The new season of Project Runway started on Thursday and Tim Gunn is missing. I know that’s enough to keep some of you from watching at all, but get this—Heidi Klum isn’t the host of this All-Star season, either. With no Klum or Gunn and two new judges replacing Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, will this season be a flop?
I don’t think so. The new Project Runway All-Stars season is packed with returning contestants from the first eight seasons of the show, so it seems as though having Klum, Garcia and Kors judge again with preconceived conceptions of the designers would be entirely unfair. Their replacements, designers Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman, seem well-qualified to fill their shoes. It will be refreshing to get a few new jargon-less phrases and different design perspectives after eight seasons of the same (and Nina Garcia preference for neutrals).
That’s not to say that Angela Lindvall, host and supermodel, wasn’t picked because she looks more like Heidi Klum than anyone else. Plus, she speaks almost identically to the way Klum does, sans Austrian accent, of course. Gunn’s replacement, Joanna Coles, the editor of Marie Claire, seems capable and articulate, but I have a feeling viewers will spite her because we love Tim Gunn so much.
I do applaud Project Runway for switching it up. After so many seasons of formulaic sameness, it’s nice to see something new. The prize this season is also different than it has been, and includes a boutique with the winning designer’s clothes in it, $100,000, a set of industrial sewing equipment and a yearlong stint as guest editor of Marie Claire magazine.
As the episode begins, we are re-introduced to the designers’ styles with a fashion show including pieces of their recent work. It’s all pretty and well-designed—not indicative of anything that we’ll see through the rest of speed-racer season.
Lindvall announces that their first challenge is one that designers hate: the Dollar Store challenge. The designers are given $100 and let loose in a dollar store where they’re expected to collect materials to create a look that was reminiscent of the one they showed at the first fashion show. Most of the designers go for fabric-based materials like scarves and towels—something they should know is a no-no after all of these seasons.
In the end, Rami Kashou wins the first challenge for his polished and well-made “tweed” look made from laundry bags and tinsel. Weirdo Elisa Jimenez, who seems content to be remembered for licking her garments, was sent home first for a top-and-booty-shorts look with doodled-on angel wings. Sweet P’s terrycloth dress was work, but she has more potential and is better liked, so she was given a second chance.