Project Runway 4 (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Project Runway Season 4 was the fourth season of Project Runway, Bravo's reality competition for fashion designers. The season premiered November 14, 2007. Returning as judges were supermodel Heidi Klum; fashion designer Michael Kors; and Nina Garcia, Elle magazine fashion director. Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., again acts as a mentor to the contestants.
Through a series of weekly challenges, contestants were eliminated, leaving three finalists left who then went on to show their designs in the final episodes at New York Fashion Week. The winner, Christian Siriano, received prizes including: an editorial feature in Elle, $100,000 from TRESemmé to start his own line, the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com, and a 2008 Saturn Astra automobile.
Elisa Jimenez, Sweet P Vaughn and Rami Kashou later appeared in Project Runway: All Stars in 2012, where Elisa placed 13th, Sweet P Placed 12th, and Rami came in 8th place out of 13.
Contestants
Designers
The 15 contestants were (in order of elimination):
(ages listed are the designers' ages at the time the show was taped in the summer of 2007)
Models
Model
Age
Hometown
Place Finished
Wendi Sullivan
28
Canton, MA
15th
Cheron Smith
22
Torrance, CA
14th
Anna Lita Perez
25
Kiev, Ukraine
13th
Christina Anderson-McDonald
23
Meadowbrook, PA
12th
Ashley Evans
22
Smithville, MO
11th
Katie Nelson
19
New York, NY
10th
Aviva Brocks
21
London, England
9th
Marie Salter
25
Katy, TX
8th
Jacqueline Miranne
21
New York, NY
7th
Amanda Alter
23
DeWitt, AR
6th
Lea Rannells
22
Bridgewater, NJ
5th
Marcia Mitchell
23
The Berkshires, Massachusetts
4th
Lauren Browne
18
Grafton, MA
3rd
Samantha "Sam" Ruggiero
19
Redding, CT
Runner-up
Lisa Nargi
25
New York, NY
Winner
Season 4 Challenges
Designer Elimination Progress
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
Eliminated Episode
Christian
HIGH
LOW
IN
HIGH
WIN
IN
LOW
WIN
HIGH
HIGH
WIN
ADV
WINNER
14 - Finale, Part 2
Rami
WIN
IN
IN
HIGH
IN
WIN
LOW
LOW
HIGH
LOW
LOW
ADV
Jillian
IN
IN
IN
WIN
HIGH
HIGH
IN
HIGH
LOW
HIGH
HIGH
ADV
Chris
IN
IN
IN
OUT
LOW
HIGH
IN
HIGH
LOW
WIN
LOW
OUT
Sweet P
IN
HIGH
LOW
LOW
IN
LOW
HIGH
LOW
HIGH
LOW
OUT
11 - The Art of Fashion
Ricky
LOW
IN
LOW
LOW
IN
IN
LOW
LOW
WIN
OUT
10 - Raw Talent
Victorya
HIGH
WIN
IN
LOW
IN
LOW
WIN
HIGH
OUT
9 - Even Designers Get The Blues
Kit
IN
IN
HIGH
HIGH
IN
IN
IN
OUT
8 - En Garde!
Kevin
IN
HIGH
HIGH
HIGH
HIGH
IN
OUT
7 - What A Girl Wants
Elisa
LOW
HIGH
IN
LOW
LOW
OUT
6 - Eye Candy
Steven
IN
LOW
IN
LOW
OUT
5 - What's the Skinny?
Jack
IN
IN
WIN
HIGH
WD
Carmen
IN
LOW
OUT
3 - Fashion Giant
Marion
IN
OUT
2 - I Started Crying
Simone
OUT
1 - Sew Us What You Got
{{colorbox}} The designer won Project Runway Season 4.
{{colorbox}} The designer was advanced to fashion week.
{{colorbox}} The designer won the challenge.
{{colorbox}}The designer came in second but did not win the challenge.
{{colorbox}} The designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge, but did not win.
{{colorbox}} The designer had one of the lowest scores for that challenge, but was not eliminated.
{{colorbox}} The designer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.
{{colorbox}} The designer lost and was out of the competition.
{{colorbox}} The designer withdrew from the competition.
^: Even though their groups had scored lowest, outfits made by Elisa, Victorya, and Sweet P were liked by the judges.
^: Jack left the competition for medical reasons. Chris, who was previously eliminated in Episode 4, returned to take his place.
^: Sweet P's design was considered good even though her group received a low score.
^: The judges declared a tie between Rami and Chris, and asked each to design a collection for Bryant Park; one of the two would be chosen to show at Bryant Park Fashion Week based on his three strongest pieces.
Model Elimination Progress
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Lisa
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
RL
RL
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
WINNER
Samantha
SR
SR
SR
SR
SR
RK
RK
RK
RK
RK
RK
RK
RK
OUT
Lauren
SL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
JL
OUT
Marcia
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
CM
OUT
Lea
EJ
RL
RL
JM
-
CS
CS
SP
SP
SP
SP
-
OUT
Amanda
JL
KC
KC
KC
KC
KC
KC
RL
RL
RL
OUT
Jacqueline
VH
VH
VH
VH
VH
VH
VH
VH
VH
OUT
Marie
KP
KP
KP
KP
KP
KP
KP
KP
OUT
Aviva
JM
EJ
EJ
EJ
EJ
EJ
-
OUT
Katie
KC
SP
SP
SP
SP
SP
SP
OUT
Ashley
RK
RK
RK
RK
RK
OUT
Christina
SP
JM
JM
RL
RL
OUT
Anna Lita
CW
CW
CW
OUT
Cheron
ML
ML
-
OUT
Wendi
RL
OUT
{{colorbox}} The model won Project Runway Season 4.
{{colorbox}} The model wore the winning design that challenge.
{{colorbox}} The model wore the losing design that challenge.
{{colorbox}} The model was eliminated.
Designer legend
Carmen Webber: CW
Chris March: CM
Christian Siriano: CS
Elisa Jimenez: EJ
Jack Mackenroth: JM
Jillian Lewis: JL
Kevin Christiana: KC
Kit Pistol: KP
Marion Lee: ML
Rami Kashou: RK
Ricky Lizalde: RL
Simone LeBlanc: SL
Steven Rosengard: SR
Sweet P: SP
Victorya Hong: VH
^: Cheron, Anna Lita, Marie, and Jacqueline were used in this challenge to show off the designers' strongest pieces of their collection. However, they will not be in contention for the finale win.
Episode Summary
Episode 1: Sew Us What You Got
The designers arrive in New York and are asked to create a garment that best reflects who they are as a designer. They are given 10 minutes to grab from $50,000 worth of fabric in three tents set up in Bryant Park. The designers are randomly assigned models.
Episode 2: I Started Crying / Money Changes Everything
The remaining designers are asked to create a two-piece garment for Sarah Jessica Parker's BITTEN line using $15 of materials and only one day to complete their look. All fourteen designers pitched their designs to Parker, who chose seven to work in teams of two to create the design. The winning design was sold beginning in November 2007 at Steve & Barry's stores.
The remaining designers are asked to create a three piece menswear outfit for guest judge Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. The designers are randomly assigned male models.
Each designer picks one of 12 outdated fashion designs. Then working in four teams of three, each team must incorporate all three styles into a cohesive collection of three outfits. They have $225 and two days for the project.
Jillian, Kevin and Rami (Trends: overalls, 1970s flare, poodle skirt)
Chris, Sweet P and Steven (Trends: shoulder pads, baggy sweater, dancewear)
Christian, Jack and Kit (Trends: zoot suit, pleather, fringe)
Ricky, Elisa and Victorya (Trends: neon, cutouts, underwear as outerwear)
Note 1: Team leaders in bold, and trends are listed respectively.
Note 2: Although Victorya, Elisa and Sweet P's overall group performance was LOW, their garments were considered good by the judges.
Each designer has to create an outfit for a woman who has recently lost weight, using one of the woman's outfits from before her weight loss as raw material for the new design. The new outfit must incorporate aspects of the now-thin woman's personality, as well as the designer's own style. Each designer is given $10 to use for additional materials. They have one day to complete the outfits.
Guest Judge: Patrick Robinson, head designer for The Gap
WINNER: Christian
LEFT: Jack left to receive medical treatment for a MRSA infection. To keep the same level of competition, he was replaced with Chris, the last designer eliminated.
OUT: Steven
First aired December 12, 2007
Episode 6: Eye Candy
Designers are to create a garment using any materials that were available at the Hershey's store in Times Square, New York City. They are given no budget but only five minutes to collect materials, and are given only one day to complete the outfit.
Designers are challenged to design a prom dress for a group of 16 and 17 year old girls from St. John Vianney High School in New Jersey. The girls, along with their mothers, pre-select the designers they want to work with based on the designers' portfolios. The designers have a budget of $250 for materials from Mood and two days to construct the dresses. The winner is dependent on who did the best according to the clients, and they are judged on time management.
Each designer is randomly paired with another designer and asked to select a team leader. Each team is asked to create an avant-garde outfit based on inspiration from their models' hair styles. They are given a budget of $300 and two days to create this look. The following day, each team is asked to create another, simpler, ready-to-wear outfit which embodies the "essence" of the avant-garde look they have been working on. For the second piece, the designers have a budget of $50. The leader of the winning team receives immunity in the next challenge, while the winning team and their outfits are featured in a TRESemme fashion shoot.
Teams:
Kit and Ricky (LOW)
Rami and Sweet P (LOW)
Christian and Chris (HIGH)
Victorya and Jillian (HIGH)
Note: Team leaders in bold.
Note 2: Although Sweet P's overall group performance was LOW, her garment was considered good by the judges.
The designers are tasked with creating an iconic look using deconstructed denim fabric and white cotton while also showing off the Levi's 501 legacy. The designers are given three minutes to collect provided denim jeans and jackets and cotton fabric hanging from clotheslines in a storeroom; Notions such as buttons, rivets, and other fasteners are provided in the workroom. The designers have one day to complete the design. From this challenge forward, the winning designer would no longer gain immunity in the following challenge.
Each designer selects one of six WWE Divas based on their general attitude, and must design an outfit that matches that attitude and can be worn in the wrestling ring. The designers are given $100 for fabric and two days to complete the designs.
WINNER: Chris (Made Maria's outfit that will be worn during a WWE match)
OUT: Ricky
First aired February 6, 2008
Episode 11: The Art of Fashion
The designers are given 45 minutes in three galleries (the Greek and Roman Sculpture courtyard, the European Painting wing, and the Temple of Dendur) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to select a piece of art to use as inspiration for a dress, using provided cameras to capture the artwork. They are given $300 for materials at Mood, and two days to complete the design.
All the designers who remain in the competition at the end of this episode will show collections at Bryant Park at New York Fashion Week in February 2008.
While statements throughout the show stated that only three designers would move on, the judges declared Rami and Chris tied, and thus, both will develop their line for the Bryant Park show. However, prior to the show, both will display their three best pieces to the judges, who will then decide who will actually be participating for the Project Runway competition during Bryant Park, reducing the final judging decision to three.
While they say that only the one that wins the tie will move on, since Fashion Week was before the airing of this episode, Sweet P actually developed a line for the event, and sold at least one garment.
Episode 12: Reunion
All the designers gather for a reunion. Christian Siriano is given $10,000 as the winner of the viewer "Fan Favorite" contest by Season 3's Michael Knight. Highlights of the season are reviewed, including different designers' reactions to being eliminated, the judges' unaired reactions to the Raw Talent episode, as well as the remaining designers' wrestling diva alter-egos; personality traits of the designers such as Chris March's laugh, Ricky Lizalde's crying, Elisa Jimenez's offbeat personality, and Christian's repeated use of the word "fierce".
The four remaining designers are given five months and $8000 to create a collection of twelve looks for Fashion Week. Three and a half months later, Tim visits each of the designers to assess their progress. The designers return to New York City after five months. Chris and Rami are to select their three best outfits from their collections, and are given three hours to fit pre-selected models and prepare their hair and makeup before the runway show; they each can use the help of one of the other competitors (Jillian with Rami, Christian with Chris). The winner of this runway show, Rami, joins the other two, Jillian and Christian, in the competition at the Bryant Park show.
Guest Judges: none
ADVANCED: Rami
OUT: Chris
First aired February 27, 2008
Chris and Sweet-P showed decoy collections at Fashion Week, as their elimination episodes had not yet aired.