Project Runway- the countdown begins!

I blogged a few weeks ago about the many differences between Project Runway vs. The Fashion Show. As many of you know, Project Runway aired for five seasons on Bravo TV, but then was sold to the Lifetime Channel. After an onslaught of lawsuits between Bravo, Lifetime, NBC, etc., the situation finally resolved and it became official- Project Runway was moved to Lifetime and Bravo created The Fashion Show as its replacement. Now, after months and months of waiting- it has felt like an eternity, really- we are finally getting close to the air date of Project Runway Season Six. When August 20th was announced as the official air date, I thought, "How on earth can I wait so long?" But finally, the date is at hand and soon we'll all be back on the PR bandwagon, ooh-ing and aah-ing and (occassionally) boo-ing this season's designs. I personally cannot wait. In honor of this much anticipated event, I thought I'd show you all a few of my favorite designs from past seasons.

Season One was a lot of fun- especially whenever crazy Wendy Pepper would act all self-righteous and swear like a sailor about how mistreated she was by the other designers. A favorite moment of mine was when Jay McCarroll's model was a no-show and fellow designer Austin Scarlett stepped in for the runway show. How many men do you know who could step into womens-wear and look that good? Honestly, I think he wore more make-up off the runway than on, but I loved him none-the-less. Jay McCarroll's personality was a complete winner for me as well. I laughed out loud nearly every episode at something funny he said or did. As for favorite designs, I fell in love with Jay McCarroll's final collection, especially this amazing cardigan. The color is incredible and I love the dramatic scawl collar.

In Season Two, I absolutely LOVED watching Santino infuriate the judges with his argumentative responses to their critique. While Chloe and Daniel Vosovic turned out beautiful design after beautiful design for the weekly challenges, both of their final collections felt disappointing to me. I felt as though Chloe's was a bit one-note and Daniel's just didn't seem as cohesive as I thought it should be. Santino, in addition to his interesting and edgy designs, was immensely entertaining especially with his Tim Gunn impersonations- flawless, right? Anyway, it is Santino whose first design I remember- it was the challenge with 3 yards of muslin and they had to complete it before they even arrived in New York! Santino dyed his muslin a beautiful deep teal blue. Stunning, right?

Season Three was such a fun season- it was actually the season that inspired me to audition for the show. (I didn't actually audition until Season 5, but more on that another day.) Anyway, the cast was chock full of quirky, but talented designers- I found myself without a real favorite because I liked so many of them. Remember Jeffrey and how much he hated making that dress for Angela's mom? Oh, the drama! Angela was pretty annoying (remember her stupid flowers she put on EVERYTHING?), and I definitely got sick of Uli going on and on about her tropical weather inspiration. Not everyone who buys clothes lives in Miami, Uli! But I digress... the outfit I loved so much was the "Waste Not, Want Not" episode where the designers were tasked with creating an outfit from a waste management warehouse. Jeffrey rocked it with one of the few outfits on the runway that actually looked and moved like real clothing. Bravo, Jeffrey!

Season Four. Where do I begin with Season Four? I could talk about it all day. It was the season with by far the most talented designers. They raised the bar in Season Four. Bigtime. Christian Siriano came off a little arrogant at first, but a great friend of mine reminded me of the episode where another designer carried him into the workroom in a tote bag. Obviously willing to put himself in a position to be the object of ridicule, Christian never took himself too seriously despite his constant proclamations of his own fierce-ness. And in the end, he proved it. You sort of have to hand it to him- he was fierce, he knew it, he let us know it and then he proved it. This gorgeous ombre cocktail dress from his final collection was just soooo luxurious. And I'm impressed by how he made a dress with that much fabric actually look flattering on the model. Good job, Christian- I'm a forever fan.

Season Four was also the first season where I would have been happy with any of the finalists winning the show. They were all amazingly talented, but they also seemed to be incredibly nice people who were all supportive of each other. Which brings me to Season Five. I felt the opposite with Season Five. All I cared about in the end was that Kenley did NOT win. I didn't care who made it to the end as long as she didn't win. How annoying was she? She was so cute at first, but that annoying voice and the attitude was out of control! I've seen pictures of her wedding dress side-by-side with the McQueen design she knocked off. How can she honestly say that it wasn't a near replica! She acted like she invented that silhouette! Argh! But enough about Kenley. Korto was one of my favorites- her final collection had so much spunk and vitality. I was really disappointed when she was eliminated. LeeAnn's collection was interesting, but it felt a little one-note to me. It was perhaps the first time I felt the judges let me down. Well, at least Kenley didn't win. This dress is a perfect example of Korto's innovation- the neckline is just a slight variation on a halter, but that slight change works wonders! Also, the vibrant green is so fresh and invigorating, don't you think?

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Leave a comment and tell me about your favorite Project Runway design or episode. I could talk about that show all day! And don't forget to mark your calendar- August 20, 2009 at 10:00 PM EST on Lifetime.