Project Runway Season 6, Episode 1 Starts Series Anew

Project Runway family welcomes additions

Am I the only one who is just delighted to see Tim Gunn dishing out digs in the workroom again?

There have been a lot of changes in the Project Runway world in the past couple of years, and fans have been not-so-patiently waiting for its return to the airwaves. Finally, last night Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1 aired on Project Runway’s new home, Lifetime.

Project Runway previously played on Bravo, but after a lengthy negotiation Lifetime has finally managed to pilfer the hit series. Furthermore, the premiere of Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1 was accompanied by the Project Runway All Star Challenge, which brought back competitors from previous seasons. Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1 also was followed by a brand new series, Models of the Runway, which focuses on the models who compete in Project Runway.

Lifetime strikes a lucrative deal

I do not know how Lifetime managed to poach one of Bravo’s biggest makers of cash today, but somehow the women-focused channel managed to do it. I know many people were very disappointed by this move, and Bravo certainly didn’t let Project Runway go without a fight.

Luckily, Bravo still has Top Chef, which it is expanding and capitalizing as much as possible, as the Top Chef brand is the channel’s main moneymaker. I know Project Runway will bring tons of viewership and advertising dollars to Lifetime, but I do think that some viewers, particularly men, have been turned off by the fact that it is now “a Lifetime show.” Luckily, the men still have Jon Stewart to look to for support when it comes to liking a show that airs on a women’s network. Jon Stewart interviewed Tim Gunn on “The Daily Show” the night before Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1 and expressed his undying fandom.

Project Runway All Star Challenge

The long-awaited season premier of Project Runway was preceded by the Project Runway All Star Challenge, which pitted eight designers deemed “fan favorites” from previous seasons of Project Runway. Daniel Vosovic, who was a finalist in Season 2, took home the $100,000 prize and the title of winner in the two-hour special.

Vosovic competed against Chris March, Jeffrey Sebelia, Korto Momolu, Mychael Knight, Santino Rice, Sweet P Vaughn and Uli Herzner. Momolu made it to runner up in the challenge, in which all of the designers made four-piece collections. The “twist” took place when, after a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant, the designers were asked to gather materials from around the room and fashion them into “another look.”

Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1

Finally, after the All Star Challenge in all of its two-hour glory was finished, we get to Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1. You’ll find plenty of snarky haters out there talking about how it’s more of the same and all of the regular stereotypes are there, but you won’t hear me complain. I mean, isn’t that what we wanted? I’ve always loved Project Runway for being exactly what it is, and I am glad to bet getting “more of the same.”

The series has moved to L.A. from New York, which disappointed me a little because who needs another show filmed in L.A.? But it’s still the same runway, the workroom looks the same, and things in general haven’t changed to much because of its relocation to Tinsel Town.

The first designer to be eliminated was Ari, a young woman who designed a short, hooded, shiny little halter dress fashioned from silver hexagons and paired with little blue short-shorts. One of the models said “It looked like a space suit from outer space.” Of course, the models don’t talk on Project Runway, so obviously that line was from the models’ very own new show, which brings us to…

Models of the Runway

Yes, the models come across as vapid and silly and airheaded. Yes, there are little dramatic spats and all of the other totally expected stuff. And personally, I think it is hilarious. I could not stop laughing at that “space suit from outer space” bit, and it was super entertaining to watch the models discuss model stereotypes and exhibit them at the same time.

It also does add another interesting dimension to the glory that is Project Runway. Seeing the models who competed on Project Runway Season 6 Episode 1 celebrate, stress out, interact and really be humans, rather than just walking clothes hangers, made the core show all the more interesting.