Project Runway fierce as ever on Lifetime

Despite the network change, the judges are the same. The knowledgeable judges returning this season are Nina Garcia, Marie Claire’s fashion director, supermodel Heidi Klum and American designer Michael Kors. The reason for the fashion spread being in Marie Claire as opposed to Elle as in past seasons is due to Nina Garcia’s dramatic exit from Elle to Marie Claire. In addition to these three veteran judges, each week a guest judge will be joining the panel to help critique the designs. So far this season, the guest judges have been a mix of celebrities and designers including Lindsay Lohan, Rachel Bilson, Rebecca Romijin, as well as designers Max Azria and Mark Bouwer. The best judges are still Heidi Klum, whose brutal honesty is much needed in panel, and Michael Kors, whose experience in the world of fashion is invaluable.

Lifetime Network decided to change coasts this season as well. The aspiring designers will be working in a studio at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in California. Last season they worked at Parsons in New York City. The designers this season have the typical diverse mix of personalities and tastes that are always interesting to see play out on the runway. So far there have been no attempts at making a trademark line like last season’s winner, Christian Siriano’s choice word, “fierce.” The designer bringing the most drama so far is Ra’mon who, when working in a team in the surf wear challenge, likened his pairing with a weaker designer, Mitchell, as “having a gigantic bulls eye painted in the center of my face.”

Epperson also brings plenty of the drama to the show as a father being away from his family. In the most recent challenge, “What a Woman Wants,” where designers had to create an outfit for their models to wear to an industry event, Epperson was sewing his dress as tears streamed down his face. The emotional moment proved that in fashion, you have to give blood, sweat and tears.

Drama is always captured among the designers, like in the process of choosing teams for challenges. Bringing it back to middle school dodgeball, team leaders must select from the rest of the designers those that they would like to work with. The most notable difference between “Project Runway” on Lifetime and Bravo is the new after show, “Models of the Runway” that, appropriately titled, stars the models of the runway that walk for each designer. The models are filmed behind the scenes biting their nails during the elimination process and in their shared apartment discussing their dreams in the world of fashion.

However, as far as reality shows about models go, “Models of the Runway” is pretty low on the totem pole compared to the popular “America’s Next Top Model.”

The network change has brought us across the country to California and spawned a new reality show to satisfy Project Runway viewers.

Despite these attempts to reinvent the show, it is still essentially the same. This is fine because the show did not need to change and clearly Lifetime is doing something right; the premiere episode of season six attracted 32 percent more viewers than the premiere of season five on Bravo.

The show airs on Lifetime at 10 p.m. EST every Thursday.