17 New Designers for Project Runway Season 8

More Designers Than Ever in Series History to Compete in Expanded 90-Minute Version of Television's Top Fashion Design Series Beginning Thursday, July 29, at 9pm with Actress Selma Blair serving as Guest Celebrity Judge for the Premiere!

Let the sewing, stitching and snickering begin! The Emmy® Award nominated series, Project Runway, kicks off its eighth season with 17 talented designers – the most in series history – beginning Thursday, July 29, at 9pm ET/PT on Lifetime Television. In the show's expanded 90-minute format, the new crop of designers will encounter host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia and top-name guest designer and celebrity judges, including actress Selma Blair for the premiere episode, as they face inventive challenges, unexpected eliminations and other surprises along the way. Filmed on location in New York, each episode of the eighth season will feature more couture creations and fashion flubs as the designers attempt to make the cut to show at New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center.

As part of the winner's prize package, this season's victorious designer will receive $100,000 from L'Oreal Paris to start his/her own line, a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine, a $50,000 technology suite by HP and Intel to create his/her own vision and run his/her business and the opportunity to design and sell an exclusive collection on Piperlime.com. The model paired with the winner of Project Runway will also appear in the designer's editorial feature in Marie Claire and receive $25,000 from L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional.

The Project Runway, Season Eight designers are:

•A.J. Thouvenot, 26 - Hometown: St. Louis, MO; Resides in St. Charles, MO
•Andy South, 23 - Hometown: Waipahu, HI; Resides in Honolulu, HI
•April Johnston, 21 - Hometown: Mooresville, NC; Resides in Savannah, GA
•Casanova, 33 - Hometown: Fajardo, Puerto Rico; Resides in Astoria, NY
•Christopher Collins, 30 - Hometown: Encinitas, CA; Resides in San Francisco, CA
•Gretchen Jones, 28 - Hometown: Fairplay, CO; Resides in Portland, OR
•Ivy Higa, 30 - Hometown: Seoul, South Korea/Kaihula-Kona, HI; Resides in New York, NY
•Jason Troisi, 33 - Hometown: Greenwich, CT; Resides in Greenwich, CT
•Kristin Haskins-Simms, 38 - Hometown: Philadelphia, PA; Resides in Philadelphia, PA
•McKell Maddox, 29 - Hometown: Brigham City, UT; Resides in Layton, UT
•Michael Costello, 27 - Hometown: Los Angeles, CA; Resides in Palm Desert, CA
•Michael Drummond, 31 - Hometown: St. Louis, MO; Resides in St. Louis, MO
•Mondo Guerra, 32 - Hometown: Denver, CO; Resides in Denver, CO
•Nicolas D'Aurizio, 31 - Hometown: Hackensack, NJ; Resides in New York, NY
•Peach Carr, 50 - Hometown: Winfield, IL; Resides in Lake Forest, IL
•Sarah Trost, 27 - Hometown: Frazier Park, CA; Resides in Toluca Lake, CA
•Valerie Mayen, 28 - Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX; Resides in Cleveland, OH


Last Thursday, Project Runway received two Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Reality-Competition Program and Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for Heidi Klum.

Lifetime's digital offerings will represent a robust collection of video content, including extended runway judging, designer and judge video blogs and more. They will also feature full streaming episodes of the show, available only on myLifetime.com. Also returning for Season 8 are Rate the Runway photo galleries of the show's fashions, as well as blogs by mentor Tim Gunn and fan-favorite designers from past seasons.

Other return offerings include the 2010 Webby Award-nominated Tim Gunn's Workroom videos and Designer Portfolios. Tim Gunn's Workroom will continue to showcase his critiques of the contestants' garments-in-progress, and the interactive Designer Portfolios will display the designers' previous work along with sketches made before the show and throughout the season. Roiworld.com's popular weekly Project Runway dress-up games (which accounted for more than 4.8MM game plays in Season 7) will also return, featuring illustrated versions of the winning designs in an interactive wardrobe.

Project Runway enthusiasts can also interact with fellow fans, show insiders and designers by following @projectrunway on Twitter or visiting www.facebook.com/projectrunway for the latest Project Runway news and updates.

Reality Check: Project Runway, Season 6, Episode 2

I'll be the first to admit that I've developed an inexplicable pleasure in watching reality TV personalities. There's just something so satisfyingly entertaining in watching real people fight their way - tooth and nail, to the top. Why watch fictional drama when you can capture the real deal on camera for the whole world to see?

On last night’s episode of Project Runway, the intensity ratcheted up a notch when the designers were faced with a rather large challenge. They were asked to design a chic maternity look for supermodel and mom-to-be, Rebecca Romijn, while keeping in mind a tailored and elegant silhouette that would flatter her curves.

While weighing their options, the contestants looked slightly panic stricken, most of whom admitted that they had never created maternity clothing before. But as they buckled down to work, the individuality and creativity of each designer became quickly apparent.

Louise captured the understated glamour of the 1940’s with one of her signature cocktail dresses that the judges agreed displayed excellent craftsmanship and a great attention to detail.

Althea, the Southern Belle from Charleston, SC, used a dark, dramatic blue jersey to create a floor length evening look that was both accentuating and flattering, making her my favorite designer of the night.

And Shirin stole the night with her elegantly draped red dress and a well-tailored coat lined in a fun, complimentary print. With an interesting neckline and gorgeous pleating around the baby bump, Shirin proved that she knows exactly what every pregnant woman craves. The judges all agreed that her dress was the most wearable look of the night and named her the winner of the challenge.

However, the most entertainingly ironic part of the show by far was watching the stick thin models strut down the runway with a disproportionately huge bulge strapped around their waists. As if these women could conceivably carry 30 pounds of dead weight around their midsections as if they were nothing!

The judges finally narrowed it down to the two designers who managed to fall too short of the mark this week. Once again Mitchell found himself in the bottom two after producing a sloppy pair of shorts, in which the judges all agreed they would never wear. Malvin took the challenge a little too literally, using the concept of fertility to create an unflattering white top that was supposed to resemble an egg.

Personally, I was really torn between these two. On the one hand, Mitchell really should have stepped up his game after last week’s disappointment. However, Malvin’s outfit, complete with black feathers that supposedly represented the "mother hen," was just a little too bizarre for my taste.

Had Malvin been able to separate his concept from the construction and create something more relatable; both to the viewers and to the judges, he would have stood a much better chance. In the end, the judges decided to send Malvin home and give Mitchell a third chance... but not without a stern warning from Klum.

Tune in next Thursday at 10 pm to see if he can redeem himself before Klum gives him the boot!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Erin