck? Actually the collar part is the neckpiece and the skirt attached to each other, over the bra.

Stella: black leather gown (or probably pleather since it looks pretty cheap) with a strapless sweetheart neckline and a long skirt with a high slit. The skirt wraps a little bit but I'm pretty sure I can see the model's underwear. The fabric looks terrible. Valerie: white jumpsuit, sleeveless with a deep V and some lace at the shoulders. The pants are really full, and overall it looks fantastic. There are thin criss-crossing straps in the back, and a peplum so it looks like two pieces. These two looks don't go mainly because Valerie's looks like it costs ten times what Stella's costs.

Sam: black or maybe navy jumpsuit, not as full pants as Valerie. Sleeveless with a V neck and a giant scarf/neck bow. Over the bodice is some tulle to change the silhouette. The pants have a windowpane pattern. Kini: long blue dress with a lighter blue print overlay. The dress has a mermaid skirt and a halter neck (the kind where the dress comes to a point and there are spaghetti straps looped around the neck to hold it up). The print is sewn along the neckline so it drapes down to the floor, and also makes big sleeves that are off the shoulder. The sleeves follow the line of the bodice but because the print is so full it all looks kind of droopy. I guess these looks go together? They seem to be the right level of casual vs. dressy.

Ken: another pantsuit. The top is in leather? Vinyl? It's got short sleeves and a V neck, but not that deep. The pants are full but are also cropped and have pockets. Dom: tight white dress, below the knee, with long sleeves and a high neck. There are lines running from one wrist, across the front of the dress to the other wrist, and some other patterns on her shoulders. I think both of these looks are a lot of nothing but since I am pretty sure this is the first we've seen of them I'm sure these two are fine.

Layana: long gown in powder blue chiffon. The top has three straps, two over her shoulders the normal way and one diagonal strap. The bodice has some flowers across it, and then there is a short skirt with a sheer overlay. It looks like a bridesmaid dress (supposedly their opposites are “bride and groom” and this is the bride). There's a slight dotted pattern to the blue. Emily: dark red bodice, deep V and sleeveless with a thick waistband and a long peplum. The pants are shiny red full pants. I don't remember these looks either.

Ken, Dom, Layana, and Emily are safe. See? I told you. Asha, Alexander, Kini, and Sam have the high scores. Asha and Alexander did “light vs. dark”. Asha's look had sequins underneath for some shimmer. Isaac loves Asha's dress but the cutout is a little ragged. They like the shimmer. Alexander's blue has a print, which they really like. The back is a little heavy but overall a great job. Sam explains their “east vs. west” thing. Isaac likes them both but they aren't really opposites. Alyssa curses and says Sam's look is maybe her favorite look ever, but it possibly is not red-carpet ready. They praise his look a lot but Sam never says how much of it was Kini's work (that we see). Kini's look had fantastic motion but standing still it's not as great.

Mitchell for some reason speaks up and says he's going to let Daniel Franco speak because it was all his idea. They did “pleasure vs. pain.” Fine, but why didn't you just let him talk instead of very obviously trying to throw him under the bus? Mitchell's look seems undone, especially the skirt. The gathered fabric and loops end at her knees and then it's just a straight pink skirt. They like the top for some reason. Daniel Franco's dress is too slutty and objectifying. Valerie's jumpsuit is lovely but has a drawstring waist, so it seems like it's maybe too casual for the red carpet. The drawstring is actually for what I thought was a peplum, but is actually flaps/”petals”. Valerie turns it around so the tie is in the back and it's much better. Stella should have lined the fabric because it is bad. Also I did see her underwear because the judges all bring it up.

Back in the Scrap Bin everyone talks about what happened and Kini silently fumes. Asha and Alexander's looks go together and are not boring. Sam's top is great but his pants are too casual, and Kini's dress is dramatic but doesn't look good when it's not in motion. They still love Mitchell's top, so whatever, but the skirt is a shitshow. Craft project gone wrong. Daniel Franco thought he was “edgy” but in reality it was super tacky and inappropriate. Georgina argues that Valerie should be safe because of her great jumpsuit. Isaac argues that Stella had a great design but a really poor fabric choice. So the question is should an All-Star be expected to have better sense picking out fabric? Probably yes.

The winners are Asha and Alexander! Yeah that is the right choice. Sam and Kini are also in. Asha and Alexander are really pleased. Stella and Valerie are in. Oh look, it's just like the first episode. Mitchell needs to translate his ideas into actual clothes. Daniel Franco had a good silhouette but sending a woman down the red carpet that exposed is not acceptable. Daniel Franco is out. He actually seems to take like five seconds to figure out he's eliminated. Mitchell is in. Daniel Franco seems to be taking things well.

Next week: unconventional materials challenge in some warehouse with who knows what. Some strangely not terrible looks.