Project Runway All Stars Returns With a Twist! Plus, First Eliminated Designer Reacts to ‘Bittersweet’ Premiere

Andy Swift
·3 min read
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Fourteen familiar faces returned for redemption on Thursday’s Project Runway All Stars premiere, which forced each designer to confront the most traumatic look from their time on the show — the one that got them eliminated!

Let’s begin by welcoming back the 14 fan favorites: Brittany Allen (Season 18), Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste (Season 19), Laurence Basse (Season 15), Fabio Costa (Season 10), Bishme Cromartie (Season 17), Johnathan Kayne Gillaspie (Season 3), Mila Hermanovski (Season 7), Rami Kashou (Season 4), Viktor Luna (Season 9), Korto Momolu (Season 5), Nora Pagel (Season 1), Kara Saun (Season 1), Hester Sunshine (Season 17) and Anna Yinan Zhou (Season 19).

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To say that the contestants weren’t thrilled to reunite with their most regrettable designs would be an understatement. “That dress was a problem for me,” Jean-Baptiste said of the unconventional challenge that sent him home last season. “You know, I had to go therapy after that.” Still, he recognized that getting the chance to redeem himself — using actual fabric this time, no less — was a “treat,” one he never expected to get.

Speaking of the unexpected, host Christian Siriano dropped a fun little twist midway through the premiere: “This season, there is no immunity,” he announced. “Anybody can go home on any challenge.” He followed this up by confirming that there will still be “prizes and advantages for the winners of each challenge along the way,” including a $10,000 purse for this week’s top designer.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, there were plenty of bumps on the road to the first runway show — from Gillaspie misplacing the main material he purchased at Mood, to Luna’s model suddenly ghosting him at the eleventh hour. But even without Tim Gunn there to remind them, the designers made it work, pulling together 14 reworked looks for the season’s first runway.

All told, here’s how the results shook out:
WINNER | Johnathan Kayne Gillaspie
RUNNERS-UP | Bishme Cromartie and Fabio Costa
SAFE | Brittany Allen, Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste, Laurence Basse, Mila Hermanovski, Rami Kashou, Korto Momolu, Hester Sunshine and Anna Yinan Zhou
THIRD TO LAST | Viktor Luna
SECOND TO LAST | Kara Saun
ELIMINATED | Nora Pagel — but are you really surprised? Guest judge Alicia Silverstone deemed her design “kind of pretty” after giving it an extended look, and that was the nicest critique.

“In the short time that I’ve been here, I have reconnected with an old friend, I’ve made new friends and I’ve been inspired by other people,” Pagel said as she left Project Runway for the second time. It was bittersweet, and I really just wish the best for everybody.”

Were you sad to see Pagel go first? Which designer would you have eliminated in the premiere? And what did you think of All Stars‘ return? Weigh in via our polls below, then drop a comment with more of your thoughts.

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