What's Up With Project Runaway?

 
That's right; you read correctly: Project Runaway. The last incarnation of Project Runway All Stars (Season 7) just ended on Lifetime. There will be no spoiler alerts because I haven't seen the finale yet.

I've been a fervent watcher of Project Runway since Season 1 and was so moved by the first winner, Jay McCarroll, I cried when his collection came down the runway. I was proud as a peacock when hometown favorite, Chloe Dao, won Season 2. As the seasons went on the talent became less spectacular, the personalities more caricatured, and the sponsorship more obvious, but still I watched.

A young Mr. Christian

 
Project Runway has produced only one notable winner, Christian Siriano. He was an unlikely contestant, young and a bit quirky but full of confidence. He proved he knew what he was doing and has gone on to dress red carpet celebrities as well as design shoes for Payless. He believes in inclusivity and was the only designer not to turn down Leslie Jones 's request to make her gown for the "Ghostbusters" premiere.

Red on the red carpet...

The peripheral players on Project Runway were the real winners. Tim Gunn, a well-loved instructor at Parson's School of Design, became the show's mentor and found himself a whole new career as everyone's fashion guru. Heidi Klum, a former Victoria's Secret model, acted as the host and was also a producer. She acquitted herself as a smart woman and no doubt has contributed much to our understanding that supermodels have brains. Nina Garcia, a tough but fair fashion editor, has written three books and is now the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine.

 
Project Runway All Stars seemed like a strange idea from the beginning—losers from past Project Runway seasons returned to try again, sometimes a past winner among them. Season 7 (probably the last) consisted of all winners all the time. Dmitry Sholokhov was back to try for a third win. Enough already!

Does Dmitry win the triple crown?

What prompted today's New York Times to write about these Runways was the reference on air in All Stars Season 7 that "winning looks will be available immediately after the show on JC Penney's website." A sponsor of the "accessories wall" and recipient of many on-air plugs, JC Penney had a deal with Project Runway when it was owned by the Weinstein Company. That imploded with the Weinstein bankruptcy in 2018. All Stars Season 7, recorded in 2017, had not been shown until now, almost two years later. Instead of adding a disclaimer, shows have run as-is. I'm probably not alone in having checked Penney's website only to find there are no Project Runway fashions for sale.

The latest Project Runway—original format but with Karlie Kloss playing Heidi Klum and Christian Siriano playing Tim Gunn—is back on Bravo. They too offer "some of the winning fashions" for sale, but they are sewn to order by an on-demand manufacturer called Nineteenth Ammendment. Delivery time is 4-6 weeks. By that time those fashions will really be "old hat".

Patience needed for Tessa Clark's winning look