Project Runway All Stars Season 6, E 2: Damsels in Distress

This week, the designers were tasked with creating a distressed look. They had to concoct a story for their model that included some sort of tragedy–a reason why her clothing was torn, ripped, burnt, bleached, etc. The designers really went all out with these stories, and it made the work much more entertaining.

photos courtesy of mylifetime.com.

Out came the blowtorches, hazmat suites and bleach bottles.

Several of the designers had a difficult time deciding what to “destroy” from their garment. Anthony especially struggled–he made his gown first, and then had to decide where to distress it. Whereas many of the other designers distressed as they sewed.

Some questionable pieces resulted from this challenge, but it really wasn’t meant to be a “wearable” challenge after all. So the story was the most important thing.

Stanley’s frock looked like it belonged on an extra from “Beauty and the Beast.” It looked dated and dirty and not at all fun. I was sure he was going home. I honestly can’t even remember his story because this look was so boring I might have fallen asleep during his explanation.

Kelly went with trashy, IMO. Her gal was supposed to be from the future. She started the apocalypse because she was an ice queen who started on fire when she began dancing at a rave. Um…..ok. The mesh, fringe and headphones were just too much and every judge thought so, too. Her grater and utility knife didn’t do much for distressing this look, either.

I had a few favorites from the night. First up, underrated Melissa–she makes the coolest stuff. I hope she rises to the top soon and gets a critique. Her girl was on point. Didn’t get to hear her story because she was “safe” from the judges.

Next up, Ari. The judges thought the dress was ordinary. Um….excuse me? I thought it was a stunner. She was in the top but didn’t win. Her girl narrowly escaped a fire. Not much of an elaborate story, but I get it nonetheless.

I also loved Helen’s look. The model looked really put together despite being in “distress” and everything about the whole outfit was interesting and editorial. The styling was super cool, too. Again, not sure of her story because she was just “safe.”

Merline was also in the top, with this number:

She has a unique point of view, architecture meets fashion, which got her far in her season as well. She stayed true to it tonight, with 3D appliques stacked on the bodice. And finishing the dress with the blow torch to create holes and interesting edges was a nice touch. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. Her gal was supposed to be from the future and holds the key to humanity’s salvation.

The surprising winner was…

Anthony! He was more shocked than anyone and let out a loud shriek when they called his name. It wasn’t my pick for the night, but I did like how his confidence was boosted by the win because he was really torn (hee hee, pun intended) about having to distress his lovely fabrics. His gal was an African queen who had to fight her way through fire to survive.

With these two in the bottom, I was surprised by the loser this week.

Kelly’s look was at least editorial and she had an elaborate story to go along with it, while Stanley’s girl was just sad. But Kelly goes home. I’m not sad. She is a sweet girl and has a very particular style (which is great! but not my cup of tea). She will do well designing for Hot Topic, no?