Just the FAQs: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About 'Project …
It’s time for another season of fashion fun with Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, and when ‘Project Runway’ kicks off its eighth season on Thu., July 29 (9PM ET, Lifetime), fans will notice a major change: Each episode is now 90-minutes long.
The reason: Fans wanted more … more face time for the contestants, more input from mentor Gunn when he visits designers in the work room, and more of the discussion that goes on between Klum, Kors and Garcia when they’re deciding which fashion crime is going to be punished with Heidi’s trademark “Auf Wiedersehen” at the end of each installment.
“[It] was Lifetime’s decision, but I think it was just that people had mentioned in the past [that they wanted] more, and we had more,” said ‘Project Runway’ showrunner Sara Rea. “And it gives us a little bit more time to develop the characters, to see more about their process, to hear more from the judges. We’ve been fighting time to get these shows down to 42 minutes … so it just gives us a little bit more time to tell the story.”
While ‘PR’ is now supersized, the spin-off series, ‘Models of the Runway,’ is no more. But Rea, Gunn and season 7 ‘Runway’ winner Seth Aaron Henderson promise that there’s plenty of drama, great clothing and celeb guests in store this season, which will also include more, ahem, unusual challenges, as well as a guy named Casanova …
Which season 8 designer will be the one everyone’s talking about?
With names like Mondo and Peach, there’s no lack of standout designers with standout personalities. But after watching a screener of the season premiere, it looks like Casanova, the 33-year-old whose full name is Carlos Casanova, but who prefers the single-word moniker, will be the season 8 scene stealer, and Rea agreed. “You know what? There are a couple of them; this is a really fun group. But I think that Casanova’s fun to watch. I think he’s just really … you saw [the first episode], so you kind of know what I’m getting at. He’s just a very distinct personality, very lovable. Always a little bit confused about what’s going on.”
As we’ve seen with shows like ‘American Idol,’ and other reality shows that have been airing for many seasons, it seems to be tougher to find contestants who are both talented in their profession and compelling as TV “characters.” Is reality TV running out of interesting stars?
“Well, I will be honest with you, until we launch the cast, I’m a nervous wreck,” said Rea, who’s been the ‘Project Runway’ showrunner since season 6, when the series moved from Bravo to Lifetime. “I’m always nervous, like, are there going to be enough people out there that have the talent? And we go through this process where we travel all over the country and we have open calls, where we get hundreds and hundreds of applications, and then we vet those, and then we have closed calls. And I’m always a nervous wreck, until we get to really probably like our third or fourth city, (and then) I’m like, ‘OK, people are still out there with talent.’ But it’s stressful … because without talent, we don’t have a show, and that’s the number one priority. So, it’s working out, and the season so far has worked out, but yeah, you always do worry a little bit, are we going to have enough people, with enough talent? And ironically, as you see [in] the first episode, we couldn’t even narrow it down to 16 this season.”
Are there other changes, or twists, in the new season?
Indeed. Though the season usually starts with 16 competitors, the season 8 premiere introduces us to 17 designers. Why the extra? “We sat in the [casting] room, you know, for hours trying to figure out how to get it down to 16. The fact that we really couldn’t narrow it down was why we decided to make that first episode the last stage of the audition process,” said Rea. “So it was like, ‘Well, let’s go that route.’”
That route includes throwing the 17 designers into a challenge just minutes after they gather as a group for the first time, and, without spoiling the fun, let’s just say that the first challenge forces the aspiring fashionistas to reveal something about their personal tastes right away. It also means one of them – to the surprise of all of them – won’t get the chance to dive into the first “official” season eight challenge … as Rea noted, this first project is considered a continuation of the audition process.
How do you know in the auditions which designers are not only skilled, but will be able to complete the challenges? Anyone with talent can probably make a dress in 10 days, but probably not everyone can do it in 10 hours, with little sleep, and in the middle of a room full of competitors …
“This is my third season, and Tim [Gunn] always told me, from day one, he said he never knows who’s going to rise to the top. That’s [the] thing. You might see who you think is going to be the best in the casting process, but once you put them in this pressure cooker, it all changes,” said Rea. “And you never know. We have noticed that over and over again. So that’s kind of another reason why we structured [the season premiere] that way. Because you really don’t know who can handle the pressure, and the heat, and the working with that many people around you, and the time constraints and whatever [other] parameters that the show gives you.
“The more resilient you are, the more focused you are, the better you do. And interestingly enough, during the casting process, I kept saying how many people came in and said, ‘I made this dress in four hours, I made this in five hours.’ You know, ‘I did this challenge.’ So it was like, ‘OK, everyone’s figured it out? You guys all got it? Well, here you go! Let’s prove it!’”
‘Project Runway’ season 7 winner Seth Aaron Henderson also sat in on some of the season 8 auditions, and he said he had a different approach to scoping out who would make the best contestants for the new season.
“I don’t think I was tougher [as a former contestant]. I just think I asked different questions, because I have been through it,” explained Henderson, who’s ramping up production on his clothing line and just bought a new house in his Portland hometown. “It’s like, ‘So how do you operate on two hours of sleep? What happens when your project’s not finished, you’re really tired, you’re stressed-out, and these people start criticizing you? How are you going to respond? What are you going to say?’ You know, those kinds of things.
“As far as the technical aspect, I really looked at the clothes. We got to feel them, turn them inside out, actually see the construction of it, and you know, many of the designers we saw, their skills were crazy good. Andy South was one of them that [I saw] in Seattle, and he just blew me away with his construction skills.”
Fans have been apathetic about some recent casts of the show … how do the season 8 designers stack up against previous season contenders?
‘Project Runway’ mentor Tim Gunn suggested there may be some choppy waters ahead with this batch of designers, describing them as very emotional but amongst his favorites. “It’s a very interesting group, and in terms of the chemistry among them, one that I’ve never really experienced in a prior season,” Gunn said in a recent press conference call. “It’s for this reason, they’re very fragile. They’re fragile in terms of their emotional well being. They’re fragile in terms of their ego. They’re fragile. So I always felt as though I was tiptoeing around glass that I didn’t want to break, while still delivering what I’m responsible for delivering, and what’s good for them, a truth-telling session in the work room and an opportunity for them to look anew critically and analytically at their work.
“And I will also say I don’t know of a prior season when I have felt such profound fondness for everyone, even [for] one designer with whom I have a serious antipathy at the beginning of the season. It dissipates, and we become pals later. It was very hard. We just wrapped this week, and it was very hard to say goodbye to them.”
Who comes up with the wacky challenges? And is it a goal to make them as wacky as possible?
It’s a team effort. There’s no one person who devises all of them, though Rea said she does keep a running list of ideas (which she estimates is “nearly 100 pages long”) as they pop up. “We have a team of producers who are considered the creative team, and they come up with ideas. And then they pitch them out, and then we pitch them out to the network,” Rea told TV Squad. “The rule is always think as big as you can, and then kind of narrow it down to what makes sense. At the end of the day, it has to make sense in the real world. It has to have some sort of a real world application. Like the unconventional challenges … while [they] may seem so wacky, they’re really not because it pushes [the designers] to be innovative and think in a different way … in the creative process it does make sense. So my number one rule at the end of the day: it has to make sense, and it can’t feel like a stunt. It has to feel like something that’s authentic.”
Designers have had to make outfits out of plants, autos, food, Hershey’s store products, newspaper, burlap bags, hardware store items, garbage … are there any ideas producers have determined to be so weird that they had to abandon them?
Lots of them, according to Rea, who cited one example that actually sounds really cool, if a little stunt-y and a lot potentially dangerous: Having the designers jump out of an airplane, and, upon landing, using their parachutes as the material for a design challenge. Goofy, but you kinda want to see it happen now, right?
Any scoop on season 8 challenges?
“We’ve got a great challenge with Philip Treacy, who is truly an artist. He creates these amazing, amazing hats, and the models come out, and they have these hats on, and the designers have to design a dress that will complement and work with his hat,” said Rea. “And we have [a challenge] in which the designers … we have them interacting with the public, where the public actually gets to look at their clothes, and [the designers] sort of have to sell themselves a little bit. At the end of the day, people vote on them, and that’s going to (factor into) the judging. It was a lot of fun to see them out and about, kind of wheeling and dealing and doing their thing, and interacting with people. Now that we have more time [with each episode], it’s a chance for us … to get to see the designers a little more, in the real world, doing what a fashion designer would really do. Again, seeing the human behind the designer a little bit.”
http://www.philiptreacy.co.uk/
Will we see more celebrity guest judges this season? Do the producers have a wish list of celeb judges they’d like to have appear on the show?
Yes and yes. In the premiere, ‘Kath & Kim’ star Selma Blair sits with Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and host Heidi Klum in judgment of the contestants’ frocks, and Rea revealed designer Betsey Johnson will also pop up as a guest judge this season. As for who’s at the top of the guest judge wish list, Rea said hers is the same as Heidi Klum’s: “Michelle Obama would be a dream.”
The designers spend so much time at Mood Fabrics that the store almost feels like another character on the show … can anyone shop there, or is it only open to people in the fashion industry?
Yes, the Mood folks have benefitted quite a bit from the publicity they get from Tim Gunn and the designers’ visits to the store. In fact, Rea pointed out, they even sell t-shirts that say, “Thank you, Mood,” in a nod to how Gunn bids them adieu after every visit to the store on the show. And, for a mere $7, fans can own a very cool bit of swag: The black and gold reusable Mood tote we always see the designers using to carry their purchases back to the ‘Runway’ work room.
Tim Gunn is such an important, beloved part of the show, and he’s obviously incredibly knowledgeable about fashion … why isn’t he a judge also?
Short answer: He doesn’t want to be. Gunn feels his role as the designers’ mentor and advice giver is more important. “We have a saying, and it’s Tim’s saying, that we stand behind: ‘There’s a separation in church and state,’” Rea said. “Tim really is so invested in [his role]. He just feels like [being a judge, too] would be a conflict of interest, and I have to agree with him. He’s there in the work room, you know, with heartfelt mentoring and giving his advice, and then to later judge, just feels a little bit … like a conflict of interest. So I don’t think going down that road would make much sense. I think the balance is perfect now, and I would hate to mess with that.”
Why are the producers such sticklers about not letting the designers have books or go to the Internet for inspiration? In the real world, designers are inspired by things like that …
“The main thing is, we want everyone on the same playing field, and we want to see what’s in your head, and what you can do,” Rea said. “And if you’ve got this book that’s teaching you how to sew, or this book that’s teaching you how to pattern-make, that’s not fair to the person next to you who doesn’t have it. It’s just not a true test of your abilities … you could just get other ideas that aren’t really yours, if you’re allowed to research. And we want all their ideas to be theirs.
“Our goal throughout the whole show is, believe it or not … we really do want them to succeed. We just have to push them, to test, to see what they’re really made of, but our goal ultimately is always for them to succeed in the end. And most people won’t believe that, and I understand why,” Rea laughed. “But we really do want them to be successful, because everyone wins at that point.”
How long does it take to film one season?
Five to six weeks, and it’s a packed five to six weeks, with little time to do anything but eat, sleep (though not as much as they might like) and make clothes. “So that ‘you have ’til midnight tonight’ saying is not a lie, and then the next day they’re back in [the work room] again, doing another challenge. So they really are pushed,” Rea said of the designers’ hectic schedule filming.
And time off? “No. Not at all. They really don’t,” she said. “They are working in the work room until, again, 11 or midnight, and then they’re right back the next day. They got the Fourth of July off this year, because of the holiday, but other than that, they’re working!”
Added Seth Aaron: “You can’t describe the feeling, or the mental or physical stress you go through, until you are standing there. I mean, I could tell someone all day long what it’s like [to compete on the show], and they’re going to get there, and it’s going to be totally different for them. They’re going to experience something totally different.
“There’s a lot of downtime in between challenges and going from one aspect to the next,” he continued. “What you learn to do is sleep. I learned to sleep standing up. It was funny, because, like, within a week or two after I came home [from the show], we would be in the grocery store, my wife and I, and I would be standing in line sleeping. She bumped me, and she goes, ‘Are you sleeping?!’ It’s like, ‘Yes!’ And you just learn in between to catnap. You close your eyes and you kind of zoned out, and you’re actually resting your whole head. You learn to do that.’
We know where Heidi’s “Auf Wiedersehen” comes from, but what about Tim Gunn’s “Make it work”? Did he create the catchphrase for the show?
Nope. It was actually a phrase that originated organically while he was teaching a fashion class at Parsons in New York. “I had a student who … was going to throw [her] entire collection away, literally and metaphorically, and start a new one,” Gunn explained. “I said, ‘We are presenting these collections in four weeks. You’re looking at five months of work, and you’re saying you’re going to get rid of it and start all over again?’ I said, ‘You’re not … You’re going to look at the situation at hand, offer up a diagnosis for what’s wrong, a prescription, and then a prescription for how to make it work. You’ve got to make this work. You’re not going to start all over again. Period.’
“On ‘Project Runway,’ it’s nothing if not ‘make it work.’ Because as I’m always saying to the designers, once we leave Mood, that’s it. Whatever you have is what you have, and you’re not going shopping again. You’re not retooling this. It’s ‘make it work’ time.”
Just the FAQs: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About 'Project …
