Runway Re-do

**************************

I have recently rediscovered a T.V. favorite of mine, and what a fabulous find it has been! When Project Runway first debuted in 2004, I was back in my college years and never missed an episode. I adored watching the designers create their masterpieces using unconventional resources (I loved the candy store episode) with ridiculously short time constraints (20 hours to create a couture gown? Ohh, the drama!). Each season, I would cheer (I lovvvved season two’s Daniel Vosovic’s classic and beautiful creations) and jeer (season one’s Jay McCarroll’s snarky comments were hilarious, I will admit, but his headphone-slash-sweater look on the finale? Not diggin’ it) as the seasons dished out fashion inspiration and diva designer drama.  I religiously watched the first four seasons on the Bravo network, but as more and more reality shows debuted, Runway lost a spot in my weekly line-up. And when it made the switch to the Lifetime network a few years ago, it went completely off my radar.

However, about a week ago (and just in the nick of time, as the newest season was just premiering) one of my favorite friends mentioned that she had been watching the show. When I voiced my concerns that the new network had ruined the format, she assured me it hadn’t, and that it was, in fact, just the same as it always had been. And so, I set my DVR to record season nine. Not only is the format exactly the same (in the best way possible), but I found that the show is now a full 90 minutes long—30 extra glorious minutes of gorgeous gorgeous fabrics, frantic sewing machines, back-stabbing gossip and of course, Tim Gunn’s helpful dialogue along the way (“Make it work” and “Sweet Jesus! Well, you have a lot of work to do” are among my favorite phrases).  Host Heidi (Klum) is still as darling as ever (her outfits are always spot on!), judge Michael Kors is still too tan (and in my humble opinion, quite full of himself), and the fashion show elimination at the end is still as enthralling as ever. I’m now back, fully engrossed in the chic broadcast each Thursday night (at 8:00pm, if you’re interested!) and loving every stylish second.

(Sidenote: the Style Network runs marathons of previous Project Runway seasons during the day…I’ve spent my summer catching up on all my fav past moments with Austin Scarlett, Santino Rice, Laura Bennett and Christian Siriano. What a fab way to spend my last few days of freedom!)

***************************

{The judges in action}

{The famous silhouette screen}