It's almost time for the new and long-awaited season of Project Runway. I absolutely love this show! First of all, I love fashion and I love creative people, so watching a bunch of quirky, creative people get together and design interesting clothes from scratch is very appealing: Supermodel Heidi Klum, elegant fashion consultant Tim Gunn, Nina Garcia (fashion editor for Elle Magazine) and posh sportswear designer Michael Kors, who holds nothing back in his honest, entertaining critiques of each designer's contribution for that week's elimination challenge (where designers are tasked with designing new and innovative fashions from postal uniforms to wedding gowns), will all be back.

Project Runway has been on hiatus for well over a year. The grapevine buzz is that Heidi and Tim's departure from the Bravo network (the new show is moving to Lifetime) was less than amicable. I'm glad that didn't bring a show to a halt. Bravo tried to make do with another fashion design show (The Fashion Show) hosted by designer Isaak Mizrahi (most well known for his designer line at Target), but the new show lacked designers of the same caliber as contestants on Project Runway, in my opinion.

Here's a preview of tomorrow night's premiere:

Are you gonna eat that?

Another fabulously entertaining feature are the materials themselves that designers are given to create something wearable out of. In one episode, they were sent to the neighborhood grocery store to shop for items (including food items) for their creations. Most designers selected easy things like tablecloths and plastic garbage bags, where others chose more creative items with a greater degree of difficulty such as coffee filters or even cornhusks. That's right - cornhusks. The designer, Austin Scarlett, made a bold selection and captured the challenge, which was to be as innovative as possible.

Other challenges including requiring designers to make clothes out of unusual things like flowers, home furnishings, recyclable materials and automobile parts. This is the true genius of project Runway - letting designers have free reign to construct something wearable and couture from things you otherwise would never consider, and to do it in a short timeframe. Add to that the drama of 16 designers working and living in close quarters makes for interesting and entertaining television.

Each designer's final objective is to make it to the big annual fashion show in Bryant Park, where the top three winners will present 12 pieces (outfits) of their own design to be presented to the fashion world where established, famous designers (Vera Wang, etc.) unveil their collections. The winner of that final challenge wins $100,000 to start their own line, a new car and bragging rights.

And the award for the most memorable designer goes to...

Well, even if someone acts like a creep, you can't help but remember them. Jeffrey from Season 3 was one of the most arrogant and downright mean designers who managed to insult his client for that challenge, the mother of another contestant, in which each designer had to design clothes for the other designers' moms - a testy challenge at best. He went on to win Project Runway that season. And who could forget the unique, quirky designer Santino Rice and his "Tim Gunn Goes to Red Lobster" spoof? Certainly not me, that's for sure. His clothes were imaginative and bordering on avant-garde, but not very marketable. Christian Siriano managed to be an imaginative and avant-garde while still incorporating a sellable product, which made him the winner of Season 4. Daniel Vosovic from Season 2 has to be one of the best designers next to Michael Knight that I have ever seen on that show. His clothes can only be described as impeccable. And beautiful! He constructed a cocktail dress out of leaves and flowers that would have put Yves Saint Laurent to shame.

One of last season's top three, Kenley, had a unique style all her own: a sort of fusion between Bette Page and goth. Too bad she lost - I thought she had real talent. Michael Knight (Season 3) was one of the best designers I have ever seen. His clothes were absolutely stunning - clean lines and classic styings that were a clever mix of elegant and whimsical. I was shocked when he got eliminated. But that's how the show is - no matter how good you are, you are only as good as your last challenge, and if you mess up on your last challenge, you're out!

Where do we go from here?

The new show is being filmed in California instead of New York City - Say bye-bye to Parson's Design School. I can only guess that this will give an entirely new look and feel to the new show, but I am confident that the cast members and designers will deliver the same high quality, entertaining television they always have. Set your watches and don't miss it - I know I'll be there!

Related hubs:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Green-Is-The-New-Black

http://hubpages.com/hub/In-Hells-Kitchen-No-One-can-Hear-You-Scream