Let’s salute America’s finest, dear readers.
The Challenge: Design an outfit for your client, an amazingly badass female veteran, to wear to an upcoming event and model in the runway show.
Guest Judges: Katie Holmes and designer Carmen Marc Valvo. They have nothing to do with the challenge, and Katie Holmes is much less qualified than her six-year-old daughter to judge a fashion competition, but what can you do? It’s not All Stars without a useless guest judge and an unsurprising “surprise” ending where no one gets eliminated.
ANTHONY RYAN AULD
Bottom 2
Photo: Lifetime via NYMag.com
This was atrocious, and it took an offensively huge suspension of disbelief not to laugh at Isaac defending it tooth and nail. Every design decision Anthony Ryan made except the ombre was unflattering to his kickass client, who deserved a much better look than this one. We all know this entire season has been rigged in Anthony Ryan’s favor, but never was it more disgustingly obvious than in this challenge, when Isaac Mizrahi made a fool out of himself by refusing to hear a word against this truly terrible gown.
EMILIO SOSA
Bottom 2
Photo: Lifetime via NYMag.com
This was terrible constructed and had very little design to it to begin with, so Emilio is also lucky the producers were in a benevolent mood. This had no place on a runway, especially an All Stars runway, and Emilio’s skills in both design and construction are far beyond this sad yellow sack. His client looked infinitely more beautiful before he laid a hand on her.
JOSHUA MCKINLEY
Winner
Photo: Lifetime via NYMag.com
Joshua killed it this week. With a brother in the military, he was particularly inspired by the challenge and hit it off incredibly well with his fabulous client. He hand-dyed a geometric pattern to make a sort of leopard print camo in a stunning blue-green color, and it was a great decision. The sheer strip above the print is beautiful, as is the additional embellishment in the back. I agreed with the judges that I’d have liked it better as a dress than a top and a skirt, but there was so much to love about this. The styling, Joshua and his client’s pride at displaying her prosthetic leg – he even made a matching outfit for her service dog, for God’s sake!
Photo: Lifetime
A matching print for the pooch? After a mostly underwhelming season, Joshua really earned his win tonight.
ULI HERZNER
Top 2
Photo: Lifetime via NYMag.com
This was also fantastic, from the sexy straps to the beautiful print to the exquisite draping. It was a classic Uli dress, 2nd-season style – nothing more than a fantastic flowy pattern and some deliciously embellished straps. She even made the back adjustable, once again proving that unlike many other designers, Uli understands the kind of versatility women are looking for in clothes they can actually wear. The only reason I wouldn’t have given this the win was because it’s just so in Uli’s wheelhouse – she basically just had to create a black-and-white version of what she was already wearing to make her client happy. It came easily to her, and the result is easygoing and beautiful, but I’d still have given Josh the win.
Next time: all four designers jet off to Paris, where the judges will presumably continue to award Anthony Ryan all the praise in the world for no apparent reason. See you then, dear readers!
Judges’ Top 2: Joshua and Uli
Diva’s Top 2: Joshua and Uli
Judges’ Bottom 2: Anthony Ryan and Emilio
Diva’s Bottom 2: Emilio and Anthony Ryan
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© Democracy Diva, 2013.
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The Democracy Diva 
Is anyone going to be surprised when Anthony Ryan wins? Isaac’s reaction is all the proof anyone should need that the show is rigged from the get-go. Anthony Ryan’s lucky that his vet didn’t tell him what she really thought of the dress on national television! Could he have made anything less becoming to her??? The dress makes her look overweight, pregnant, and dowdy. I’m willing to bet that it’s not worn to the function she’s planning to attend.
Uli’s dress was pretty, but we certainly did not hear any of the usual “doing the same thing over and over” that’s often a motif. She’s done that dress in different colors and prints throughout, with very few exceptions. Emilio’s dress was a major disappointment. The color was flattering for his vet, but somehow it just looked homemade. Emilio’s better than that dress.
Interestingly, this was the first time this season that Uli went back to the typical season 2 Uli dress, and I think only Uli’s client remembered that that was the look Uli first became known for. Wish she had found a purple print, though, or mixed prints as only she can.
Oops! That’s season 3, not 2.
We all know this competition is rigged in AR’s favor, but the fact that Lifetime doesn’t even bother to hide that fact is downright ridiculous. It would take no effort to minimize the obviousness of producer influence, but the network doesn’t care enough about the quality of its product to do even that.
I yelled “Lies!” at my TV when they said that on All Stars someone always gets eliminated. Also of course its a first you’ve only had two seasons. One can only hope that there are still a few “firsts” left.
Seriously. I hate the “no one goes home!” so-called twist always, but it’s so much worse on All Stars when the stakes are supposedly so much higher. What actually makes this such a tough competition if the judges are praising every piece of garbage the designers send down the runway?
If it were a fair game, AR should have been out. It happened in his season (he was good, just screwed one challenge) and got the Auf’d. Emilio was hugely bad, BUT; that dress needed more construction than Anthony Ryans. Joshua was good, but at the end of the day, he has trouble with editing. Something that always shows up at the end.
I agree that Joshua usually has a big problem with editing, but I thought this was one of the only looks he’s ever made that didn’t have that problem. I felt his look was much more streamlined, refined, and chic than any of his prior over-designed or over-embellished looks. Thanks for commenting!
Btw, did you noticed he used basically the same elements during his season on this kind of challenge (designing for a customer) ? And, he also won then. : )
I didn’t notice that, but you’re right. He played the game well!
Two things.
1. I think I saw Anthony Ryan’s dress on Issac’s QVC show last Fall.
2. Issac has fallen head over heals for AR. That’s the only reason why he is still here. #BOOTAYY
Isaac has enough money and fame to get any twenty year old boyfriend he wants. He should troll for hot young pieces of ass on his own time, not use All Stars as his own personal season of The Bachelor.
Finally saw my recording of the show yesterday and couldn’t WAIT to get to your blog since I know you’ve been feeling my pain! actually I think most people have been feeling this pain….they actually had to edit out some of Isaac’s theatrics in defense of that atrocity and we STILL got a load! WOW! I mean it really is insulting at this point! And yes, Emilio is much better than his dress and starting over didn’t do him any favors…loved Uli’s and Joshua’s and was happy to see him win, especially when he showed so much grace in the honor of designing for the vets.
I still have hopes that AR will not win…I can’t imagine that any collection he puts together will top Uli’s or even, Emilio’s better work…but then again…Gretchen…BUT, I’m still going to hope for the best…guess we’ll stay tuned. Thanks DD
I can’t imagine anyone watching the show doesn’t feel our pain right now, but I’m glad we can all vent about it together! I’d love for Uli to take it, but I saw another blogger pointing out that Lifetime will never allow someone from the Bravo era of PR to win All Stars now that the show is on Lifetime. Thanks for commenting!
That would have been me. I’d like nothing better than for Lifetime to prove me wrong.