Project Runway All Stars 2/20/19--"Penneys from Heaven" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”: the challenge was to involve “innovation” to make some avant garde garments. Anthony Ryan covered a coat in clear vinyl so you could write on it with dry erase markers. I mean, sure, that's innovative. So he won. Django barely tried and made a white linen pantsuit with a big hat. Sean failed too, but he at least tried to do something innovative, so Sean was saved while Django was eliminated. (click for more)

Oh look. JC Penney. This is even dumber than usual seeing as how JC Penney bailed on this whole show. Anyway, the designers have to buy three different “daytime” separates, and then they will have to use these to make one “nighttime” look. Just to make this more obnoxious, there are random models scattered about, pretending to be mannequins. Each one is wearing two different separates, so when you pick your model you will have two of the separates, and then you can shop for the third. All the material for your nighttime look HAS to come from your daytime separates. The winner supposedly will get $2000 to shop at JC Penney at their leisure, which I'm not sure they're getting and also that's cheap.

Lots of running about. Michelle says she's picking the model she knows, and she'll just accept whatever clothes she has on. Hmm. Dmitry seems really lost. Christina has jeans and she wants a blazer, because tailoring, so I'm not sure how much she plans to change her clothes. Michelle doesn't like the clothes she has, but that's what you get. For sketching the poor models have to stand there while everyone sketches. Biddell is ready to win. Michelle and Anthony Ryan have an in-depth discussion about everything. Either that or Michelle just can't stop talking. Sean sketches something with a million tiers.

Cynthia doesn't like prints. I'm noticing everyone has very quickly cut up their stuff, which seems pretty brave. They're also all talking to each other about what they're doing. Christina (who is getting a very large amount of screentime) is struggling, because this isn't how she constructs anything, and now she's claiming to be lost. After the commercial break she magically finds her inspiration again. Sean is starting to make his tiered skirt and Irina tells him to find his inner Anya.

Anne shows up and says she doesn't think this show has ever had them go shopping for clothes to turn into other clothes. Do you even watch this show, Anne? They do it all the time. They did it on the first episode of the second season, and they all had to trade, and some people cut up very expensive clothes because they weren't genre savvy. They cut up their pajamas one time and Burt made his model wear his boxer shorts on her body. Remember? Are you arguing that because they have to use shitty JC Penney clothes this time it's a totally different thing they've never done before? Cynthia is constructing a jacket that looks pretty good. Somehow a jacket over a minidress isn't nighttime. Anne also tells Biddell that “clean” isn't impressive. Whatever, Anne. But Sean's multiple red and yellow tiers and ruffles are fine probably? Dmitry's ruffles that he makes all the time get nothing? You acknowledge he makes ruffles out of everything but that's no problem? Ugh. Michelle looks like she's pinned dark denim panels over her silver fabric? Christina is making a jacket out of a jacket, which is not the best idea.

I notice they've said “nighttime” about a million times but never once said “evening”. So not “evening” looks but “nighttime”? How is that different? Is it just that you can't make good eveningwear out of the crap you get at JC Penney? Model fitting. Biddell has made a snuggie. Christina suddenly has sheer patterned tight pants in white. Dmitry slams Michelle in confessional for doing the same thing she's done for years, which is hilarious. Biddell is making a turban because I guess he has extra time and he's bored. Michelle and Sean are sitting in the workroom giggling about some nonsense, and they edit a bunch of shots of everyone glaring at them. Dmitry finally tells them to shut up because others are actually working.

Runway Day. Sean still has only used two fabrics. He did sketch a dress with cold shoulders and long sleeves with ruffles and tiers but I think he scrapped that. Hot makeup guy Scott. Sean appears to be sewing things for Christina. He's just helping everyone, isn't he? Biddell has lots to say about everyone else, but he also made a turban and is doing things like saying Sean could have a better look if he worked up to the last minute.

Guest judges are Vanessa Williams, and supermodel Jasmine Tookes. Alyssa is wearing a silver gown, and she's holding the skirt out for no reason, and it's a lot of boob, but honestly it's such an improvement over so many of her other outfits that I don't care. She looks great. Biddell: very shiny silver jumpsuit with dropped crotch harem pants and a very deep V. There's a pink belt that they never show, so I'm not sure what is going on there. But only the front is belted. The back of the garment is just like a giant Snuggie cocoon. And a pink turban. Sean: long yellow and red dress. The red is in horizontal bands and lining the neckline, and down the middle there's a strip of white and purple which I think is his third garment. At the knee there are several ruffles, and the bodice is backless with red straps. But the bodice also gaps at the sides, and it looks kind of hard to walk in. Plus it's basically an Anya dress without the movement. Dmitry: short brown skirt, full with a big ruffle at the bottom. It looks like it's made from pants. The top is white with a big ruffle where a strapless neckline would be, going around her arms too, and a high neck. The space between the ruffle and the turtleneck is sheer. Also one sleeve with ruffles all down the side. I mean, it's ruffles again, but it's not quite his other ruffled looks? Because it's more ugly? Also a long tie or sash down her back. Anthony Ryan: dark blue dress, just at the knee, with one elbow length sleeve. Along one side of the dress and down the sleeve is applique, which I think he made by cutting up the print from one of his garments. It looks pretty good, actually. The skirt has a brown strip at the hem, which runs across the front of the skirt. There's a big notch both in the front and the back of the skirt so I thought it was pants for a second. It's not super “evening” but it looks well made.

Christina: Jesus. So there's a long dark blue vest, down to her knees, that is supposed to be closely tailored to her body. It looks like it might be gaping at her chest, and the bottom hem of the vest is tattered on purpose. There's a plain white V-neck top under this. The pants are sheer with a pattern to them, and tight to the knee, where there are short ruffles down to her feet. They're cha cha pants. So I guess it's a bell bottom kind of shape but there are like 5 tiers of ruffles. Michelle: very short silver top. It's really loose and shapeless, like she's wearing her boyfriend's sweatshirt. There are elbow length sleeves, and then I guess to use the third garment she put two strips across her shoulders like epaulets. That's it. She spent ten hours on that? It's a sack. Irina: knee-length red dress with a thigh slit and a squared off neckline. There are big puffy sleeves, but they're slit down the sides, and gathered at the elbow with tassels. There's an obi style belt and the bodice is backless. I like this a lot. It doesn't look like it's pieced together from other things and I would find those sleeves annoying, but it's a good looking dress. Cynthia: knee-length blue vest over a skirt and crop top. The crop top has some flaps and folds with a light blue to contrast the print. The skirt is very short. When the model turns around you can see the back of the vest has a keyhole.

Anthony Ryan and Dmitry are safe. Dmitry does the same thing all the time and he's safe all the time. This is getting old. When you look at Irina's dress close up, you can see it used to be a shirt because she left the buttons on, down the slits in the sleeves and the slit in the skirt. The obi belt is the other two garments. The judges really like it because it's fun and a great color, although Georgina doesn't love the pointy shoulders. Michelle babbles about sparkle. Georgina likes the strips of denim. Whatever. Isaac wishes it was backwards. The hem is also unfinished. Alyssa thinks all of Michelle's shapeless sack clothes this season “frame the body” and “are flattering”. They're only flattering if you're a model, Alyssa. Get it together. Christina's vest is well tailored, and when she's standing still it doesn't look like it doesn't fit, the way it did while she was walking. She wanted to be on trend, so Georgina tells her that was a mistake and she should be herself. Sure, until she's not on trend and you slam her for being matronly. Isaac says she needed a million more ruffles. It's not really nighttime, plus it's borderline costumey.

Cynthia's outfit has a halter neckline that goes up to a collar. The vest is matronly, although she had said she needed it to use all her fabric. But the judges all like the crop top and skirt, they just couldn't see it under the long vest. Sean babbles about color, and in addition to the one vertical strip of white and purple, the bottom tier of his dress is the white and purple of his third garment. Georgina wishes he'd done a better job of mixing his fabrics. Yeah, the one tier of white looks terrible. It looks expensive. Alyssa wants to like it but it has too many lines? Biddell has used mostly some pants, and the other garments are in the trim. They love it, of course, because what do I know? I guess if they're going to praise something shapeless, I'd rather it be Biddell's look than Michelle's. Michelle's garments look like she just can't tailor. But maybe the dropped crotch is too long.

Irina kept some of the structure of the shirt in her final garment, which everyone loves. It's very polished, although the pointy shoulders aren't perfect. Michelle gets high praise for making “a little throwaway T-shirt shift”. Literally this is what Georgina calls it. Alyssa loves that you can just throw it on and not worry about shapewear, I guess? I still don't like it at all. Biddell's look made sense, and looked expensive. They loved the fabrics. I like it better than Michelle's anyway.

Cynthia's garment wasn't nighttime at all, and the vest was bad and covered up the dress. It could have been salvaged, says Georgina, but she didn't do it. Christina at least had an idea, although Isaac argues with everyone about how he likes the pants because they could be fun. Just not these. Georgina hates the vest, and then people are saying they like the pants better than the vest which is saying something. Sean's dress is kind of fun, although the bottom tier of white is what put him in the bottom three.

Biddell wins! Well at least Michelle didn't win. I think Irina should have taken it, though. All the slits in her garment are made of the original lapels of the shirt! With buttons and everything! Michelle and Irina are both in. Biddell is thrilled to have won finally and he's full of confidence. Sean is in. Cynthia is out. Christina is in. I'm OK with this. Christina had an idea, anyway. Cynthia didn't think her look was that bad, but she's got some new friends to take home.

Next week: gender neutral streetwear, Michelle decides one of the sewing machines is “hers” and gets mad because someone's using it, even though they're down to seven people and I'm sure there are more than seven machines.