“Project Runway All Stars” Season 5

Episode 5 recap: “Birthday Suits”

The designers got an eyeful in the March 10 episode when they met their models — naturists who enjoy life in the buff. But humans weren’t made to go naked in winter, so the assignment was to create a winter look acceptable to those who don’t enjoy wearing clothes.

Mitchell Perry mentioned that he’s from Florida and had never seen snow, so coming up with a winter look might be difficult for him.

I wondered whether Hawaii designer Kini Zamora would be similarly handicapped, but I remembered he spent a year in school in New York and had designed several beautiful coats before. He was ambitious in creating a four-piece ensemble, but that seemed like overkill for his model Felicity, who wanted to wear as little as possible. Mentor Zanna Roberts Rassi echoed that sentiment.

Meanwhile, Sam Donovan struggled because he chose a bold yellow-check fabric that horrified his model. Because part of the assignment was to make their naturists happy, he scrapped his original plan and entered scramble mode.

Despite his misgivings, Perry turned out a respectable ensemble of sweater vest, trouser and coat. The other designers were amazed and credited the edited look to his working with a male model, which left no room for his usual excessive decorating.

For the first time, judges came up with four top looks and two on the bottom. On top were Zamora, Perry, Dom Streater and Emily Payne, who was named the winner for a striking blue “California winter” dress with a cape in back, the right measure of sass and wearability.

Donovan and Valerie Mayen finished on the bottom. Donovan would probably have fared better if he had stuck with his original look and fabric, but his model would not have been comfortable. Part of the judges’ discussion was that both designers’ models loved the looks created for them. Mayen produced a weighty coat because her model told her she would feel most comfortable in a blanket.

Reading between the lines, it wasn’t a surprise for the judges to declare them both safe because they did please their clients.

The designers were disturbed that unpopular kid Donovan got this second chance when others did not. Alexander Pope suggested it was because Donovan flirted with the judges. A hurt and angry Donovan vowed to pick off the other designers one by one. Juicy. Stay tuned.

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“Project Runway All Stars” airs 7 p.m. Thursdays. Recaps appear at fashiontribe.staradvertiserblogs.com after each new episode.