Project Runway All Stars 2/22/18--"A Kick in the Astro" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”: for some reason everyone had to design for Betty Boop. Why? Who knows why. Also the judges said “curvy” every other word and the winner got a small collection for Torrid, which is a plus-size retailer. But they mentioned this prize once at the beginning of the episode and then never mentioned it again. And didn't have plus sized models. And Betty Boop isn't plus sized. Anyway, the result of this dumb challenge was Josh finally won for something, which was a crop top with a silhouette on it and a mesh skirt with granny panties. Char was eliminated for thinking neoprene would drape and then sewing her skirt into a giant lump (because neoprene doesn't drape). (click for more)

Field trip to the Hudson River Museum. Everyone ends up in the planetarium to find Alyssa and talk about inspiration. This week is avant-garde designs based on the cosmos. Ken won his season so he's feeling confident. Fabio jokes that they have a week, but Alyssa says no, just two days. But they're all happy about that anyway. Mild twist alert. I know I always say twist alert when they get more than a day to do anything, but recently it hasn't panned out. But watch, the one day I don't say it they'll tack on an extra look.

As they watch the planetarium show everyone talks about being inspired by the Milky Way or planets or whatever. You can picture it. For example, Kimberly is inspired by the colors of the neutron star animation in the show. Ken says he's inspired by the black hole, which to me looks basically like the neutron star thing they just showed. Josh is making both armor out of melted hot glue and also chaps. Sweetie didn't you watch Justin's season?

Helen is now remembering how she did very poorly the first time she did avant garde on the show. Anthony teases her about it. “Don't lose your mind, Helen. Lose this contest, but don't lose your mind. I'm just kidding, a little bit.” Hee. Merline seems nervous, but going for it. Anthony makes some pants and talks about execution. But as we've seen, if they don't like the design the execution doesn't matter. Kimberly has some leather she has to use since she doesn't have a lot of options, materials wise. Josh melts hot glue into mats and it really looks like what Justin was trying to do the first time he got eliminated. Now he's whining about how hard it is and he's tired. They leave the first day and no one has a ton of work done.

Day Two. Now things are coming together and people have pieces to look at. Josh's glue isn't sticking to the tape or whatever he's draped it on to dry so he's pleased. Fabio has some complicated technique to make fringe and it's going to take a long time.

Anne comes in and says something about Betty Boop, then about pushing themselves. But the whole thing is in a monotone. Come on Anne. I could fake enthusiasm better than that and I'm a terrible actress. Anthony is advised to “watch the sparkle”. Kimberly has a giant gold capelet. Fabio's textile might not read from far enough away, but he's refusing to change it. Merline has something lumpy looking and Anne is insisting that they've seen this from Merline. Ken is talking about covering his model's face again. Edmond is boring. Helen has a big loop. Josh has a corset? And his glue? He says something about editorial. Man that glue looks terrible. Stanley's design is simple, which he did on purpose, but that's not avant garde. Anne leaves after saying she doesn't see the stories, or something.

I mean you know Anne's advice is pointless. Anthony rolls his eyes to the room about how he's going to use some damn sparkles if he wants. Model fitting. Stanley is planning a mask too. Anthony has some pants that are triangles. Imagine jodhpurs but huge and pointy. Josh feels the glue is his bitch. Kimberly struggles because she only has the leather. I guess she means that's all that's interesting about her look? She's painting and adding crystals. Anthony has a circle with stars and stuff painted on it. Stanley teases him and Anthony responds that it's fine, he'll just need to see Stanley in the ladies room after the runway. Fabio doesn't like his fringe treatment, but it's time to go and he doesn't have a lot of options.

Runway Day. Fabio starts braiding because that's all he can do. Kimberly paints more leather. Hot makeup guy Scott. There is a lot of frantic working happening. Josh is very smug. This is a lot of last minute work. More than they've had recently. Anthony notices there are a lot of looks with sheer skirts or a lot of leg.

Alyssa let someone put her in a short dress with an empire waist that is the exact color of her skin. She looks like she's still pregnant and also naked. Guest judges are RuPaul and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Ru's out of drag today. Winner today gets Marchesa Shoes for their next professional show. Anthony: black pants that are triangular. Like panniers, or jodhpurs, but pointy, and then tapered to the ankle. The top is a regular tank top, but there's a circle attached to her front. The circle and the top part of the pants is that purple/pink mottled look that is stereotypically “cosmic” with sparkly stars in it. The pants look like they're folded over, so the top part that is sticking out so far looks like a very short skirt with several petticoats, with the edges exposed and everything. Merline: short shift dress with several cutouts and pieces, all in white. The dress looks piecemeal, but all the pieces are the same fabric so from far away they blend together. Close up you can see textures and there are some loops and tabs and a handkerchief hem. The bodice especially has a lot of volume to it. Ken: slim black pants and a big black cocoon thing. The top is basically a hip-length cape, with slits for the arms. But it's shaped more like an upside down tulip, where the bottom is narrower than the shoulders (as opposed to the way a cape normally flares out). I thought she was going to open it at the end of the runway but she didn't.

Fabio: knee-length dress in baby blue, with slightly darker blue fringe at the shoulders. The long fringe is actually braided into several braids and then the braids are tied together to sit on her shoulders like sleeves. The rest of the dress looks quilted, with a pattern of vertical lines. The rope belt, though, always reminds me of a bathrobe. Helen: black top with an exaggerated shawl collar and hot pants. The collar sits off her shoulders like a wrap would, and there's also a longer piece in purple that hangs down almost to her knee. On the other side there's a piece hanging down her arm, which I think is just a flap and not a full sleeve. Josh: so there's a sleeveless top, in beige and white, with the glue on top of that. But the glue looks better than what I saw earlier, in that the pattern of the swirls looks more deliberate, and it's more transparent. The glue rectangle hangs down from her neck to past her waist. The beige and white fabric from the top continues down into leggings, I think, and over this are white leather chaps. It looks like a harness, with a part around the waist, down the sides of the hips and then wrapping around her thighs, with some long light beige fabric draping down from here on each side like a split skirt.

Stanley: black baggy harem pants that are gathered two or three inches above the ankle, and a black trapeze top with a vertical white piece. The white sticks out like a flag. There is also a cage over her face, made of thick pieces and sparkles. Kimberly: gold capelet, painted with a light layer of red and covered in crystals. The bottom of this look is black granny panties and a sheer layer of something vaguely sparkly, that ends mid-calf. She's walking carefully so I think that skirt is tight. When she turns around you can see that while the front is cut like granny panties, the back is cut more like a thong. Edmond: long black gown with a deep V. One hip is very puffy, and on the other side there is a stiff ribbon that goes over her shoulder and stands away from her body. The ribbon/sash is in a black and white scribbly print , and once it goes over her shoulder, there's a backing of black and it swirls around her skirt. Then one panel of the skirt is in the print.

Alyssa calls Ken, Helen, and Edmond as safe. Fabio talks about Neptune and creating his whole textile. Georgina loves the geometry but the top is not resolved. Isaac declares that it doesn't work, but it's great, but it's hideous, which is pretty funny. You can see the bottom of the dress is all frayed. Jesse flirts with Isaac and says it's not the worst thing up there, as he leans over and puts a hand on his thigh. I think they like the effort? Anthony talks about his pants, and when they show a close-up, you can see his model's leg down the side of the pants. So it's as if he wrapped fabric around her leg from the inside, and then just left the edges unattached at the outside of her leg. Alyssa loves that from every angle there is something new. The pants are really cool, although Jesse thinks the circle top is like spin art. Yeah, I can see that. RuPaul loves the phrase “Take a chance with pants” and promises to make it his new motto. You knew Anthony and RuPaul would have this type of interaction. Merline was inspired by orbits, and the look of all the criss-crossing orbits. They really like the white, but Georgina randomly complains that they can't see this from her every week. But this week it's OK. Are they talking about how this is kind of tailored so it's like what she normally does? I have no idea. You can see the seams and they add to the pattern. RuPaul thinks she looks like a Bond villain.

Josh talks about the glue and Georgina loves it. I realized this is a whole different set of judges from the ones who saw that glue the last time. She asks him about the thought behind everything and he's all, that's it baby, that's what you're going to get today. Rude. RuPaul says this is some next level gay shit. Hee! So wrong it's right. Isaac hates the color, which Josh insists is literal. Pretty sure Pluto isn't beige and hot glue colored. He keeps talking, which makes no sense, because it seems like he's not in danger of going home. But he's insisting that are they not here to show them what they've got? This isn't all he can do and they've seen it every week. Finally Alyssa gets him to shut up long enough to tell him he's kind of defensive. Josh responds that this is what he had, and if he had made a black jersey dress with the glue over it they'd be having a different conversation (clearly), but this is what they get today. Either they want to see more, or... Alyssa interrupts him and says “OK then let's move on.” What the fuck was that about? I didn't think they hated it enough to put him in the bottom, so to react with all this hostility seems like a very bad idea. Unless there's a bunch of commentary they edited out that would explain his lashing out for no reason.

Kimberly talks about gravitational collapse and how she's not sure what that means, but she wanted to play with collapsing. It's sort of OK, but confused and avant garde needs to have a strong point of view. No one seems to like it much. Stanley talks about eclipses. The proportions are great and the white is the right size. He's obscured the waist but it works. Isaac tells him that avant garde isn't always about exaggeration but in this case it works out. Jesse's complaint is that it's almost too wearable. I'm having a hard time telling who is the top and who is the bottom because I feel like everyone got some praise, and no look was hammered like they usually do.

Everyone goes back to the Scrap Bin and Josh brags about being spicy. Now he's threatening to “pull back” if this is too much and they can have boring dresses next week. YOU WON LAST WEEK. It would be one thing if the judges had ignored him all season, and this was the first time he got feedback, so he was all salty about it. But you won. The judges gave you a win last week for whatever reason, and the following week you're going to get up there and act like they've been terrible to you this whole time? It almost makes me feel like this was filmed out of order or something because it makes zero sense. Now it's “horrible” critiques that were unwarranted. Ugh.

Merline made something they've seen before, but it was perfect for this week. RuPaul's one complaint is that she had a longer piece down her right leg, and she should have a higher piece over the left shoulder for balance. Jesse accuses him of redesigning the piece for himself. Anthony's circle acted like a breastplate of armor, and the pants were amazing. Jesse still can't get past the spatter paint. They love Stanley's, because it was simple but the silhouette was wonderful. OK so that's the top. That means Josh was the bottom. Georgina hates his fabric choices, and thinks anyone who picks those fabrics out for any challenge needs to get it together. Each individual idea was fine, but all together it was a mess. RuPaul declares it “space queen from a porno” (I miss Kors) and Alyssa gasps that that's it! Exactly! And Jesse says what we're all thinking: “The end of the scene too.” Isaac says the longer he looked at Kimberly's the more he liked it. The different ideas just didn't work together. Fabio was more concerned with his textile than design, but Isaac argues about his ideas with the textile. Jesse gave it a high score, so it looks like it's between Kimberly and Josh. Josh had too many ideas, but Kimberly had zero. Isaac says that Josh's is possibly the ugliest he's ever seen so maybe it should win. They all laugh about how much these two suck, I guess.

Anthony is in. Stanley is the winner. Sure, I can see that. Merline is in. Fabio is in. Kimberly is out. Of course. Can't get rid of Josh drama. Kimberly is a little disappointed but she knows she didn't have the best look.

Next week: celebrating Isaac, telling Josh not to be a child, even Anthony yells at someone.