Project Runway

It’s time to size up the competition as the contestants arrive at their home for the competition. The first challenge is to create a design out of nontraditional materials. With $75 and a half an hour to shop, the designers bolt into Gristedes.

This next challenge is all about the glamorous woman. The models act as clients in need of cocktail dresses, which must be designed with green fabrics-any natural textile like bamboo, hemp, and jersey-and the models are the ones doing the shopping.

Tim takes the designers on a night tour of New York for their next challenge: a look of their choice for a night on the town inspired by the city. Then they have their first opportunity to shop at Mood and show who they are as designers.

Designers meet with US Olympian Apolo Ohno, who reveals their challenge is to create a look for the US Olympic women’s team for the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games.

The designers’ next challenge is to create a look for the high-powered professional woman. They’ll be pitching an outfit to Brooke Sheilds for her character on Lipstick Jungle-and only six will be selected to move forward with their designs.

Chris March surprises the designers by introducing their new challenge in drag. The designers must design an outfit fit for a drag queen. They each have a particular persona and it’s up to them to portray that persona in the look that is created.

Challenged to create an outfit from Saturn car parts, designers have just four minutes to riffle through nontraditional materials for parts for their design aesthetic. Back at Parsons, time is the greatest obstacle as they face a midnight deadline.

The challenge is to create a look for Diane Von Furstenberg’s fall collection. The stakes are high to design a garment that will be part of the DVF fall collection and sold exclusively for American Express card members.

Remaining designers are challenged to create an avant-garde look inspired by an astrological sign. Paired up with an eliminated designer, teams have two days for the challenge and thirty minutes to decide whose zodiac sign will be the inspiration.

Six recent college graduates are ready to become professionals-however, they need to look the part. Designers must conference with them on the direction of their new look but clash over aesthetic and style.

Rock, country, hip-hop, punk, and pop-designers must wield looks that symbolize one of the five genres. Quickly, the designers who have a real perspective on their specific genre distinguish themselves from the clichés of their competition.

The designers explore a botanical garden for the divine natural element to inspire the look of their evening gown challenge. Red roses, plum lilies, and a fuchsia Flamenco flower are a few of the muses for color palette and fabric texture.

Over the course of two months designers must create a line of twelve looks for the catwalk. However, the keystone of their line must be a stunning wedding dress, and only three of the four remaining designers will move on to New York Fashion Week.

The competition comes down to one last challenge: editing out two looks from their line. As they revise, each designer realizes eliminating the wrong look could disrupt the entire line, and cause their dream to remain unfulfilled.