More than a decade after “Project Runway” rocked the fashion world, Lifetime’s Emmy®-nominated series returns Thursday, September 15th at 9pm ET/PT for its milestone fifteenth season. Year after year, “Project Runway” hopefuls have competed stitch by stitch for the chance to make their mark on the world of fashion. Having propelled aspiring designers into the style spotlight, “Project Runway” has left no sequin un-sewn. Continuing to uphold the runway legacy, this celebratory season will take fashion to a whole other level with 16 new designers. Determining whether they’ve created a fashion feat or faux pas are returning judges Heidi Klum, Marie Claire’s creative director Nina Garcia, creative director for Brooks Brother Women, fashion designer Zac Posen and mentor Tim Gunn, who once again will have the power to “save” one designer from elimination.
To help decide which designer will be crowned fashion royalty and who will be “cut” from the competition are guest judges, actresses Priyanka Chopra (“Quantico”), Emily Ratajkowski (“Gone Girl”), Nina Dobrev (“The Vampire Diaries”), Camilla Belle (“When a Stranger Calls”), Jaime King (“Hart of Dixie”), Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL”), Sabrina Carpenter (“Girl Meets World”) and Carly Chaiken (“Mr. Robot”). Additional influencers joining the judges panel are The Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie, fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, “Project Runway” Junior judge Kelly Osbourne, model Lucky Blue Smith and Editor in Chief of Marie Claire, Anne Fulenwider.
The Project Runway Season 15 designers are:
- Alex Snyder (30) San Francisco, CA
- Brik Allen (26) Baton Rouge, LA
- Cornelius Ortiz (24) Boston, MA; hometown: Worcester, MA
- Dexter Simmons (32) Oakland, CA
- Erin Robertson (29) Cambridge, MA; hometown: Provo, UT
- Ian Hargrove (30) Chicago, IL
- Jenni Ricetti (22) San Francisco, CA
- Kimber Richardson (42) New York, NY; hometown: Houston, TX
- Tasha Henderson (33) Shreveport, LA
- Laurence Basse (41) Los Angeles, CA; hometown: Paris, France
- Linda Marcus (55) Milwaukee, WI; hometown: LaCanada Flintridge, CA
- Nathalia JMag (23) Framingham, MA
- Rik Villa (31) Los Angeles, CA
- Roberi Parra (32) Miami, FL; hometown: Caracas, Venezuela
- Sarah Donofrio (34) Portland, OR; hometown: Toronto, Canada
- Mah-Jing Wong (28) Philadelphia, PA
The winner of “Project Runway” will receive $100,000 to launch his or her business. Sally Beauty will supply a year’s worth of products along with a $25,000 cash prize. Travel and hotel accommodations to inspiring destinations around the world from Best Western Hotels and Resorts will also be provided, and from Mary Kay, the winner will receive an entire year’s worth of beauty products for their fashion shows and professional makeup artist services for their debut show. The winner will also receive a new Lexus IS sedan and a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery. The winning designer and model will receive a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine.
