Project Runway Returns with Elaine Welteroth as Judge, Along with Guest Judges Taraji P. Henson, Gigi Hadid and Billy Porter on October 14th

Fashion returns to New York City when Bravo’s Emmy-winning competition series “Project Runway” premieres on Thursday, October 14, at 9pm ET/PT. Returning mentor Christian Siriano, along with judges Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell, and Elaine Welteroth, takes on 16 new designers from across the United States and abroad, each ready to prove they have what it takes to show a collection at New York Fashion Week and be the next great name in fashion. Each 90-minute episode will test the contestants’ creativity and technique with challenges such as producing a “hauntingly” chic look, an avant-garde look from faux fur, an unconventional cocktail dress with a twist, and in a Project Runway first, the ultimate “Real Housewives” reunion outfit for women from “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and “The Real Housewives of Potomac.” Runway shows are taken to new heights at cultural destination Lincoln Center and the beautiful hidden gardens at Rockefeller Center. Additionally, in the custom digital series “Project Runway Redemption,” which premieres on Thursday, September 9, with new episodes airing every week until the “Project Runway” premiere, alums from “Project Runway” seasons 17 and 18 go head to head for a chance to win $25,000.

In the season premiere of “Project Runway,” the iconic Lincoln Center takes center stage. Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia, Elaine Welteroth, and Brandon Maxwell welcome a talented group of designers eager to revitalize the fashion industry. The time is now for bold, bright, don’t-hold-back, in-your-face color, and the designers are divided into two teams to create cohesive collections of monochromatic high fashion looks celebrating color.
The guest judges guiding the new hopefuls this season come with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fashion industry. They include Emmy and Oscar-nominated actress and activist Taraji P. Henson, beauty icon and supermodel Gigi Hadid, fashion designers Jason Wu and Christopher John Rogers, TikTok creator and model Wisdom Kaye, style icon Billy Porter, Emmy Award-winning host, producer, and author Andy Cohen, and returning to the Project Runway family for the penultimate episode, supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss.

The winning designer will receive the grand prize of $250,000 supplied by Pilot FriXion Erasable Pens, returning for its third season as the Official Pen of “Project Runway.” Exclusive makeup and hair care partners Maybelline New York and TRESemmé are back for another season of cutting-edge runway looks, this time putting the contestants to task. The designers will compete in a challenge spotlighting TRESemmé’s Future Stylists Fund, which offers education grants and career opportunities to aspiring Black female hair stylists, as well as a Maybelline challenge set at Rockefeller Center aligning with Maybelline’s Sky High Mascara. New this season is a Visa-sponsored challenge spotlighting New York City small-accessory businesses and the economic recovery of the city, in which the winning designer team will win $25,000 to further their own small business.

Catch up on “Project Runway” next day on Peacock.

Meet the “Project Runway” Season 19 Designers

Octavio Aguilar – Miami, FL
Darren Apolonio – New York, NY
Kenneth Barlis – San Diego, CA
Caycee Black – Brooklyn, NY
Coral Castillo – Los Angeles, NY
Meg Ferguson – Tulsa, OK
Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste – Philadelphia, PA
Bones Jones – Brooklyn, NY
Kristina Kharlashkina – New York, NY
Katie Kortman – Japan
Shantall Lacayo – Miami, FL
Aaron Michael – Jackson, MS
Chasity Sereal – Houston, TX
Zayden Skipper – Atlanta, GA
Sabrina Spanta – Bloomfield Hills, MI
Anna Yinan Zhou – San Francisco, CA

“Project Runway” is produced by Alfred Street Industries and Spyglass Media Group. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe, Meri Haitkin, and J.J. Duncan serve as executive producers for Alfred Street Industries. Christian Siriano also serves as executive producer. “Project Runway” is internationally distributed by Fremantle.

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Talia M.

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