Tonight, Project Runway: All Stars will make
its third season debut with its brand new host, Alyssa Milano, who has had no
issues slipping into her new role (and wardrobe).
She’s enjoyed bonding with the show’s judges Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman,
forging relationships with the competing designers, and –not to mention — the
whole getting all dolled up part.
“You know, this job is sort of that dream job for a girl that loves fashion and
that loved the show because you get to go in and you know, get pampered and get
your hair and makeup done by the best teams in New York,” she told Styleite. In
fact, it was, “the icing on the cake of the whole thing,” she added.
The woman helping Milano behind-the-scenes was British-born stylist Emily
Barnes, who gave her an eclectic mix of ensembles through the season. “I wear
everything from vintage Dior to you know, some very sort of fashion forward
stuff from Marissa Webb and everything in between,” said Milano. “We really
wanted to have fun with my wardrobe and my styling.”
But don’t be fooled into think this is Milano’s first foray into the fickle
fashion world, as she grew up with a grandmother who was a successful milliner,
as well as a mother who was a fashion designer with Bloomingdales carrying her
line and her own store in Brooklyn. Furthermore, she launched her own sportswear
collection, Touch by Alyssa Milano, in spring of 2007.
In addition to the style perks of her new gig, this season had a lengthy roster
of guest judges for Milano to rub elbows with, including old timers Nina Garcia
and Zac Posen, as well as Debbie Harry, Gayle King, Gabourey Sidibe, Abigail
Breslin, Kristin Chenoweth, Nick Cannon, Bar Refaeli. Given the diverse group of
characters — some expected, some surprising — we wanted to know who would be the
most entertaining for fans of the show.
“Gabourey Sidibe,” she explained. “She had my favorite judging line of the
entire season. I am going to paraphrase it but she said ‘I often judge clothes
on whether or not Beyoncé would wear it’ and I just thought that was like the
most genius thing ever. Everyone just roared with laughter. She is hilarious —
such a cool chick.”
Although she was charmed by Sidibe (who has introduced the world us to a whole
new way of thinking like Queen Bey), the guest judge that impressed her the most
was Oprah’s right-hand woman, King.
“I think that Gayle King, who was our guest judge on the finale, was the biggest
surprise for me. We all know she is brilliant — but she was so smart, so
eloquent, so dead on [and] made some really, really great, great points from a
business perspective.”
Full disclosure, Milano’s show Mistresses was our favorite guilty pleasure this
past summer and after getting a sneak peek at tonight’s premiere, we know we’ll
be equally addicted to PR All Stars. Tonight, legendary Harry will be the guest
judge for a challenge in which the competitors must design a punk-inspired
outfit for her to wear on tour. It’s a can’t miss.
Tune into Project Runway: All Stars tonight at 9 pm on Lifetime.. - STYLEITE