Seth Aaron, Korto and Elena showcase their final collections, which are inspired by their personal heritage, at the United Nations headquarters.
- Jan 10, 2014
AceShowbiz - "Project Runway All Stars" season 3 finalists remembered their roots in the finale aired on Thursday, January 10. For their final project, Seth Aaron, Korto and Elena were tasked to create a six-piece collection in four days with a $2,000.00 budget and they had to take inspiration from their own personal heritage.
The three designers visited the headquarters of the United Nations to meet with a delegate from their country. As the top three learned more about their country heritage, Korto and Elena shared their stories about relocating to another country.
Korto and her family left Liberia for Canada to escape war. Her work would mainly feature gray, yellow and white. Elena, who was born in the Ukraine, moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 10. Her collection would be based on the Ukraine's flag's colors: blue and yellow. Seth, who has Spanish heritage, was seemingly inspired by matador costume with red, gold and black dominating his collection.
To help the finalists, mentor Zanna Roberts Rassi brought in eliminated contestants to lend their hands for 24 hours. Jeffrey would help Seth Aaron, Christopher was paired with Korto, and Viktor would help Elena. But the finalists' job was not getting easier as they were given an additional task to create a seventh look made of exotic scarves inspired by countries from around the world.
Host and judge Alyssa Milano was joined by regular judges Georgina Chapman and Isaac Mizrahi as well as guest judges Zac Posen and Gayle King at the final runway held in the United Nations office.
Alyssa thought Elena spent too much time on the top parts of her looks that she gave little attention to the bottoms. Zac, meanwhile, complained that most of her works looked the same.
Isaac had nothing against Seth Aaron's works, while Alyssa and Gale praised his scarf dress. Zac, on the other hand, worried that Seth Aaron's works often looked like caricatures. Korto was praised for being the most inventive but her more structured pieces were not very strong.
After some deliberation, the judges eliminated Elena first from the running to become the winner. Seth Aaron was then declared the victor, meaning Korto finished at the runner-up place. It's Seth Aaron's second win in the competition.
