Tag: project runway

Project Runway, I Have Notes

In August, Project Runway returned under a new network and reshuffled the format, hosts, and challenges to make a show I think was actually okay. Compared to where the show was left on Bravo in 2023, I think bringing back Heidi Klum was a good choice compared to the choice of Karlie Kloss, whom I didn’t see as an appropriate casting choice for a role that requires personality and colorfulness. It was boring. So were the new judges. The only new casting decision I was excited about at the time was Christian Siriano, my ult bias from the original show. So what was the good and the not-so-good, in my opinion, of season 21? And how has the show changed, for the better, yet in some ways, become less about fashion? These are my thoughts on my beloved Project Runway in 2025.

The Evolution of Project Runway

The original show premiered on Bravo in 2004 with host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn, and judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. It was filmed in NYC, at Parsons The New School for Design, where Tim was on staff, and the competition culminated in three finalists showing their work at NYFW Bryant Park. This format remained for the first five seasons, season four featuring Christian Siriano, who won his season.

After season 5, the show switched networks to Lifetime, where it remained until season 17. This change for season 6 also changed the location, with the show being filmed in Los Angeles at the FIDM campus until the finale, which was held at NYFW. Season 7 returned to Parsons and NYC, where the show stayed the course until season 11, when Zac Posen replaced Michael Kors. Zac Posen, Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn, and Heidi Klum remained through season 16.

Because of Harvey Swinestein being a producer of the show, and #Metoo movement addressing his depravity, Project Runway changed hands and returned to Bravo for season 17, sans the original cast. Karlie Kloss was the new Heidi, Christian Siriano the new Tim, and the judges were swapped for Elaine Welteroth and Brandon Maxwell.

The show remained this way through season 20, until the show changed again, switching to Freeform as its network, returning Heidi Klum to the host position, retaining Christian Siriano as mentor, and returning Nina Garcia to judge, with a new addition of Law Roach as the second judge. It’s a lot of change.

The Three Fashion Musketeers

When Project Runway moved back to Bravo in 2019, it was not the only fashion competition show in the American market; Netflix launched Next in Fashion for two seasons. Finally, Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum launched their own show on Amazon Prime, called Making the Cut, which was the equivalent of the original trio of Top Gear UK launching The Grand Tour on Amazon.

In my memory, from watching these three shows, Project Runway felt like a shell, undercut by Making the Cut, but losing the carefree fun of what Next in Fashion captured with hosts Alexa Chung and Tan France. All this change made me question what was the purpose of these shows anymore? With the rise of fast fashion and social media, it seemed like a relic. I could watch fashion design content on YouTube with varying points of view, to decide for myself what I thought was good fashion. Why would I care about the judges or the magazines anymore?

Project Runway in 2025

So now, six years later, what did the new Project Runway feel like? To be honest, it doesn’t have its own identity anymore, in my opinion. This could easily be RuPaul’s Drag Race with the amount of drama they packed into these episodes. The original format of challenge, runway, judging, and elimination was gone. Now you find out who goes home next week, which was unnecessary for me. I am tuning in each week, don’t make me have to, I want to, so just tell me who goes home so that the point of the show doesn’t seem like it’s an MTV reality show. It was hard to remember what challenge they were judging from last week. In some ways, I didn’t care; I just wanted the new challenge to be presented.

The contestants fought a lot, with Jesus and Veejay being a near constant. It was too much, and that leads me into one of my biggest gripes with the new season of the show. The editing was off. When Veejay was announced as the season 21 winner, I was confused. The final two eliminations before the finale were also edited strangely, because each time it seemed as though they were not going to keep Veejay, the judges’ critiques reflected this, and so it created this uncomfortable tension for the final three episodes, where it seemed like they were keeping Veejay in the competition so that she would become the first trans winner because of all the fighting.

That frustrated me because Veejay was doing good work, but then why make it seem like she was at the bottom, if the judges saw her work in high regard? It was really awkward. So was the out-of-control arguing between Veejay and the Estrada brothers, which I think the producers wrongfully kept in for a toxic series of episodes that is problematic, and I thought was manipulative. I wish for everyone’s sake that they would have paused the competition in a Tim Gunn fashion to unify the contestants again, because I liked this group of people. I can see where Jesus was coming from, and I can understand how bullying from the past can bring up past hurt, like Veejay expressed.

This is where the show shifted for me into a trash television show, such as Teen Mom, The Challenge, Real Housewives, or Keeping up with the Kardashians. Finally, the omission of NYFW for a quick 6-piece collection immediately after filming the bulk of the show felt lame. Every collection for me was a letdown, and this was the production’s fault once again. 8 out of 9 challenges were one-day challenges, so every other day, they were creating a brand new garment; it’s a recipe for burnout and mediocrity. The final runway show was like a fart instead of a spectacle of creativity, and it was underwhelming.

I hope they get a bigger budget for season 22 because the show has captured its thing again, but the finale and shift to the focus on drama over scenes from the workroom was a poor choice in my opinion. When I think of good reality competitions that have carried on throughout the decades, Survivor and Great British Baking Show are great examples that I may dive into in a part two.

Have you ever watched Project Runway? Did you think it was about planes? That’s what I first thought when I heard about the show in the mid-2000s.

Following Fashion Week With New Excitement

This past fashion month (September) I actually was paying attention, something I haven’t done since college. I even watched clips from the shows, something I used to stream between classes at the library. So what made take a break? And what brought me back?

Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, ANTM, and Project Runway

There’s no denying that in the 2000s fashion magazines were king. There was no TikTok, nor were there social media influencers or Instagram baddies. It was a time of slower trend cycles, compared to the cycle we have seen so far in the 2020s. (I’m talking about you, micro trends.) At the time, as a kid and then a teenager who dreamed of being in the fashion world one day there were a few ways to get acquainted – America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, and fashion magazines.

America’s Next Top Model was my first foray into this world, with the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons being particularly formative. In the third season, they went to Tokyo and introduced my mind to Japanese street fashion. The sixth season featured a finalist from my hometown. I practiced the poses, the smize, and my model walk with dreams of getting to Bryant Park either as a model or a designer. It wasn’t until I realized you needed to be 5’8″ or taller to be a runway model that I began to pivot to designing as my full-time dream, like Melanie in Sweet Home Alabama. I had been sketching since I was 10 when my friends and I decided to make our own fashion magazine. I was in charge of sketching collections and I’ve never stopped since. 🙂

In middle school I found Project Runway and was hooked on the design aspect of the fashion world, that’s when I knew I wanted to become a designer, and I wouldn’t be happy until I found a way to do it. With this newfound fascination with becoming a fashion designer instead of a high fashion model, I learned from Tim Gunn how important it is to understand the history of fashion, and from Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, I took note that I should understand the industry at large to plan how to make my mark in this world. That’s when I began seeking fashion magazines. My aunt gifted me a subscription to W magazine for Christmas and my mom gifted me subscriptions to Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She even took me to Barnes and Noble to track down French and Italian Vogue. Together my Mom and I became students of fashion. It was a blast.

Fashion in the 2010s

Social media and politics have taken fashion magazines on a weird bender, in my opinion, and by the mid-to-late 2010s, I was on a much tighter budget, with underwhelmed expectations for these once beacons of fashion. Social media through the platforms of Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest were far more fashion-forward in my opinion by this point, and the best part was they were free. And so I swapped my magazines for social media pins, posts, and clips. From 2015 to 2019, I found fashion quite dull and overrun by minimalism and athleisure. With thrifting gaining popularity, searching through clothes that already existed to create fashion called to me more than the glossy pages of Vogue. It was such a weird swap, that at times made me feel confused. I always loved fashion, but the high fashion runways became boring to me during this time period, and I began to question the point of it all. And so I opted out.

I still learned about fashion through deep dives into fashion history but this was far from the runways I used to fawn over. At this time, Vogue seemed far behind the trends, but they still do, to be honest. Social media opened a world that wasn’t curated by fashion people, instead, it is the fashion of people.

Global Ambassadors and Kpop

Then I met K-pop which was a new way into fashion, an electric explosion of ideas fresher than my fashion magazines of old. With each comeback, performance, and music video slaying with a lot more fun than the Met Gala in my opinion. But there was this old ghost hanging in the background. Global Ambassadorships. When I began to listen to Blackpink it was quite evident that they were connected to the fashion world. With Jennie Kim working with Chanel, Rose with Saint Laurent, Lisa with Celine, and Jisoo with Dior. It was in the lyrics, the music videos, the posts. Everywhere. I paid attention a little, but not much.

Then I noticed Hong Joong from Ateez attending Balmain shows. Okay, my interest was piqued.

But the ultimate tipping point came this summer when Hyunjin was named an ambassador for Versace, a few weeks later Felix was given the same honor by Louis Vuitton. It was hinted that Lee Know was going to be at Milan Fashion Week for the Gucci show, unfortunately, a car accident occurred days before the show and both he and Hyunjin were unable to attend. Thankfully they are okay.

The ultimate tipping point for me to give in and watch Paris Fashion Week again was when I.N. was invited to attend Alexander McQueen’s show – and sit in the front row. Is this the dream collab for me? YES! Alexander McQueen is my all-time favorite designer. And so like me ten years ago, I watched the runway. I watched the McQueen show and clips of the Louis Vuitton show, of which Felix was front row. Who knew K-pop boy band ambassador appointments would reunite me with the world of high fashion. Life is a funny thing.

So what do I think of the runway since taking a 10-year break? I think my love of luxury fashion and fashion week has become refined. Instead of wanting to consume all of it, I now find myself enjoying specific designs and aesthetics. Maybe it’s maturity or maybe it is because I am working on my sewing and design sensibilities for myself. The clothing really has to speak to me for me to see them as high fashion now. Luxury no longer equates high fashion to me. Street style has just as much impact to me and I would rather consult Steal the Spotlight and Pinterest’s offerings than the runways exclusively. I can’t stop seeing the business side of fashion magazines and runways now. Some of these items, are blah and played out yet they get their face time simply because they have a label attached and that is stuffy to me now.

Will I check out the shows next year? Yes. Surprisingly, it still has a magic feeling about it. I love the spectacle. And maybe one day, I will be closer to the dream of showing my own collection.

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