Project Runway (season 4)


Project Runway Season 4 was the fourth season of Project Runway, Bravo's reality competition for fashion designers. The season premiered November 14, 2007. Returning as judges were supermodel Heidi Klum; fashion designer Michael Kors; and Nina Garcia, Elle magazine fashion director. Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., again acts as a mentor to the contestants.
Through a series of weekly challenges, contestants were eliminated, leaving three finalists left who then went on to show their designs in the final episodes at New York Fashion Week. The winner, Christian Siriano, received prizes including: an editorial feature in Elle, $100,000 from TRESemmé to start his own line, the opportunity to sell a fashion line on , and a 2008 Saturn Astra automobile. Siriano mentors the designers on Project Runway Season 17 and Season 18.
Elisa Jimenez, Sweet P Vaughn and Rami Kashou later appeared in in 2012, where Elisa placed 13th, Sweet P Placed 12th, and Rami came in 8th place out of 13. In 2014, Chris March appeared in the fourth season of All Stars, coming in 12th place out of 14.

Contestants

Designers

The 15 contestants were :
ContestantAgeHometownOccupationPlace Finished
Simone LeBlanc32Lawrenceville, GAFreelance Designer15th
Marion Lee39Tyler, TXBoutique Owner14th
Carmen Webber39Charlotte, NCFreelance Designer13th
Jack Mackenroth38New York, NYActivewear Designer12th
Steven Rosengard30Chicago, ILFreelance Designer11th
Elisa Jimenez42El Paso, TXMultimedia Artist10th
Kevin Christiana31Fairfield, NJFreelance Designer9th
Christina "Kit Pistol" Scarbo26Los AngelesStylist/Designer8th
Victorya Hong34Winchester, VAFreelance Designer7th
Ricky Lizalde35Escondido, CALingerie Designer6th
Kathleen "Sweet P" Vaughn46Los AngelesFreelance Designer5th
Chris March †44San Francisco, CACostume Designer4th
Jillian Lewis26Selden, NYDesigner/Illustrator, Ralph Lauren3rd
Rami Kashou31Ramallah, PalestineFreelance DesignerRunner-up
Christian Siriano21Annapolis, MDFreelance DesignerWinner

Models

ModelAgeHometownPlace Finished
Wendi Sullivan28Canton, MA15th
Cheron Smith22Torrance, CA14th
Anna Lita Perez25Kiev, Ukraine13th
Christina Anderson-McDonald23Meadowbrook, PA12th
Ashley Evans22Smithville, MO11th
Katie Nelson19New York, NY10th
Aviva Brocks21London, England9th
Marie Salter25Katy, TX8th
Jacqueline Miranne21New York, NY7th
Amanda Alter23DeWitt, AR6th
Lea Rannells22Bridgewater, NJ5th
Marcia Mitchell23The Berkshires, Massachusetts4th
Lauren Browne18Grafton, MA3rd
Samantha "Sam" Ruggiero19Redding, CTRunner-up
Lisa Nargi25New York, NYWinner

Challenges

Designer legend

Episode 1: Sew Us What You Got

The designers arrive in New York and are asked to create a garment that best reflects who they are as a designer. They are given 10 minutes to grab from $50,000 worth of fabric in three tents set up in Bryant Park. The designers are randomly assigned models.
The remaining designers are asked to create a two-piece garment for Sarah Jessica Parker's BITTEN line using $15 of materials and only one day to complete their look. All fourteen designers pitched their designs to Parker, who chose seven to work in teams of two to create the design. The winning design was sold beginning in November 2007 at Steve & Barry's stores.
Team LeaderOther Team Member
RickyJack
ChristianCarmen
RamiJillian
ElisaSweet P
KitChris
VictoryaKevin
MarionSteven

The remaining designers are asked to create a three piece menswear outfit for guest judge Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. The designers are randomly assigned male models.
Each designer picks one of 12 outdated fashion trends. Then working in four teams of three, each team must incorporate all three styles into a cohesive collection of three outfits. They have $225 and two days for the project.
Team LeaderTeam MembersThe Outdated Fashion Trends
JillianKevin, RamiOveralls, 1970s Flare, Poodle Skirt
ChrisSweet P, StevenShoulder Pads, Baggy Sweater, Dancewear
ChristianJack, KitZoot Suit, Pleather, Fringe
RickyElisa, VictoryaNeon, Cut-Outs, Underwear As Outerwear

Each designer has to create an outfit for a woman who has recently lost weight, using one of the woman's outfits from before her weight loss as raw material for the new design. The new outfit must incorporate aspects of the now-thin woman's personality, as well as the designer's own style. Each designer is given $10 to use for additional materials. They have one day to complete the outfits.
Designers and Clients:
Designers are to create a garment using any materials that were available at the Hershey's store in Times Square, New York City. They are given no budget but only five minutes to collect materials, and are given only one day to complete the outfit.
Designers are challenged to design a prom dress for a group of 16- and 17-year-old girls from St. John Vianney High School in New Jersey. The girls, along with their mothers, pre-select the designers they want to work with based on the designers' portfolios. The designers have a budget of $250 for materials from Mood and two days to construct the dresses. The winner is dependent on who did the best according to the clients, and they are judged on time management.
Each designer is randomly paired with another designer and asked to select a team leader. Each team is asked to create an avant-garde outfit based on inspiration from their models' hair styles. They are given a budget of $300 and two days to create this look. The following day, each team is asked to create another, simpler, ready-to-wear outfit which embodies the "essence" of the avant-garde look they have been working on. For the second piece, the designers have a budget of $50. The leader of the winning team receives immunity in the next challenge, while the winning team and their outfits are featured in a TRESemme fashion shoot.
Teams:
The designers are tasked with creating an iconic look using deconstructed denim fabric and white cotton while also showing off the Levi's 501 legacy. The designers are given three minutes to collect provided denim jeans and jackets and cotton fabric hanging from clotheslines in a storeroom; Notions such as buttons, rivets, and other fasteners are provided in the workroom. The designers have one day to complete the design. From this challenge forward, the winning designer would no longer gain immunity in the following challenge.
Each designer selects one of six WWE Divas based on their general attitude, and must design an outfit that matches that attitude and can be worn in the wrestling ring. The designers are given $100 for fabric and two days to complete the designs.
The designers are given 45 minutes in three galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to select a piece of art to use as inspiration for a dress, using provided cameras to capture the artwork. They are given $300 for materials at Mood, and two days to complete the design.
Designers and their art inspiration:
All the designers gather for a reunion. Christian Siriano is given $10,000 as the winner of the viewer "Fan Favorite" contest by Season 3's Mychael Knight. Highlights of the season are reviewed, including different designers' reactions to being eliminated, the judges' unaired reactions to the Raw Talent episode, as well as the remaining designers' wrestling diva alter-egos; personality traits of the designers such as Chris March's laugh, Ricky Lizalde's crying, Elisa Jimenez's offbeat personality, and Christian's repeated use of the word "fierce".
The four remaining designers are given five months and $8000 to create a collection of twelve looks for Fashion Week. Three and a half months later, Tim visits each of the designers to assess their progress. The designers return to New York City after five months. Chris and Rami are to select their three best outfits from their collections, and are given three hours to fit pre-selected models and prepare their hair and makeup before the runway show; they each can use the help of one of the other competitors. The winner of this runway show, Rami, joins the other two, Jillian and Christian, in the competition at the Bryant Park show.