In the first six weeks of competition on “Project Runway All Stars” there had been six different design challenge winners — no repeats. That finally changed in the lucky seventh week. Or at least, it was lucky for Anthony Ryan Auld, who won the “Pure Imagination” avant garde challenge. That made him the first contestant to win two challenges. Did he deserve his repeat victory? Scroll down to vote in our poll at the bottom of this post.
This challenge, inspired by “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” was to create a never-before-seen fashion invention that would be incorporated into their looks. Auld’s idea was a coat that would aid in communication: a wearable dry-erase board. The ever-supportive Dmitry Sholokhov wondered what the point of such an invention was in a world full of smartphones, but the judges didn’t share his grumpy assessment.
Host Alyssa Milano praised Auld’s look for being “smart, innovative and functional.” Judge Georgina Chapman loved it for its childhood imagination, which was a good fit for the “Willy Wonka” challenge. Isaac Mizrahi thought it was both “chic and avant garde.” And guest judge Anna Camp called it her favorite look of the challenge. It seemed like a close call to pick this week’s winner (I thought the judges would go with Michelle Lesniak‘s carpet-padding dress), but it was ultimately Auld who got the nod.
Auld has certainly come a long way from the season premiere episode, when he finished in the bottom two. That week he was struggling creatively due to the recent death of his grandmother. But the judges didn’t send anyone home in the premiere, and Auld bounced back immediately by winning the second challenge of the season, “Top of the Class.” He has kept up the momentum since then, not receiving a single low score since that unfortunate first challenge.
Who did you think deserved to win this wonky “Wonka” challenge? Vote below to let us know.
Be sure to make your predictions so that the contestants can see how they’re faring in our racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs every Wednesday on Lifetime. You’ll compete to win a spot on our leaderboard and eternal bragging rights. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
