Project Runway is an American reality competition television series created by Eli Holzman in which contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme with their designs being judged and one or more designers are eliminated each week.
During each season, selected competitors are progressively eliminated based on the judges' scores until only a few contestants remain; these finalists prepare a complete fashion collection for New York Fashion Week, from which a winner is determined.
Eager to give aspiring designers a chance to break into the notoriously difficult-to-crack fashion world, supermodel Heidi Klum heads a panel of industry luminaries, including top women's and men's wear designer Michael Kors and Elle Magazine fashion director Nina Garcia, who serve as judges and industry mentors charged with selecting and moulding the budding designers.
The judges eliminate one contestant each week until only three top performers remain. The final three face off during New York's Olympus Fashion Week in February.
There are also guest judges each week based on the specific challenge. Tim Gunn, Chair of the Parsons The New School For Design, guides the contestants through each of their challenges.
The winning designer walks away with $100,000 in seed money to help them launch their own line, as well as other prizes which vary from season to season.
Project Runway takes place in New York City with designers using a workroom at Parsons School of Design, shopping for materials at a fabrics store in New York's Garment District, and living together at Atlas New York (an apartment building near Parsons).
At the beginning of each challenge, the designers are given the outlines of their assignment, usually to create a garment from non-traditional materials, such as recycled materials or items from a grocery store, or to design for a certain person (such as figure skater Sasha Cohen or Miss USA Tara Conner), corporate fashion line, or specialised theme.
The designers are given a stipend and limited amount of time to finish each garment. Often the designers work independently, although on some challenges contestants must work in teams.
Once the deadline is reached, the designers must dress their models and select their hair, make-up, and accessories.
Each model walks down the runway, and the garment the contestant made is judged by a panel of judges. The judges then interview the designers and share their opinions before conferring as a group and selecting winning and losing designers.
Generally, the loser of each challenge is eliminated from the competition.
Project Runway is produced by The Weinstein Company, Miramax Films, Bunim-Murray Productions and Full Picture Entertainment. Executive producers include Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Co-Chairmen of The Weinstein Company), Meryl Poster and Barbara Schneeweiss of The Weinstein Company, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea and Colleen Sands of Bunim/Murray Productions, Heidi Klum, and Jane Cha Cutler and Desiree Gruber of Full Picture Entertainment.
Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy and David Hillman of Lifetime also executive produce.
Winners
Season 01: Jay McCaroll
Season 02: Chloe Dao
Season 03: Jeffrey Sebelia
Season 04: Christian Siriano
Season 05: Leanne Marshall
Season 06: Irina Shabayeva
Season 07: Seth Aaron Henderson
Season 08: Gretchen Jones
Season 09: Anya Ayoung-Chee
Season 10: Dmitry Sholokhov
Season 11: Michelle Lesniak Franklin
Season 12: Dom Streater
Season 13: Sean Kelly
Season 14: Ashley Nell Tipton