PROJECT RUNWAY IS BACK! & IT’S A GAME-CHANGER FOR REALITY TV

aaaaaaand WE’RE BACK. 

This Thanksgiving entailed a little bit of a digital detox, but now we’re back at it! Energized, enthusiastic & not to mention, totally FREAKING OUT over tonight’s season 18 premiere of arguably (not arguably) one of the best competition TV shows out there: Project Runway. 

It’s crazy to think, but PR has now been a staple in the reality scene for the last f i f t e e n years. In fact, almost to the date! And while we’ve totally been here for all the trips to Mood, late-night pep talks, jaw-dropping non-traditional material challenges and NYFW debuts, there’s no denying it’s been ~a journey~. 

But despite the hops from Parsons to the CFDA, Michael to Zac to Brandon, NYC to LA (…then thankfully back to NYC), & a bunch of spinoffs in the process, earlier this year marked its EPIC for real, for real return.

Back to its roots. Back to its original Bravo home. Project Runway proved that it was not only back in business, but returning with a ferociously fierce vengeance while at it.

And we COULD NOT be more obsessed.

Image Source

Now, of course there’s never enough love that can be shown for long-time hosts, style icons, master mentors & everything else Tim Gunn & Heidi Klum. So when the news broke that neither one of them would be returning to the runway for season 17, minds were blown. We’re talking HUGE shoes that had to be filled after 16 smashing seasons, so who could possibly be up for THAT kind of challenge?!

But – once season four champion-turned-iconic, world-renown designer Christian Siriano x supermodel entrepreneur, coder & all-around badass Karlie Kloss stepped up to the plate, it was clear. From the very first episode, we knew. It was no small feat – but these two? They were it. 

Especially alongside the slightly shaken up roster of judges Nina Garcia (the only OG), fashion designer Brandon Maxwell & former Teen Vogue Editor-In-Chief Elaine Welteroth, it just all worked so well.

Mainly because Project Runway is not just any reality show.

You have real-deal industry icons that seem like they genuinely want to see each & every one of the contestants succeed, grow & learn as fashion designers as well as people. So that combined with the roller coasters of highs, lows, feedback & emotions you see behind the whole creative process, it’s about so much more than your typical reality show spats, drama & glaring artificiality. 

Even though it is Bravo (much like our other fave MDLNY), the show at its core is about channeling inspiration, refining your natural talents & encouraging others in a way that’s so heart-warmingly authentic. Which is where I begin to sob.

And we haven’t even gotten to the five-star fab roster of designers last season had, too! Sebastian, Garo, Bishme, MSFT icon Hester (which will be a whole other post in & of itself)…you know when you get invested in a competition show & think ‘how could next season’s personalities possibly top this group?’ That was such the case for me with this crew.

The season 17 finalists – Image Source

But all in all after re-falling in love with the franchise last season, we could not be any more ready for what this one has in store. So if you fell off the wagon long ago, or maybe haven’t even seen an episode in the first place, I’d highly recommend giving it a whirl.

Either way, you’ll be seeing be many, many more musings about it.

Until then, auf wiedersehen…

xxAA

((images within feature image from bravotv.com))

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