S7.E13 All the World's a Runway

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm so freaking happy yessssssssssssssssssssss!

Dmitry is so freaking arrogant it's getting unbelievable.  Does he ever take a criticism, or listen to anyone else, or does he just always do whatever he wants to do because he doesn't care, and expects to win anyway?  LOL.

My order was

1.  Michelle, and trust me, she's far from my favourite personality (her accent for one... aggggh)

2.  Dmitry, but there was a big gap between 1 and 2

3.  Biddell, I like him but this was an Alexander McQueen rip off

4.  Irina.

I'm really happy with the outcome, yay!

Edited March 28, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Beden]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Yay for getting a $3000 budget! But six looks in four days? Even with helpers, that is A LOT of work to do.

Indeed. Am I the only one who remembers when the designers had 2-3 months for their final collection/runway show? Y'know, back when the producers seemed to actually care about design?

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

Alyssa looked she was wearing a negligee.

no kidding. That dress was completely inappropriate IMHO.

I thought the white lace that Irina used looked really really cheap.

When Biddel described his vision I thought it sounded cool, but then I thought his fabrics looked cheap, and his outfits looked just plain weird and unflattering.

Edited March 28, 2019 by dleighg

[terrymct]

10 hours ago, Linderhill said:

Isaac is obviously style challenged because that was obviously his doing.  

I don't think it's so much that he's style challenged (although he has his bad moments), it's that he gets fixated on one of the contestants and then is blinded to anything else.  It's like when you're a teenager and you get a big crush on someone.  Your crush can do no wrong, you have eyes for no one else, and all common sense is out the window.

Did you hear Michelle say that she was hoping that winning the competition would save her marriage?  Holy moley, that's unrealistic and freakin pitiful.

Edited March 28, 2019 by terrymct

[dleighg]

6 hours ago, GoldaVining said:

I was disgusted with Michelle this entire season and then disgusted with myself for liking her finale collection. But it's true, I liked it (a lot)

I agree with you. I thought the proportions felt fresh and I liked the colors.

[nokat]

Wasn't Michelle's win a given? Producer driven win. I really liked Bidell's first dress. As much as I hate Irina as a person, she did have some nice structural dresses. Dmitri is dressing vampires. I had to remind myself that this was filmed a couple years ago.
 

[SHD]

So was this whole All-Stars season a set-up to give struggling Michelle (a show favorite, for some reason) a win and some money? Seems like it.

It's kind of ridiculous that the big INTERNATIONAL competition ended up with three US-show designers and a Canadian in the finale.

The amount of underwear and bare body parts showing through was ridiculous, even for a runway show.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Not unlike GoldaVining, I didn't hate Michelle's collection as much as I wanted to thought I would.  Biddell's (Evan's?) was my least favorite collection, though I thought his "showstopper' dress was sublime, and may have been my favorite garment in the final.  I love Dmitri's tailoring and artistry, but I sort of thought his collection was a bit too...reserved?  No question that the red jacket was amazing.  In Irina's collection, I appreciated her originality an execution.  Unlike the majority here, I didn't care for the white final look.  Looked like lace karate uniform to me.  I am having a difficult time actually placing the designers.  If forced, I would have to choose:

1. Dmitri
2. Irina
3. Michelle
4. Biddell

I have to say though, that the first three places were almost interchangeable to me.

Edited March 28, 2019 by SuprSuprElevated

[Gloriosa]

That black and white pantsuit of Irina's - what were they all salivating over?  It reminded me of a karate outfit I sewed for my kid for Halloween.  That's all I could see.  Actually I thought all the collections were pretty great, and was glad the contestants were given the freedom to do what they wanted with them.  

[venycal]

I'm so happy that Michelle won!  👍

I love her work in S11 but her designs in AS4 were not as good. Finally, this season she redeemed herself. A well-deserved win. 👍👍👍

My Finale Collection Ranking:-

1] Michelle - The design/colour palette is fresh and creative. I LOVE the final piece and it is definitely the best piece of the night. Her designs utilize various fabrics/textures and it works really well. There are many great pieces and I like all of the looks! 

-

2] Dmitry - Out of the four designers, he does not have the freshest idea IMO. The idea is plain/standard and not inspiring [architectural/graphics and drawing faces?]. However, his execution is impeccable. The work done for the red jacket is extraordinary. I like this collection a lot even though it does not have the freshest idea.

3/4] Biddell - I couldn't decide Biddell or Irina has the better collection between the two. I love Biddell's idea, Regal Reptilian. It's crazy but undeniably interesting. The proportion of some of the pieces, however, is not good. I love his final piece though, that metallic fabric texture is gorgeous.

3/4]  Irina - Before watching the episode, I thought she would slayed the other three designers. Her designs are always dramatic. However, this collection lacks impact which surprises me. I like the idea of 3D sculptures but the end product is underwhelming. The judges rave the last two looks but I thought the black top is quite messy. This collection lacks standout pieces that it needs unfortunately.

[gibasi]

Blech.  I only turned it on for the runway and once I saw the winner I turned it off immediately. What a waste of my time this season was!  I am most mad at myself for watching this mess all season.

Edited March 28, 2019 by gibasi
typo

[Lisapooh]

This shitstorm of a season got the winner it deserved.

I thought it was a toss up between Irina and Dmitry. There were pieces of both I loved. I personally would have given the edge to Irina, but a Dmitry win would have made sense too.

The only look of Michelle's I liked was the first one. Biddell's was a hot mess. 

[Jeanne222]

What did the winner get?  I think I missed that!

[BusyOctober]

  Michelle is, was and always will be the WORST person.  Yet I knew she'd be the "winner" of this sad, sad season.  It was lame duck waddling down the runway in two year old, past their sell-by date clothes.  Goodbye, good riddance, and on to Bravo for a refreshed take on what was already a great show on that network.  

A few random thoughts...

Why did Alyssa use so much eye makeup for the final runway ?  Was she trying to smuggle out all the free "London Butter" product on her own face, episode by episode before the movers came to pack everything up?

Final guest judge - Alyssa's intro -famous/award winning actress/blahblah....Me- who???

Michelle's sob story about her financial difficulties.  Yah, boo effin' hoo. So many artists and creative people work several non-arty jobs to support themselves while working toward their dreams. However, Michelle has had MULTIPLE exposures to the world of fashion over the years, unlike hundreds of thousands of other designers.  Maybe  the world of fashion just isn't interested in her stuff enough to make her a super star and wealthy?  Other than Isaac Mizrahi's on-camera lavish praise, has anyone with fashion cachet reached out to Michelle?  Maybe still design & be creative and live in the realm of fashion, but if bills gotta be paid and your family needs food on the table, focus on that for a while? 

UGH...horrible season.  Mostly unmemorable designs.  Uninspired (unclaimed???) "prizes". Meh to the "winner".

[venycal]

33 minutes ago, SHD said:

It's kind of ridiculous that the big INTERNATIONAL competition ended up with three US-show designers and a Canadian in the finale.

As much as I would love to see other international designers in the finale, I think they did not perform as well. For some reasons, many of the international winners [Django/Jasper/Juli/Cynthia] were underwhelming in this All Stars season. If Sunny was not eliminated that early on, I could see him go really far. But other than Sunny, I pretty much agree with their placement.

[venycal]

Unpopular opinion here, I actually enjoyed this season of All Stars a lot.

AS3 > AS7 > AS1 > AS4/AS5 > AS2 > AS6

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

 Michelle's sob story about her financial difficulties.  Yah, boo effin' hoo. So many artists and creative people work several non-arty jobs to support themselves while working toward their dreams. However, Michelle has had MULTIPLE exposures to the world of fashion over the years, unlike hundreds of thousands of other designers.  Maybe  the world of fashion just isn't interested in her stuff enough to make her a super star and wealthy?  Other than Isaac Mizrahi's on-camera lavish praise, has anyone with fashion cachet reached out to Michelle?  Maybe still design & be creative and live in the realm of fashion, but if bills gotta be paid and your family needs food on the table, focus on that for a while? 

Yes to all of this! I know a lot of very talented people who have regular jobs to pay the bills and they do their artistic stuff on the side. No, it’s not ideal but that’s what happens when you have bills to pay and you can’t afford to quit your job in order to do what you love full time. I can’t feel bad for Michelle when many of the people I know are far more talented (and less annoying) than she is. Cry me a fucking river. 

[Pepper Mostly]

9 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Bite me, producers. Biddell’s was sublime. 

I enjoyed Biddell all season. The fix was in, he was never going to win. I think he knew it. So he went all out, and I loved it. Fashion with a capital F.

3 hours ago, Beden said:

Indeed. Am I the only one who remembers when the designers had 2-3 months for their final collection/runway show? Y'know, back when the producers seemed to actually care about design?

Remember original recipe, season 1? they had MONTHS to work on their collections for Fashion Week. That's why Tim Gunn's check in midway made sense. If they designers only have 6 weeks, what good does it to for Tim to check in three weeks in? Gah.

At any rate, our long national nightmare is finally over. See you in the regular PR forum!

[kirklandia]

I also love Neil Young's album Harvest Moon.  But is not "seventies", it came out in 1992.  (Perhaps Michelle was thinking of his album Harvest, which came out in 1972?)

She did harvest some lovely fabrics from Mood.

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, kirklandia said:

I also love Neil Young's album Harvest Moon.  But is not "seventies", it came out in 1992.  (Perhaps Michelle was thinking of his album Harvest, which came out in 1972?)

Thank you! I was a huge Neil Young (and CSNY) fan in college in the early 80s. I looked at the track list for Harvest Moon and thought I was going senile since I didn't recognize ANYTHING!

[suzeecat]

I was disappointed that Michelle won.  Although I like most of all of the collections, I thought Dmitri's red jacket was "everything"!  Although I liked Irina's white pant suit I agree that it reminded me of a fancy karate outfit.

I had no idea who the blonde actress with the bobby pins holding back her hair was.  She could have been some fashion student who won a prize to be a guest judge.  I was embarrassed for Alyssa with her mesh-enrobed boobs. 

It looks like Michelle is married to Bob Seeger!

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, Beden said:

Indeed. Am I the only one who remembers when the designers had 2-3 months for their final collection/runway show? Y'know, back when the producers seemed to actually care about design?

I don't think that has ever happened for All-Stars, but correct me if I'm wrong.

1 hour ago, SHD said:

It's kind of ridiculous that the big INTERNATIONAL competition ended up with three US-show designers and a Canadian in the finale.

Totally agree with you.   The bias towards the "American" ones was insane.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Dewey Decimate]

15 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

Isaac’s fascination with Michelle is baffling. “You make things that don’t go away.” WTH does that mean?!

I assumed he was referring to all those horror movies in which the demon-possessed doll is thrown in the trash, flushed down the toilet, burned to a crisp, buried in the hinterlands... yet still reappears in the child's room to the strains of screeching violins.

[Lemons]

Find dresses just like Michelle’s  in the clearance section of any Forever 21 or Free People. Those bell sleeves have been around for forever. Yuck.  

[Lemons]

3 hours ago, SHD said:

So was this whole All-Stars season a set-up to give struggling Michelle (a show favorite, for some reason) a win and some money? Seems like it.

It's kind of ridiculous that the big INTERNATIONAL competition ended up with three US-show designers and a Canadian in the finale.

When you think of it Michelle was the only one left born in America. Dmitry and Irina were born in Eastern European countries. 

[Gothish520]

16 hours ago, Fellaway said:

Well, travesty it is, then.  And I mean that sincerely.  That collection was garbage.  Every single one of the other three was worlds better.

What were the judges smoking?

Biddell's was HIDEOUS. I would've been ok with Irina winning, but Dmitry's was hit and miss. He is too enamored of those petals and frills, which frankly, read fuddy-duddy to me. The opening look was amazing though.

I get what Michelle was going for, but it was too oversized, too sloppy. But I love her so yeah Michelle!

[bobbyjoe]

Ugh.   Michelle becoming a two time winner is the perfect rancid cherry on top of the Bunim-Murray PR garbage sundae.  No wonder they put this season on the shelf for two years; it’s like a gang of villains in an old western movie pulling one last fast one as everyone chases them out of town with pitchforks.  Good riddance to PR on Lifetime, I’m cautiously optimistic from the evidence so far that the new Bravo version is at least trying to ditch some of Bunim-Murray’s worst impulses and re-energize the show.

[Jeanne222]

What did Michelle win?  Money???

[Lemons]

18 hours ago, terrymct said:

Ridiculous.  Michelle's was the worst of the four collections.   I think Issac revealed a bit too much when he said she was the designer with whom he most identified.  

Isaac was at Target way too long.

[simonesays]

13 hours ago, GoldaVining said:

Clearly unpopular opinion here....

I was disgusted with Michelle this entire season and then disgusted with myself for liking her finale collection. But it's true, I liked it (a lot) and I'm happy with the judges awarding her the win. I think her entire collection was lovely (although I hate the "cold shoulder" trend in real life), but just like some of the judges, I felt the first and last looks were beyond beautiful.

I have been rooting for Biddell all season, but I didn't love anything about his collection. Irina's was fine, I guess, if you like little 3D triangles, except for the last look (the white lace suit) which was stunning (and had no 3D triangles and didn't feel like part of her collection at all). I did not like Dimitry's looks. I think his collection looked like the "Suzanne Sugarbaker Collection". His outfits looked like something Suzanne Sugarbaker would love to wear to a red carpet event. So 80's and not in a good way. Is there a good way? Ugh.

This!  Not a huge Michelle fan, but I thought her collection was the best.
I've thought that Dimitry's clothes have looked old all season.  I did like his first look (red face jacket and mesh tuxedo striped pants) and the beaded one was fine, but the exaggerated shoulder pads and mustard dress just seemed so dated to me.  I would have put him 3rd
I wanted to like Biddell because I think that he (along with most of the international contestants) got the shaft this season, but I think the judges call on his looks was spot on.  It wasn't wild enough and well enough constructed to win.  (I did like that first dress though.) I would have put him 4th.

Irina would have been my runner up.  I don't like her call girl aesthetic, but I think she has construction skills and her use of triangles was interesting, cohesive and impressive.  Still, for me, the felt dresses seemed heavy.

[simonesays]

7 hours ago, terrymct said:

Did you hear Michelle say that she was hoping that winning the competition would save her marriage?  Holy moley, that's unrealistic and freakin pitiful.

I don't think that's what she meant by the two of them struggling.  I think she meant that they were financially stressed.  And from that perspective winning PR allstars probably would give her a boost.

[ava111]

4 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

I enjoyed Biddell all season. The fix was in, he was never going to win. I think he knew it. So he went all out, and I loved it. Fashion with a capital F.

Remember original recipe, season 1? they had MONTHS to work on their collections for Fashion Week. That's why Tim Gunn's check in midway made sense. If they designers only have 6 weeks, what good does it to for Tim to check in three weeks in? Gah.

At any rate, our long national nightmare is finally over. See you in the regular PR forum!

If I remember correctly the All stars seasons always had very short time to design the final collections and only the regular seasons had months. Then towards the end even the regular seasons made the time much shorter and instead of months they only got 3-4 weeks. 

[Mojoker]

I'm sorry, but that was some nonsense on the finale last night. I think Michelle is a perfectly lovely person, and I'm sorry she and her husband are having financial problems. but she wasn't the best designer on this show. I think Dimitri's response to her win was perfectly valid. It was painfully obvious his collection was light years beyond Michelle's. It felt like a pity win to me.

[Mojoker]

9 hours ago, Fellaway said:

Here's a pretty good article detailing how and why the JCPenney.com thing didn't happen, and why Erin Robertson and Kentaro Kameyama both say the designers weren't missing out on anything.

How Project Runway All Stars Became an Ad for Nothing

Thanks! Interesting. It would never occur to me to shop at J.C. Penney's, so I never realized the clothes weren't being produced.

[Ms Lark]

Dimitry's red face jacket was the best thing in the entire season. I rarely wear red, but I'd wear that, even if it is two years out of season! Robbed. I'm pretty sure his line is doing much better than Michelle's at this point, anyway. JCP would never have done his designs justice.

19 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

Alyssa looked she was wearing a negligee. And the heavy hand with her makeup does her no favors.

I thought she was wearing a negligee, also, but cheap and tacky. Girl has no taste whatsoever. Buh bye.

8 hours ago, dleighg said:

I thought the white lace that Irina used looked really really cheap.

I thought it looked like a re-purposed tablecloth. Which has its place at a craft fair, but not here.

[mamadrama]

10 hours ago, Beden said:

Indeed. Am I the only one who remembers when the designers had 2-3 months for their final collection/runway show? Y'know, back when the producers seemed to actually care about design?

I've been binge watching the All Star seasons and the time limit has fluxated. The regular seasons get several months in between so that their final show can coincide with Fashion Week, but the All Star seasons have always gotten significantly less time. A week or less is pretty standard. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by mamadrama

[mamadrama]

I like Dimitry but his models looked like they had erections on top of their heads. Once I got that thought in my mind, I couldn't see anything else. 

[ThatsDarling]

4 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

What did Michelle win?  Money???

The grand prize is $100,000. Winners of reality television shows usually can't collect their prizes until the show actually airs, so she has been waiting a long time, and after taxes she will have significantly less money. 

There were more good collections than there usually are on a Project Runway finale, and I would have been OK with several outcomes. When Michelle and Dmitry were both spared elimination last week, I figured the judges wanted one of them to win, but I was rooting for Irina. She had a few missteps throughout the competition, but had more high scores overall than anyone else. I love her craftsmanship and how focused and driven she is. Even without the win, I trust she will be fine; she's very talented and is one of the few PR alums who still shows regularly at NYFW.

On a very sad note, her mother passed away from cancer less than a year after this episode was taped--Irina posted about it on Instagram. She was only 56.

Overall, I am relieved Project Runway All Stars has come to an end, and hope Bravo doesn't rush to revive it. Seven seasons over eight years was much too much, and watered down the value of the PR brand. If the show does come back, I hope it's with a new judging panel, and that they only do one season every few years. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by ThatsDarling

[sunshine23]

Just finished watching and must say "Bulls**t!" Out of all 4 finalists, I think Michelle was the WORST! Between her and Dimitri, Dimitri was better hands down and boy, was he robbed! I realized at the end that all her whining about having to give up her "career" if she didn't win meant she was going to win.

14 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

I like Dimitry but his models looked like they had erections on top of their heads. Once I got that thought in my mind, I couldn't see anything else. 

I thought of Teletubbies with that hair.

[Ellaria]

48 minutes ago, ThatsDarling said:

On a very sad note, her mother passed away from cancer less than a year after this episode was taped--Irina posted about it on Instagram. She was only 56. 

That is very sad. Much too young. RIP.

[TexasGal]

Watching Ann backstage with the designers like she’s their friend was hilarious to me.  They none of them looked like the wanted to talk to her.

I like Irina’s the most, I think.  Which is a lot for me to say because I am a serious Dmitry fan girl.  Michelle, ugh.  It was better than most of the things she’s produced?  I guess?

[Kdel1079]

I also love green but Michelle’s green coat was so hideous. She found a way to make a beautiful color so ugly. I only liked the first dress in her collection.

dmitrys was perfectly executed but didn’t look joyful or wearable and yea the models’ hair threw me off too. Someone mentioned the tension in his collection, and that’s exactly it, it felt tense and serious.

biddel’s collection was my favorite. And I hardly remember irina’s except for that white doily outfit 

[anonymiss]

Biddell's was the only one that felt like a high fashion show. Every piece was fresh and exciting and cohesive. The others I can and have seen so much of before. 

Not surprised since the judges consist of a flash-in-the-pan has-been (Isaac) and a grown-up Olivia Jade (Georgina).

Edited March 29, 2019 by anonymiss

[auntlada]

24 minutes ago, anonymiss said:

Biddell's was the only one that felt like a high fashion show. Every piece was fresh and exciting and cohesive. The others I can and have seen so much of before. 

Not surprised since the judges consist of a flash-in-the-pan has-been (Isaac) and a grown-up Olivia Jade (Georgina).

I found it interesting that they said something about how Biddell's show was the only one with new things that they hadn't seen before. Every season it seems like the judges complain about how the designers never do anything they haven't seen before, but the one time they admit someone does, they put him at the bottom.

I loved his last dress, and I liked that blue coat, too. If I were tall enough, I'd wear that. Unfortunately, I don't think it would look right on someone only a little over 5 feet tall.

[Pattycake2]

I confess that I am totally enamored with Dmitry.  I could watch him forever.  That nose, the elegance, the pale skin. Yum.  So, what did Michelle do with her previous win?  Fashion is a business.  To be a success, you have to know how to run one.  What is she up to now?

[Schnickelfritz]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 8:58 PM, Ellaria Sand said:

Isaac’s fascination with Michelle is baffling. “You make things that don’t go away.” WTH does that mean?!

You know - she makes things you WISH would go away, like an STD that doesn't respond to antibiotics.

[vavera4ka]

While watching the runway I was trying to figure out which of the three collections judges would like the most. 

So of course the fourth one, the one that I discounted as the worst, has won. 🙄

The first three dresses were the same. Along with the dress Michelle was wearing herself. And the last one was “inspired” by Dmitry. 

[rafibomb]

I've always been a Dmitry fan, but I don't think he was robbed at all. And I actually like him a little less than I did in previous seasons- I guess the arrogance is just starting to wear a little thin for me. The red jacket was amazing, yes, but the rest of his collection was mostly forgettable (except for the mustard dress, which was memorable for all the wrong reasons), plus he styled his models like narwals.

I respect Irina as a designer (not so much her personality) and she did some impressive work, but I would still put her in the middle of the pack. Biddell is the opposite- I enjoy him as a contestant and wanted to like his collection, but just didn't. Michelle's personality is hit or miss for me, but I would've chosen her collection as the best. The green jacket was probably my least favorite look, but I loved the minidress with the peach sleeves, and the silvery halter dress.

Edited March 29, 2019 by rafibomb

[Lemons]

4 minutes ago, rafibomb said:

I've always been a Dimitri fan, but I don't think he was robbed at all. And I actually like him a little less than I did in previous seasons- I guess the arrogance is just starting to wear a little thin for me. The red jacket was amazing, yes, but the rest of his collection was mostly forgettable, plus he styled his models like narwals.

I respect Irina as a designer (not so much her personality), and she did some impressive work, but I would still put her in the middle of the pack. Biddell is the opposite- I enjoy him as a contestant and wanted to like his collection, but just didn't. Michelle's personality is hit or miss for me, but I would've chosen her collection as the best. The green jacket was probably my least favorite look, but I loved the minidress with the peach sleeves, and the silvery halter dress.

With Dmitri I don’t think he’s anymore arrogant than the others I just think it’s his personality.  Same with irina. I think they’re both a little more reserved than the others.  I wonder if that had anything to do with the judges  favoring American born designers throughout the show? 

[rafibomb]

Just now, Lemons said:

With Dmitri I don’t think he’s anymore arrogant than the others I just think it’s his personality.  Same with irina. I think they’re both a little more reserved than the others.  I wonder if that had anything to do with the judges  favoring American born designers throughout the show? 

I will say I feel for Irina, having seen more of her personality and vulnerable side. And I do think both of them are very reserved emotionally, and I have no issue with that.

But saying you should have won because yours was a "masterpiece" and the other collection wasn't close? Meh, that's a little sore loser bullshit to me.