Project Runway takes the Highline; Diane von Furstenberg judges.
[caption id="attachment_18416" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Guest judge Diane von Furstenberg, DVF with Isaac Mizrahi, Georgina Chapman and Carolyn Murphy."]
[/caption]
Project Runway All Stars
Host
Carolyn Murphy gets to wear the winning design to a red carpet event -
poor thing!
I bet she's regretting it now after seeing the dresses. Okay, so I'm exaggerating just a tad, but not entirely. CFDA President,
Diane von Furstenberg
was the special guest judge last week. The episode was all about embracing eco-friendly fashion design. The All Stars learned of the challenge while taking a stroll through NYC's Highline. They were given environmentally friendly textiles to work with and the task was to create a red carpet look.
[caption id="attachment_18417" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Project Runway All Stars on the NYC Highline."]
[/caption]
The designers worked with reversible fabrics. Joshua was safe with his toga-esque look. Not my favorite but not the worst.
Casanova's dress may have been the best design of the group but his mistake, in my opinion, was choosing pattern over solid. If the dress had been bright red with the pattern appearing only in the accents, like the ruffled wave trim on the bodice, his dress would have been an elegant and modern show-stopper. Casanova was safe. BTW, how much does this model look like a young
Naomi Campbell
?!
Anthony Ryan created a tent. Isaac Mizrahi felt there was too much fabric on the sides, agreed. The problem came in that Anthony had to double-up the chiffon because it was too sheer. He solved one problem yet created another.
This was one of the ugliest dresses I've seen in a while. Ivy's sketch was GORGEOUS but sadly, overly ambitious. She had the vision but not the skill to deliver the sketch. Ivy knows she messed but lucky for her, someone messed up greater, keeping her butt safe!
Emilio ran into trouble. More specifically, he ran out of time. Technically, the gown was not up to his standard of construction; i.e. too long, not hemmed, etc etc... He's a good designer and I predict we'll be seeing him in the top three.
In the spirit of recycling, the All Stars had to incorporate trim from past challenges into their design. Well, that was like music to Uli's ears. Girl loves her trim and knows how to work it. I was uncertain as I saw this design come together in the workroom. I kept chanelling mentor Joanna Coles, is it hideous or fabulous? When it came down the runway, it was anything but hideous. Uli has a real gift for working trim in the most aesthetically pleasing ways.
Althea went home. I didn't like the style of the dress or the color but I liked her. And Althea goes home with bragging rights. It's not everyday a fashion icon (DVF) compliments you. While Althea's design was lacking, her skills weren't, as pointed out by Ms. Furstenberg.