Previously on “Project Runway All-Stars”: the final four were asked to make avant-garde outfits inspired by an art instillation that was mostly glass and mirrors. Bishme continued to make interesting streetwear and was declared the winner. Laurence did an interesting skirt shape (and had Mimi) so she was also in. It came down to Brittany (boring but decently made) and Rami (fit the challenge but had terrible seams) and the judges chose Brittany. So Rami was eliminated. (click for more)
We pick up right after the last episode finishes. Nina claims she didn't know who would be in the finale when they started. Some montages. They will get $10,000 and eight days to make eight looks. Eight DAYS?! Why can't they give them months? It's just not as good when you rush the finale collections. You might as well make them stay in New York.
On the first day, it looks like they're going to do that, because they're all at Christian's studio looking at all his amazing gowns. He says to take the judges on a journey. They will get some help for this week. Prajje, Kara Saun, and Fabio. Nice. Bishme won last week so he gets first pick, and he immediately takes Prajje. Brittany picks Fabio, and Laurence gets Kara Saun which is who she probably would have picked anyway. They can also shop anywhere in the Fashion District. I wonder if they actually took some time off and then brought them back to New York. Brittany is going to do activewear as evening wear. She's very commercial and she knows it. Laurence is of course at a shop full of leather, but she promises she's going to use color and playing with contrasts. Bishme is thinking about his process of grieving.
They get back to the workroom and spread out. Bishme puts up the program from his sister's memorial to remind him of who the collection is about. Laurence has no drawings, but she's just going. Day One ends without the extra help but they're already tired. Then according to the chyrons we are going to skip an entire day without seeing what's up.
Christian comes in to look around and oversee model selection. Brittany's collection is fun and young, so maybe make sure there's something sophisticated. The other two are going very couture. Bishme wants to ease the judges into the drama. He's got sketches on each dressform so he's planned out the order of the looks to tell his story. Christian tells Laurence to actually write down her plan because that will help. As they start model casting everyone seems to want a badass girl, although Laurence says “body” which is meaningless. I mean it's Laurence so it probably means having the same body as Laurence. Mimi is the first model to walk in and this will be a good fight. They swear they don't need a card from her, as she slowly opens her coat (no shirt on, a coy glance at the camera, then the card comes like, from the waistband of her pants) and then Mimi walks back to the door, with a longer smirking look at the camera. THIS bitch (respectfully). There is a lot of shrieking because everyone has favorites. Christian helps by picking names randomly so they can pick. Brittany gets to pick first and she immediately takes Mimi. Laurence agrees to trade someone to Bishme so he can have someone he really wants and he finds this worth it. Also we saw zero plus-sized models in this montage, I'd like to point out.
With three hours left, the helpers show up. Laurence doesn't seem to know what exactly she's doing yet. We skip a day again, and now it says “Model Fitting #2” so we skipped a whole fitting? Christian shows up again. It's now Day Five, and they have three days left. Laurence is now organized with a plan. We saw none of this. I don't like how much we are jumping around. Make the finale two episodes or something. I just feel really rushed, like I have no idea why anyone is doing anything or even what they're doing. Anyway, Laurence has like, two jumpsuits to make. Like cut out and everything. They're not even started and they need to be fitted. Christian hates one of Brittany's looks because the pants make her look like a kid. It's already sportswear and it doesn't need to be more casual. Bishme is subdued and he says he just has a lot to do. Christian kind of pouts that Bishme doesn't want to talk to him, but he at least tells Prajje to help him. Also time for the hair and makeup consults that no one cares about. The makeup guy is cute but he is no Hot Makeup Guy Scott. Tomorrow they get to meet with CFDA individually, since that's part of the prize. Bishme says he only has three looks done.
Now they're at the fake bar and Bishme is really down. He might be exhausted or burnt out or something. He looks like he needs a hug. They should let them go sleep instead of forcing fake partying.
Now it's Day Seven. We skipped all of Day Six I think. So we went through the entire week they had to work on their collections, in 30 minutes. And that is 30 minutes real time, meaning when you take out commercials it's even less. Time to meet with the CFDA guy. He praises Brittany for knowing who her customer is and what her brand is. Most people know who they want to design for. She wants to know what exactly the mentorship would do and where she'd start. Basically they'd get her to manufacturers. Probably marketers? Bishme says fashion is his diary. Laurence says her brand is edgy and classy. And leather. She claims she wants to do everything, not just leather.
Final model fitting. I was wrong, Brittany has one of the plus sized models and so does Laurence. Bishme isn't where he wants to be, and he seems very tired. I think being inspired by his sister is harder than he thought it would be, because he's still grieving. Prajje tries to take care of some of the fitting, but he needs Bishme of course, and Bishme is currently outside. He says “I think I'm done” under his breath as he goes outside. He tells Prajje he might leave, and Prajje is like “we don't have time for your mind to fuck with you, let's go”. Bishme is realizing if he wins, his sister won't be there with him, and he is still grieving. Prajje is keeping him together. Laurence is finding one of her looks needs a much better fit. Brittany has put Mimi in some gown and she is doing high kicks because Mimi is extra. There is a lot of frantic sewing. The helpers leave, and everyone is sad because that was a lot of help.
They make everyone walk around outside instead of being able to finish things. They have to talk about the season! And the judges! No one is thankful for the judges. Do they make you do your best? Or do they do dumb random shit? They all hug and talk about Oreos.
Runway Day. Looks like they are not in the usual space but they are also not anywhere I can recognize. It looks like a warehouse they just took over for today. Christian appears to give them one hour. Only an hour? When you were giving them five hours some weeks? I think they're doing that runway route where you walk in a big loop, so you can have a lot of front row seats, you know? People arrive and some people, like Geoffrey, get chyrons with their names. Then they show a shot of two people and it just says “Project Runway Alumni” which is SO shady (but also I don't know who they are). They're not on screen for long enough and I don't recognize them.
Brandon isn't here. Why isn't Brandon here? Why isn't Elaine the one who is gone? Anyway, to replace Brandon we have Zac Posen, which is fine since he's judged the show before, and also the guest judge is Billy Porter, who should have been on for the peacocking challenge but this is fine too. I forgot he's been on this show before.
Brittany is up first. She is freaking out. Her collection is called “Pop-gression”, which is a progression of color and prints and activewear. She starts with an outfit of a lime green bra and khaki cropped pants, which hit the knee and are not tapered, and some straps in green and black that are sort of like overalls, but also like those stretchy elastic belts you can buy for cheap. Plenty of pieces with the snaps lining slits in the pants and stuff like that. There is a piece that is a long dress in a pink and black mottled cow-like print, over matching pink shorts (or maybe a skirt?). The “dress” is basically tall rectangles attached to the top of the bodice, and then not sewn together, so there's a piece in front that goes under a belt but then is open to show off the pink skirt/shorts. Then the sides are not under the belt but because nothing is sewn together it makes little vertical cutouts on her torso. Actually a lot of bras, or bustiers, with wide legged pants or something that you wouldn't wear to the gym. The final look is a gown with two slits up the front so Mimi's legs are on display, in black and white squares. Not perfect squares though. Then some stockings with striped hems like athletic socks, both just over the knee and then matching ones on her forearms. And a hood. The slits in the skirt are lined with grommets, and Mimi makes sure to plant a foot on the light scaffolding that's making the border of the runway, to show off a whole leg and be extra. Also a high kick. Billy makes a hand gesture like “OK werk”.
Bishme's mom is here. Aww. “Powering Through”. He doesn't talk about his sister in this introduction. It starts out pretty basic, with a white asymmetric dress with a matching hood. There's one long sleeve and the skirt is also asymmetric. The fabric is draped across her torso so it almost looks like a toga or something. He's got a short dress and a huge matching coat in red and white checks, but not gingham, a shiny sequined fabric? I think it's sequins and not like, vinyl. He's got hats too, one with a red track suit that has a long piece in the back. There's a couple of pieces with a black, white, and red fabric that looks woven but unfinished, so at the ends there's six inches of fringe that make up the bottom of a skirt or something. A skirt of this material, and a dress that's got the same draping as the first look, but in the woven fabric with fringe at the bottom of the skirt. There is a long tight dress of black vinyl with the big sleeves he likes. The final look is a sheer bodice with the black vinyl covering her boobs, but not in a rectangle or anything. The vinyl is a cutout of a woman with her arms raised, cut to cover what it needs to but I had to watch this twice to see what it was. The skirt is just a giant mass of tulle ruffles, which literally fills up the walkway. It is touching the scaffolding on both sides. Very dramatic and I like that it's interesting.
Laurence's collection is “One Night in Paris”. The dark side of Paris. She opens with a top and pants in what looks like a pale blue. The top is attached at the neck, but open below that and also cropped, so there is a lot of skin. The arms are white ruffles, which look like sheepskin almost. The pants of course fit very well and have a low rise to them. There is of course a ton of leather, long coats, dresses, all very well tailored. Some sheer pieces to go with bell bottoms. But also lots of color. A sheer skirt that's got sequins but also a mass of tulle at the bottom. There's one look that's just a mermaid skirt and a bra. The final look is in red, a sleeveless top in patent leather or vinyl, with a hem that's longer on the sides than the front, and a skirt that is mostly sheer. She's done that thing she did earlier in the season, where there's a fake panty sewn into the skirt, although this one is the same color. The sheer has some sequins in it, but not in a pattern.
Of course we need the obligatory interviews with people, one person who likes each designer. Y'all know how this works.
So Bishme and Brittany have arrived with their final looks, while Laurence has some look from the middle. Elaine demands tribute to the guest judges. Zac was on the show when Laurence was, which I had forgotten. Brittany talks about using a lot of color and prints, and it was eight looks but 21 pieces that can be mixed around. Elaine says she found a way to put an evening gown in her activewear collection. It's elevated and high fashion. Zac thinks off the runway it might go costumey. Every model had the same hair, and earrings, and shoes, so it was very cohesive. Nina was most impressed by the wide-legged pants in the same print as the final gown because it's a bigger scale.
Bishme wanted to showcase both the good side and bad side of things. Red for rage and black for darkness, white for innocence. The final gown he's called “the anxiety gown” and Billy says it doesn't feel oppressive, it feels like you're moving through it. Zac calls it eveningwear as art. Sophisticated and well edited, and editorial. Nina tells him he has a gift and he should feel confident about that. But the vinyl gown had the big sleeves so Nina didn't like that one. Or, he could have left that one out. Sure.
Laurence wanted to mix leather and softer fabrics. Billy says he loves to come on this show because he loves to shop. The outfit Laurence has with her is the one with the long cream coat and dress. Billy wants the coat with maybe some flared pants and says they will exchange numbers. Everything is so well made. Nina loves the romantic and hard combined. It's elegant and sophisticated. Zac didn't like one of the looks, which wasn't quite nailed down. Elaine says there's joy and fluidity that they've never seen from Laurence (sure) but also she makes the most expensive-looking clothes out of anyone on the show (OK that is true).
Who is the future of fashion? They're all so different. Brittany is making activewear, so Elaine claims it's “challenging” to put her in the same sentence as the other two. I feel like that could be flattering but Elaine means it in a derogatory way. Billy says she scored an eight out of eight. He was impressed with all of it. Elaine shrieks about it and how Brittany can do more than activewear. Nina and Zac jump in to defend activewear and “repetition is reputation”. She's mixing colors and textures, and activewear is very important right now. Nina does admit maybe there's not longevity there.
Bishme is looking forward more? They love the final piece for being art. There was consistency and he fit so much into eight looks. The fringe dress maybe didn't fit the model properly, but the elements are there. And he does have bags and hats, everyone loves the hats. I think the judges saw a progression and Elaine especially can't stop talking about the emotion in the looks.
Laurence is a master of technique, and Zac had pointed out on the runway that none of the fabrics she used were forgiving at all. “A sexy tailor with edge”. Zac hates the purple suit, which I think was the only look without leather. Elaine says some bullshit about how her mistakes are forgettable, not in a bad way like “you make clothing that is boring” but “I love Laurence so much I have blocked out anything she made that was bad like it never happened.” There is a weird argument about how she didn't have a “wow” look, which I guess is why her final look wasn't the one she stood next to for judging. But then everyone falls over themselves about how you can have quiet impact or whatever. Not having a big final look that is gasp-worthy means she has taste, apparently.
It's all the contestants from this season and loved ones, to see the judging. Nina is proud to have been here for twenty seasons. The winner is...Bishme! He's barely keeping it together. I love seeing everyone giving his mom hugs. He says his sister was the first person who didn't judge him for being outside the norm. Aww.
This was a pretty good season! I'm sure there will be more. Thank you all for reading! We will be back when The Amazing Race starts this month. Bye for now!
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