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There is one hit reality television show that breaks the mold of large-chested dimwits fighting for a burnt-out celebrity’s love: Project Runway.
Originally one of Bravo’s talent-oriented reality competitions, Project Runway gives amateur and professional designers a change to show their collections at Bryant Park during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Eliminated one by one through a hodgepodge of challenges that make viewers wonder what experimental drugs the show’s producers are taking, the designers sketch, sew and often cry their way through the world of fashion.
Runway, in its sixth season, has undergone some slight alterations since last year. Delayed due to a three-month lawsuit, Runway is now part of Lifetime’s programming. The Bluefly.com accessory wall has now changed to that of Macy’s, the L’Oreal hair studio to Garnier, and the grand prize of a fashion spread in Elle magazine to one in Marie Claire (thanks to judge Nina Garcia’s career change).
Despite the corporate sponsorship changes, Runway still delivers a reality program of substance to creativity-starved audiences nationwide. Fashionistas, trendies and queer peers flock to witness poor judgments in taste (a hexagon-patched silver hooded dress?), fabric nightmares and Tim Gunn’s signature wisdom: “Make it work.”
This season’s designers seem to be safely coasting on acceptability, compared to former seasons’ high-energy contestants’ unique pieces that blurred the line between outrageous and stylishly advanced.
It appears that Runway has allowed its entry requirements to become a bit lax, but the program continues to provide viewers with an inside glimpse into the high-tension world of fashion where designers make garments out of newspaper and Heidi Klum dismisses you from competition with an “Auf wiedersehen.” It may be dramatized, but it’s the closest we can get.
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