Project Runway news!

Is it just me, or has Project Runway gone down the toilet a little? I mean, really. The challenges are still not too ridiculous - I'm still okay with the avant garde and the unconventional (material) challenges, but perhaps it's happening more than once a season for the last few seasons?

Even the prize package now seems a tad lacklustre to me, the non-American viewer. Let me start with the sponsors - RED ROBIN? Really?! One of the prizes is to design a new uniform for Red Robin servers? Oy vey. Oh well - at least it's not TGI Fridays? When you've learned to tune out the prizes portion of the show, you don't miss a thing like that.

Even the accessories wall in the workroom seems to be going further up the high street - the ALDO accessories wall? Seriously? Who's gonna get the wall next? H&M?

I suppose if you make it far enough, you might be invited back to compete on All-Stars, which has the (really) better prize package for the winner.

Another piece of news is that they've announced a new spinoff called Project Runway: Threads with the under-18 age group of designers. The only face I recognised was Christian Siriano, which I guess was the point... and because he still looks pretty young :P

And who's glad that another season of All Stars is upon us? Whee! It's happening a week after the premiere of Threads, which will make for a double dose for about 8 episodes because that's how long Threads is running for. 

Project Runway's All Star Season

There comes a time in a reality competition show's lifespan where it needs a quick jumpstart, which comes in the form of an "all-star" season, which brings back the show's lovable losers...err, contestants from the past for another shot at the main prize which they didn't get the first time for some reason or another.

It has been announced that there'll be an all-star season of Project Runway, minus Heidi, Michael, Nina and Tim.... which is refreshing, I guess. I don't know. We'll have to see how that plays out. Instead, those roles will be taken up by Angela Lindvall as the All-Star host, Isaac Mizrahi, Georgina Chapman as judges with Marie Claire editor Joanna Coles taking on the mentor role. But at least it's a proper full season and not like some of the other ones where they played for charity or whatever.

That said, who's actually coming back? Well...

• Austin Scarlett: (New York, NY) Season 1, Fourth Place
• Kara Janx: (New York, NY) Season 2, Fourth Place
• Elisa Jimenez: (New York, NY) Season 4, Tenth Place
• Rami Kashou: (Los Angeles, CA) Season 4, Runner-up
• Sweet P/Kathleen Vaughn: (Pasadena, CA) Season 4, Fifth Place
• Jerell Scott: (New York, NY) Season 5, Fourth Place
• Kenley Collins: (Brooklyn, NY) Season 5, Second Runner-up
• Gordana Gehlhausen: (San Diego, CA) Season 6, Fourth Place
• Anthony Williams: Season 7, Fifth Place
• Mila Hermanovski: (Los Angeles, CA) Season 7, Second Runner-up
• April Johnston: (Savannah, GA) Season 8, Fifth Place
• Michael Costello: (Palm Springs, CA) Season 8, Fourth Place
• Mondo Guerra: (Denver, CO) Season 8, Runner-up

There's some crazy ones (if you've been following the show all these years, you know who I'm referring to), and I'm not just talking about design sense and personal taste. I'm glad that it's not the more obvious ones, like Daniel Vosovic or Santino. I'm also glad the winners are not on the list. But they could easily save that for another time, I think?

We all know that they'll be running this ad nauseum once it airs, but what are they competing for? 

"Prizes include an exclusive designer’s boutique in select Neiman Marcus stores and on NeimanMarcus.com, $100,000 dollars in technology and office space to help grow their business from HP and Intel, $100,000 cash from L’Oreal Paris, a feature spread in Marie Claire, for which he or she will serve as a guest editor for one year, and a sewing and embroidery studio provided by Brother International." 

Whether it is enough reason to come back for another shot, I don't know - but it must be for them to come back, no?

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Project Runway Season 8 premiere

Finally saw the latest season of Project Runway.

You figured something hinky was happening when there wasn't the usual opening credit with the contestants, only to find out later in the show that it was just the final phase of the audition process. Gee, I'd be pissed if I was a contestant.

You know the 17 contestants in the premiere episode wouldn't be 17 for long with the crazy 5 hour challenge which involves incorporating someone else's clothing item and one (or more) of them are going home. It's really not much of a shakeup.

One other change this season is that episodes will be 90 minutes long, which I guess works fine in the beginning, but towards the finale? I don't know. You'd see more stuff granted, but how much is too much?

I figured that the Ivy chick would be in deep shit in the premiere when she had the brag on in her talking head early in the episode. And boy, was she in the shitter - for making pants out of pants. Right.

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Project Runway finale, Pt. 1

• I'm glad that it is the finale because the season has been a little meh.
  
  
• It's been awhile (or a first) that the finalists are all female.
  
  
• I don't know why the finalists are so surprised when Heidi tells them in person (also never a good sign) that they have to do a thirteenth look - it's not the first time this has happened. You think by now someone would've made one just in case.
  
  
• It's also nice to see the show back in NY again, even if it's for the finale. Mood New York and the Parsons workroom brings back memories. Project Runway LA - FAIL.