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Project Runway All Stars S6, E4 Recap

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Project Runway All Stars Season 6, Episode 4 Recap: Balls Out!

photos courtesy of mylifetime.com

Yay for unconventional challenges! They certainly make for entertaining television.

In this week’s episode, the designers were told they were going to a castle and had to use what was inside to create a ball gown. Little did they know they’d be going to a bouncy castle filled with…balls.

Yes, ball gowns made of BALLS!

They had five minutes to gather as many balls as they could, some of them diving into the castle in true four-year-old fashion. It was great fun.

Project Runway All Stars Ball Gathering

Then they went to the workroom, where they could use muslin as a base (or not), and everyone started cutting up balls of various sizes: basketballs, softballs, hacky sacks, yoga balls and even cotton balls.

Candace cutting up balls for Project Runway All Stars

It became very clear that it would be a struggle to not create clown outfits. But as the designers cut through some of the balls, they noticed different layers under the ball exterior, giving them fabric-like mesh or the like to also work with.

Helen started off with a bang (and an attitude), stating that she WOULD NOT be glueing anything. So she opted to create a patchwork textile using blue and yellow balls, which took so long she couldn’t really focus on her design. So it was pretty basic, despite all of her hard work.

Helen Project Runway All Stars

 

I loved what Char came up with. Her look was the first to go down the runway, so I feel like it got lost in the shuffle. It didn’t look like balls at all! And she even inserted a zipper. Surprisingly, she was just “safe.”

Char Project Runway All StarsAmanda went a bit crazy and had so much going on in her look. I was surprised to see what she did with hacky sacks on the dress back though…but it was a little too psychedelic, even for my taste. She ended up in the bottom.

Amanda Valentine Project Runway All StarsI also liked Fabio’s creation. It’s so very Princess Leia, right? He used gold volleyballs, layered over the ball’s mesh interior and strategically placed to flatter the model’s figure. Brava, Fabio! He was in the top.

Fabio Project Runway All StarsNow, can we discuss Joshua’s look please? Naked much? I mean, it’s kinda cool, but we can see SO MUCH SKIN. I don’t consider myself a prude, but man, this one was a bit scandalous. I’ll give him credit for NOT using muslin. He was “safe.”

Joshua Project Runway All StarsCandice couldn’t figure out what to put on the bottom of her dress. She really struggled with her ball materials shredding and not being able to sew through all the layers. Her bodice wasn’t bad but that skirt was a mess. She was in the bottom.

Candace Project Runway All StarsI wasn’t particularly awed by Stanley’s look. His dress was entirely made out of muslin, and the ball material was hot glued to the exterior in layers. Yes, he had a dress and a bolero-type vest over it, and yes the shape of it was neat. But all that hot glue…I guess you have to do what you have to do in that situation. But, Helen was ready to throw him under the bus for it in the critique (because she ended up in the bottom and he was in the top).

Stanley Project Runway All Stars

The judges loved it and just couldn’t get enough of his “innovation” and “creativity.”

In the end, Candice went home. No surprise, really. Sad to see her go just because she’s so sweet. But it was her time and she took it well. She said “This just means I’m not very good at sewing balls.” LOL.

Candace Goes Home

 

After Helen had an outburst for being called out for throwing shade to her fellow contestants for gluing things and “using pink and purple,” among other insults, she apologized and lives to sew another day. We have to have a little drama here and again, right?

Shocker–Stanley wins the challenge. I think Char should have taken the win, or even Fabio. I just wasn’t that impressed with Stanley. But then again, I’ve never tried to make something using beach balls.

Stanley FTW

 

 

 

 

 

 

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