Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airing history, with Bravo originating the first five seasons, followed by Lifetime for eleven more. The show has had over 30 international adaptations.
For the most recent season, see Project Runway (season 20). For the video game, see Project Runway (video game).Project Runway
United States
English
20
251
- Barbara Schneeweiss
- Bob Weinstein
- Colleen Sands
- David Hillman
- Desiree Gruber
- Gena McCarthy
- Heidi Klum
- Jane Cha
- Jon Murray
- Meryl Poster
- Sara Rea
40 to 42 minutes (seasons 1–7)
62 to 64 minutes (seasons 8–16)
- Miramax Television (seasons 1–9)
- Full Picture Productions (seasons 1–16)
- Magical Elves Productions (seasons 2–19)
- The Weinstein Company Television (seasons 2–16)[1]
- Heidi Klum Productions (seasons 2–16)
- Bunim/Murray Productions (seasons 6–16)
- Lantern Entertainment (season 17–)[2]
- Spyglass Media Group (season 17–)[3][4]
- Alfred Street Industries (seasons 18–19)[4]
December 1, 2004 –
present
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, materials and theme. Their designs are judged by a panel, and one or more designers are typically eliminated from the show each week. During each season, contestants are progressively eliminated until only a few contestants remain. These finalists prepare complete fashion collections for New York Fashion Week. After the runway shows, the judges choose the winner.
In 2008, the show won a Peabody Award "for using the 'television reality contest' genre to engage, inform, enlighten and entertain."[5]
In 2018, during the wake of The Weinstein Company's bankruptcy, the show then returned to Bravo.[2] Klum and the designers' mentor Tim Gunn both left the show in 2018 to helm another fashion competition show, Making the Cut on Amazon Video.[6] American model Karlie Kloss followed Klum as the new host, with season four winner Christian Siriano replacing Gunn as mentor.[7]
Production[edit]
On July 4, 2006, the show's producers, The Weinstein Company, announced a five-year deal that would relocate the show to Lifetime, beginning with Season 6. In response, NBCUniversal filed a lawsuit against the Weinstein Company for violating its contract rights.[10] A September 2008 court decision granted NBCU's request for an injunction, preventing Lifetime from promoting or exhibiting "Runway" until further notice.[11]
On April 1, 2009, the lawsuit between The Weinstein Company and NBCUniversal was settled, with Weinstein agreeing to pay NBCU an undisclosed sum for the right to move the show to Lifetime.[12][13] Season 6 began airing on Lifetime on August 20.[14] On August 27, NBCUniversal wound up gaining partial ownership of Lifetime, when A&E Television Networks, which was already partially owned by NBCU, acquired the channel's parent company, Lifetime Entertainment Services. It premiered on the Slice channel in Canada on September 12.[15]
Following the show's sixteenth season, NBCUniversal reacquired the rights to the show, as a result of the bankruptcy of the Weinstein Company; Weinstein Company's assets, which including Project Runway, were acquired by Lantern Entertainment in March 2018, and by May, NBCU's Bravo Media LLC. NBCU announced in May 2018 that the a reboot of the show would return to Bravo.[16] By September, host Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn announced they were leaving Project Runway to start a new reality competition show for Amazon Studios; judge Zac Posen also stated he was leaving the show.[17] By October, Bravo announced that Klum and Gunn would be replaced, respectively, by supermodel Karlie Kloss and Season 4 winner Christian Siriano. Additionally, fashion designer Brandon Maxwell and former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth joined Nina Garcia as permanent judges.[18] As of Season 19, Kloss is no longer host, with Siriano handling both duties of host and mentor.[19][20]