Project Runway Season 8 DVD Now Available

Click here to order (only $19.99) from Amazon.

Project Runway Nominated for GLAAD Media Award

Project Runway has been nominated for an award in the "Outstanding Reality Program" category.

Click here to see all of the nominees.

Congratulations to our favorite show!

SeenOn Project Runway Private Sale Now Live!

Priced as low as $99.00!

Click here for the "decoy" collections.

Click here for Michael Costello's collection.

Project Runway "Secret Collections" for Sale on Monday

Our friends at SeenOn are offering more Project Runway finale designs for sale. Click here to shop beginning Monday, November 8th at 9AM PST.

The finale collections of Michael Costello, April Johnston, Valerie Mayen, Christopher Collins, Ivy Higa, Michael Drummond, and Casanova will all be available. In addition. several pieces created by Mondo Guerra and Andy South that did not walk the runway are also included in this sale.

Sign up now for access to this exclusive 72-hour sale at SeenOn.

Rachel Roy can't Recall Who Gretchen is

Project Runway Season 8 Episode 10 judge admits in an interview with Heather Staible for Culture Map Houston that she doesn't recall who Gretchen Jones is:

Because of her schedule, Roy hadn’t seen the season finale and didn’t know who had won. When I told her it was Gretchen Jones, she had no reaction. Not because of any personal feelings about her, but because she had no memory of her on the runway. Ouch.

Roy also admits that April was her favorite designer and that she wasn't opposed to Valerie's design at all - BUT VALERIE WAS ELIMINATED ANYWAY:

Roy praised Mondo Guerra and confessed her favorite designer on the episode she guest judged was April Johnston, who favored dark and modern designs and a constant blonde top-knot. Surprisingly too, Roy says she wasn’t opposed at all to Valerie Mayen’s “napkin dress” the way the other judges were.

“I hadn’t seen the designers work like the other judges had, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but I like the way she worked with the fabric,” Roy says.

More support for our suggestions that guest judges be given portfolios of each designer's prior looks. Also more evidence of a lack of respect for guest judges. Seriously, why even have them if you aren't going to honor their opinions?

The Calendar

Team BPR has been privileged to attend six finale shows. Each one is unique but some are better than others.

The season three finale was our first show. Although filming for season three was over the summer, the very excellent editors and producers were able to premiere the show on July 12th and we watched ten episodes before the September finale show. The field was narrowed to four designers and all four showed their collections. There were no decoy shows, no secrecy, no speculation and no fear of spoilers.

The tent was packed and the crowd enthusiastically cheered on their favorites. There was lots of love for each designer. We had watched them triumph through the challenges. We had seen the bickering and the drama. We KNEW these designers. We even knew the models! (We wondered why Nazri was with Uli....)

Click here to continue.

"Crazy Judges!" Video From Justin Couture

Click here to watch this Dvolver film. Thank you Justin!

The Judging...

Dear BPRs,

We have read each and every one of your comments and suggestions for the future of Project Runway and I am going to try to re-articulate your thoughts in a couple of more posts. The first topic is JUDGING.

For the challenges we need clear and specific criteria. What exactly does "avant-garde" mean? Does a red-carpet dress have to be a gown? Do you mean what Jackie Kennedy would have worn if she were alive today, or do you want a modern interpretation of the Jackie Kennedy Style? Please make it clear and specific.

AND THEN USE THE SAME CRITERIA FOR JUDGING.

If a designer falters during a certain challenge and is clearly the loser, then eliminate that designer. If you say that you are keeping the designer "because you want to see more" from him or her, then you are playing favorites.

Click here to continue.

Results In - You Were the Judge for Season 8 Finale

Our poll for Episode 14 - Project Runway Season 8 finale - is closed and 7,730 of you voted. You disagreed with judges and 91% felt that Mondo Guerra deserved the win. Click here to see all of the results.

We also asked you in another poll 'Will you ever watch Project Runway again?' Click here to see those results. Don't miss Laura K's letter to Lifetime and all of the suggestions from the readers - you can still voice your concerns on that post.

As always thank you so much for all of your support and comments this year. It has been such a pleasure hosting a site that has such passionate and articulate readers. We will continue to bring you "All Project Runway - All the Time" until the next season of Project Runway with all of the news of the designers as well as Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. BPR has been open continuously since June of 2005, thus our claim of being the original Project Runway fan site.

Season 8: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Photo: Barbara Nitke/Lifetime Television

Longtime BPR reader Tropical Chrome sends in this excellent year end review of Project Runway Season 8:

Project Runway Season 8 certainly had its moments; some memorable, some we wished we could forget. Here's my look back on the whole season, framed as "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

The Good:
Mondo. I could wax rhapsodic over how compelling it was to watch him grow through "I don't have any friends on this show" to stepping up and apologizing for making assumptions about Michael Costello's skills without evidence to his going public with his HIV status to finally letting his passion explode in his designs. He gave us joy and laughter and fun along with inimitable and unmistakable personal style. He made the season pop. Not winning may be the best thing that ever happened to him as it leaves him unencumbered of the winner's leash, free to pursue his vision and career without those limitations.

Michael Costello. In the middle of public outrage over bullying, we got to see first hand what bullying is and does –that it is illogical in the face of evidence, and it is never, ever deserved. And we got to see him finally confront the bullies in an act of vindication for everyone who was ever bullied. Oh, yeah, the man is also a talented clothing designer, making it to the top 4.

Tim Gunn. Until he was muzzled (see The Ugly), he provided more than just additional background information on the show and extensions to our vocabularies, he was our sanity check. He is like Atlas: holding the entire weight of the credibility of this show on his shoulders. He deserves far better than he received for that.

Click here to continue reading The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Gretchen Jones on Good Morning America

The Project Runway Season 8 Champion appeared on GMA this morning.

How Well do you Know Project Runway Season 8?

Click here for the 30-question quiz. Thanks Tony!

Recapalooza!

Happy Halloween everyone! As you can imagine, the recappers have plenty to say about Thursday's nightmare:

Eric3000 has an appointment with The Fairy Jobmother...

Uncle Nick recalls the boozy days of yore...

Laura Bennett has been brilliant all season long...

Carol Hannah bids farewell...

c(h)oco chanel is baffled like the rest of us...

Ms. Place says she's done...

The Democracy Diva breaks it all down for you...

Katnap wants you to shave...

Brian still isn't quite over it...

Brigitte couldn't contain herself...

Red Poppy didn't see it coming...

Mellie can hardly bring herself to talk about it...

Second City Style has all the quotes...

Maxthegirl wanted a happy ending...

Miz Shoes goes swimming with the sharks...

Erin will never wear adult diapers...

And Toyouke sends us packing.

ETA: It's been a long time since we've had a recap from Moi! I still think she's coming back. And how could we forget JordanBaker?

Thank you dear recappers for making this cycle more fabulous and fun. We hope you come back for Season 9!

Never Again?

First of all, we want to thank all of our readers for your insightful comments these last couple of days. Yes there has been a lot of anger, but there has also been a significant amount of thoughtful analysis and reflection on the state of the Project Runway franchise. We plan to explore different elements of that over the next week and hope to make suggestions to the producers on how to make Project Runway better.

But one comment that keeps coming up is some version of "I will never watch Project Runway again." At first we simply thought this was an immediate emotional outburst after the shocking finale decision. Now we're not so sure. We think some of you may be done. Time will heal some of this wound but we are curious, is this it for you and Project Runway?

poll by twiigs.com

Project Runway Finale Part 2 Online

Click here to watch the full episode.

BPR Interview with Gretchen Jones

Project Runway Season 8 Champion, Gretchen Jones talks about her experience on the show.

Highlights: Gretchen is planning to move to New York.

Her collection was made with sustainable fabrics.

Gretchen was not surprised to win.

Gretchen's runway music was by White Hinterland.

Click here for the podcast.

Click here for Gretchen's website.

Thank you Gretchen!

BPR Interview with Andy South

Project Runway season 8 finalist, Andy South talks to us about his experience on the show.

Highlights include:

Andy is staying in Hawaii for now and is already working on a new collection for production. He is also planning to do menswear.

Andy's runway music is from Ketsana.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Andy!

Jessica

There is so much to say about last night but let me get this in - Jessica Simpson was a pretty damn good guest judge. Usually when a celebrity/singer type is brought in they have very little of substance to contribute. Listen to her here, she still doesn't agree with the decision but is playing nice.

I was highly cynical of her going in but her comments on the runway last night were spot on. Kudos to her for sticking up for her point of view. But in the end, she and Heidi never stood a chance against Nina and Michael Kors. The fashion elitists would have their way.

The ultimate irony was how bad she looked in that Michael Kors dress. Jessica Simpson is a gorgeous woman and I love how she embraces her fuller figure. But Kors made her look sad. And when he and Nina went on to bully their way to a Gretchen victory it makes us all question who the real experts are.

Poll - Finale Season 8 - Your Turn to be the Judge

Photos: top row - Andy; middle row - Gretchen ; bottom row - Mondo.
Photos courtesy of New York Magazine. Click to see a larger view.

You've seen the designs on the runway at Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and now it is your turn to be the judges. This week you are Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors and Jessica Simpson.. It's time to tell us:

poll by twiigs.com

Reactions to the Season 8 Finale

Photo: Barbara Nitke/Lifetime Television

We have a winner! Season 8 of Project Runway comes to a dramatic close as it crowns a new champion in what can only be described as a major upset. Did you see this one coming? Go ahead, have at it. Post your reactions to the finale here.