Lifetime has revealed the identities of the 16 designers who will be competing on Project Runway's twelfth season, which will premiere on Thursday, July 18 at 9PM ET/PT, along with mentor Tim Gunn's new role on the show and the addition of new fan integration elements.
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Project Runway's twelfth edition will feature the 16 designers participating in a series of challenges to create and execute ensembles fit for the fashion runway and win the approval of a panel of fashion experts. In addition to returning judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Zac Posen, Gunn will also be serving on the panel this season.
Gunn will not only join Klum, Garcia and Posen in watching the runway shows during the new season, but he will also answer the judges' questions regarding what had transpired in the workroom and give them the opportunity to physically examine the workmanship of each design. He'll also be afforded the chance to "rescue" one designer throughout the course of the season whom he feels deserves a second chance.
Guest judges will include Michael Kors -- who previously served as a regular Project Runway judge -- Kate Bosworth, Kaley Cuoco, Kelly Osbourne, Allison Williams, Stacy Keibler, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Sigourney Weaver.
In a new twist this season, "fans will be able to interact with viewers across the country in real-time during each episode through the new interactive on-screen feature, PlayRunway, empowering fans to use their smartphones, tablets and computers to share their reactions to episode storylines, design challenges and decisions by judges," according to the network.
The new season will also feature a "Project Runway Superfan Contest" in which seven superfans will be chosen amongst all video submissions to receive a fashion makeover and appear in one of the upcoming episodes.
The twelfth-season premiere episode will test the designers by having them create a look using parachute materials.
The winning twelfth-season designer will receive $150,000 from GoBank, $50,000 worth of technology from HP and Intel to create his or her own vision and launch a business, a year's supply of Resource Natural Spring Water and an all-expense paid spa retreat for two to Maldives, a chance to design and sell an exclusive collection at Belk, a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery, a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine, a 2014 Lexus vehicle, a $100,000 fabric allowance from Tide Pods, and a $50,000 styling contract with L'Oreal Paris.
The model paired with the winner of Project Runway will receive a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine and $25,000 from L'Oreal Paris.
Project Runway is produced by The Weinstein Company, Bunim-Murray Productions and Full Picture Entertainment. Klum, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Barbara Schneeweiss, Meryl Poster, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Jane Cha Cutler, Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy, David Hillman, and Desiree Gruber serve as executive producers.
Fifteen of the 16 twelfth-season Project Runway designers and their bios supplied by Lifetime are:
- Alexander Pope, a 38-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, who currently resides in New York, NY
- Alexandria von Bromssen, a 38-year-old from Stockholm, Sweden, who currently resides in San Mateo, CA
- Angela Bacskocky, a 33-year-old from Richmond, VA, who currently resides in Richmond, VA
- Bradon McDonald, a 38-year-old from Lowville, NY, who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA
- Dom Streater, a 24-year-old from Philadelphia, PA, who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA
- Helen Castillo, a 25-year-old from Weehawken, NJ, who currently resides in Union City, NJ
- Jeremy Brandrick, a 41-year-old from Birmingham, England, who currently resides in New York, NY
- Justin LeBlanc, a 27-year-old from Tampa, FL, who currently resides in Raleigh, NC
- Kahindo Mateene, a 34-year-old from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, who currently resides in Chicago, IL
- Karen Batts, a 29-year-old from Boca Raton, FL, who currently resides in Queens, NY
- Ken Laurence, a 24-year-old from Birmingham, AL, who currently resides in Birmingham, AL
- Miranda Kay Levy, a 29-year-old from Wilton, WI, who currently resides in Milwaukee, WI
- Sandro Masmanidi, a 28-year-old from Krasnodar, Russia, who currently resides in New York, NY
- Sue Waller, a 45-year-old from Boston, MA, who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY
- Timothy Westbrook, a 24-year-old from Wanakena, NY, who currently resides in Milwaukee, WI
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
