Ten Reasons You Should Be Watching Project Runway

I've never seen Project Runway and have always felt I was missing something. Guest blogger Meghann gives us the lowdown on just what that something is -- ten somethings actually!

Ten Reasons You Should Be Watching Project Runway

10. The guest judges.
The producers of Project Runway have always invited designers of note (Vera Wang, Donna Karan, the boys from Heatherette), fashion-conscious celebs (Posh Spice, Sarah Jessica Parker, and OMG Iman!), a random smattering of heads of brands (Banana Republic, Barbie, Levi) and random atheletes like Sasha Cohen to help the judges decide who is in and who is out. This season’s guest judges are not to be missed because, honey, RuPaul is in the house. What has she been doing since 1997?

9. Heidi’s outfits.
Heidi Klum, our luminecent host/executive producer/supermodel, is usually the most fabulous thing in the room. But who can guess what kind of bizarre outfit she’ll be styled in each week? Some say that Heidi’s outfit during the model elimination is a clue to what the challenge will be, but I don’t see it. What I do see is Heidi wearing some of the most bizarre clothing in the world but no one on this fashion show seems to bat an eye. This week, for example, she wore a lace bustier and black miniskirt. Why? Because she’s Heidi Klum and she hasn’t had pizza in 10 years.

8. The villains.
Project Runway’s great villains have all had one thing in common: they are terribly annoying but end up doing things to make you sort of like them. Wendy Pepper of Season 1? The worst makeup this side of the Estee Lauder free makeover. But she had a cute daughter. (I’m reaching here…Wendy was really annoying and didn’t have a lot of redeption.) Santino Rice of Season 2? What a self-important jerk! But he does hilarious impressions of Tim Gunn! Jeffrey Sebellia of Season 3? Rude! Mean! And has a weird neck tatoo! Ah, but that neck tattoo is the name of his absolutely adorable little baby boy. Season 4 brought us Christian Sirriano, the designer I personally loved to hate until I decided I loved to love him. What can I say? He’s fierce.

7. Nina Garcia, Editor At Large for Elle Magazine.
One of our esteemed judges, Nina’s face says it all during the runway shows. This is a woman incapable of hiding her orgasmic delight over a perfectly made garment, nor her utter disgust and contempt for any designer who would waste her time with unfinished trash. There is no question why one of the unspoken rules in the workroom is “Don’t Bore Nina!” Also, this woman has fabulous hair.

6. The fashion disasters.
You see it coming from a mile away. You hear Tim Gunn tell the designer to “edit,” or to “think hard about what you’re trying to say” and you know they are going to do nothing of the sort. They keep adding feathers. They make a hat. They instruct their model to throw candy when they hit the runway. And then it’s your moment to shout at the tv just how disgusting that garment is! It’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen! It should be Auf’d!

5. The lingo.
You have to watch Project Runway so that you know the proper time to say “Make It Work.” You must master the utterly German way Heidi dismisses the fasion disasters with her cold “You are out. Auf wiedersehen.” You need to know what Tim Gunn means when he sternly encourages designers to “Go go go.”

4. Michael Kors one-liners.
“You're a mess just standing there.” “Scarlett O'Hara ripped drapes down and made a couture dress...this, she ripped the sheets off the bed and ran out the door." “She looks like a paper brioche.” “Next thing you know, it's big button earrings and you're on 'The Facts of Life.'” “She looks like Barefoot Appalachain Lil' Abner Barbie.” The list goes on…

3. Project Rungay.
One of the greatest blogs ever to be devoted to a television show, Project Rungay is the baby of Tom and Lorenzo. They have good taste, they have all the good gossip, and best of all, they are hilarious. You need to watch the episodes to get the jokes, so start watching the episodes already! Then go here and enjoy.

2. The Silver Fox Tim Gunn.
The single greatest mentor to ever grace a reality competition show, Tim Gunn is the Jiminy Cricket all artists wish they had. He’s got the resume to back up his opinions, and he doesn’t get a vote in the show so he’s a completely neutral eye, coming into the workroom to make sure the designers do their best work possible. Tim’s favorite bon mot is “I can’t want you to succeed more than you do,” and true to his word, if the designers seem determined to fail, he lets them.

1. The fashion triumphs.
The real reason Project Runway is such a delight is because each week, amid the egos and the catch phrases and the annoying contestants, there is always at least one outfit that is truly amazing. Whether it’s a dress woven out of corn husks, a punky couture gown made out of a brash yellow plaid, or an absolutely perfect blouse inspired by an orchid, each week someone reminds you that this is a show about how ordinary people can create beauty and intrigue sometimes out of little more than a couple of pairs of jeans and some garden supplies.