Project Runway All Stars, Season 1 Episode 1: The Unconventional Challenge. Memorable Quotes from Last Night's Episode.

Project Runway All Stars is in the house and Lifetime isn’t holding anything back! Who knows why the good folks at Lifetime waited so long to put this together, but thank goodness they did, it’s seems to have brought life back to what was becoming a ho-hum show. Sure, it was only the first episode, but the new judges, new workspace, slight twists, and the biggest prize in Project Runway history (which involves Neiman Marcus!), not to mention the return of Rami have me in a tizzy of excitement. Plus it’s nice to see some of the old faces of Project Runway and not have to get to know new ones.

New judges! Don’t get me wrong, while I’ve come to love Michael, Nina and Heidi, I’m ready to fall in love with Isaac Mizrahi, Georgina Chapman and host Angela Lindvall. Although I hate to admit it, Lindvall is going to have to make some pretty drastic adjustments to how she’s hosting the show; her stilted speech and monotone inflection had me not only wondering why she’s hosting, but also whether she was on drugs or just an airhead. Sorry, Angela! But I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt as it was only her first show. And let’s face it, Heidi does a great job and she’s got some pretty big shoes to fill as host of Project Runway All Stars. But it’s Joanna Cole editor-in-chief of Marie Claire magazine who has the biggest role to fill, as she is taking on the mentoring role Tim Gunn normally plays on the show. I think this is a great idea and I’m thrilled to see her in this position. It’s also smart of Lifetime to pick her, who is nothing like Tim. We’ve seen her on the show before as a guest judge a number of times and, unlike Tim, she is someone who definitely tells it like it is and isn’t afraid to hurt someone’s feelings. Forget about Piperlime.com, let’s talk Neiman Marcus. The winner of Project Runway All Stars will have their collection sold in select Neiman Marcus stores as well as NeimanMarcus.com. Plus, not only will they have a spread in Marie Claire, they’ll also be guest editor for a year. But that’s not all, the winners will also receive industrial sewing machines sergers and other equipment from Brother as well as Intel technology products, they’ll also win a cash prize of $100,000. All-in-all it’s a package worth $500,000, not too shabby. So here’s the twist, since the end prize is so big, unlike regular Project Runway, the All Stars show will not give immunity to the winner of the individual weekly challenges.

The episode opened up with a fashion show featuring garments the all-stars created beforehand to showcase their design aesthetic. The designers were then asked to create a new garment that was inspired by the original. As in most Project Runway shows, the first episode skips the fabric store and has the designers work with unconventional materials. It was the same for the All-Star show and the designers had $100 to spend at 99 Cent Creations. The designers were grabbing everything from laundry bags to mop heads. Onto and into the designers fell instantly into their work, even slightly bonkers Elisa, who did some of hers underneath her work table.

Since so much was going it’s easiest to just skip to the runway show where the judges were impressed with pretty much everyone, even guest judge, Ken Downing of, none other than, Neiman Marcus! And, sadly hardly a snarky comment was uttered about any of the designs. Most of the designers were safe from elimination, leaving both Mondo and Rami with the top designs. Mondo created a cute little black dress and a fascinator out of garbage bags and plastic cowboy hats. Rami, who was crowned the winner, created a very structured garment out of laundry bags, an umbrella and Christmas garland. The model looked fierce! Poor Sweet P and Elisa were on the bottom this week. Sweat P’s dress made haphazardly of colorful towels and belts failed to impress the judges, but thankfully Elisa’s garment, if it could be called that confused the judges even more and left them scratching their heads even after he long explanation. But she doesn’t get an “avidazen” instead it’s just a good-bye from Angela. Highest Scores:

Lowest Scores:

Memorable Quotes: Someone had to put the star in all-star. —Austin Scarlet Finally, it’s time for me to redeem myself. —Gordana Walking into this room is kind of like walking into hell but kind of a good opportunity. —April That model, she’s really making me question my sexuality right now. She really brought that dress to life. —Michael C. You know I’m from the projects, I thought y’all were shootin’. —Anthony I like a cut out, I do. But that looks more like a chew-out. —Isaac Mizrahi The reason I’m going to give Elisa a pass is that my grandma had a card at the crazy house and she’s almost there. —Anthony Sweet P’s dress is raggedy roughy. Me no likey. —Jerell Gordana’s dress is made of streamers; it reminds me of Easter. —Mondo You’re not going to spit at me, are you? —Joanna Cole The hot glue gun burned through my dress. —Austin You mastered these materials and made them your bitch. —Isaac Mizrahi I like a cut-out, I do. But that looks like a chew-out. —Isaac Mizrahi I’ve never had a woman come to me wanting to look bigger than she is. —Ken Downing I would never be seen dead in it. —Angela Lindvall I don’t know whether it’s eccentric or just off. —Isaac Mizrahi Until next week! Be sure to check out our other favorite site dedicated to all things Project Runway…Blogging Project Runway! –Bonnie J Brown Photos: Lifetime