Reality Meets Fashion Week

Sept. 13, 2006 — -- In the elite world of fashion, few first-time designers ever get to show their collections at New York's legendary Olympus Fashion Week.

The exception this year is Bravo's reality TV fashion show "Project Runway," which will take over the show Friday.

"Project Runway," hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, is a stylish glimpse into the world of fashion from the eyes of 15 designers, all vying for the title of "the next great American designer."

The goal for most participants is simply to make it to the Final Three, which guarantees them a spot at Fashion Week.

Amateur Hour Meets the Big Time

At 9 a.m. Friday, that goal will be realized for the three final designers as each showcases his or her collection in hopes of winning an Elle magazine spread, a car, and $100,000 to start his or her own line.

The three finalists aren't known yet, and the executive producer would not give any clues in advance of Friday's show.

Most likely, a decoy will be included among the would-be Final Three because the shows air one week behind each other.

Here are the five remaining contestants. One of them will be voted off the show tonight:

Michael Knight

Laura Bennett

Uli Herzner

Jeffrey Sebelia

Kayne Gillaspie

Olympus Fashion Week has served as the backdrop to "Project Runway's" season finale the last two seasons.

Fanfare during the first season was limited, as "we were an unknown commodity," executive producer Shari Levine said.

Now expectations are very different because the show has achieved an almost cultlike status both in and out of the fashion community.

The third season has become the most-watched broadcast in Bravo's history.

Tim Gunn, the fashion-design chair at Manhattan's Parsons New School for Design, has the marquee catchphrase: "Make it work."

There's the never-ending "diva versus genius" debate over Season 2 contestant Santino Rice.

The drama, egos, talent and all-out catfights in the third season have catapulted the show to the No. 1 spot for a cable program for five weeks in a row.

"This is a show with definite word-of-mouth appeal," said EW.com senior writer Michael Slezak.

"It shows extremely talented folks creating things that most people at home wouldn't have the first clue about how to do."

While the average viewer may not know the first thing about a bias-cut dress, the average viewer knows what he or she likes.

On the "Project Runway" Web site, fans are willing and eager to pay $500 to more than $1,000 for the contestants' creations, even when they are made entirely out of materials from a waste-management recycling plant.

Art Imitates Life

For many shows, success in the general population is where this story would end.

It is hard to believe the tight-knit, and yes, sometimes snobby, fashion community would really accept a reality show as its own.

It has, however, making the achievements of "Project Runway" even more impressive.

"It's a brilliantly shot and edited show that, for the most part, rewards talented people who are passionate about what they do," Slezak said.

"The judges, and even more so, Tim Gunn, deserve credit for its success, too. With the judges, you get a sense they're not rewarding personality or drama, but rather they're interested in talent. Plus, you combine [Elle magazine editor] Nina Garcia's brutal honesty and [designer] Michael Kors' over-the-top quips, and it's comic gold."

Olympus Fashion Week's warm welcome of "Project Runway" gives "validity to the concept of the show by offering the winner a perfect venue to show in," said Fern Mallis, director of IMG/Fashion, the people behind Olympus Fashion Week.

"The fashion community -- along with everyone else and beyond -- is obsessed with 'Project Runway' because the talent on the show is real," Mallis said. "It brings a great deal of energy to the last day, which is a wonderful way to kick off the final day of Olympus Fashion Week."

Because of that interest in talent, getting tickets to the early-morning show is as hard as sneaking into established shows by designers like Jill Stuart or Zac Posen.

"We are just assaulted with fashion people, press, the general public, people who know someone at Bravo, all trying to get tickets," Levine said.

This year, the "Project Runway" name is branching out as past contestants unveil their new collections throughout the week.

Most anticipated is Season 1 winner Jay McCarroll, who will return to the Bryant Park tents with his new line Friday afternoon.

Rodeo Fashions, Main Street Accessibility

Beyond the champagne and chiffon, both of which seem to spring from an abundant well, "Project Runway's" success is part of a larger trend in the fashion community.

Everywhere you turn, high fashion is blending with the mass market.

For a long time, designer duds were something little girls only dreamed about while scanning the pages of Vogue.

However, the success of European chains like H&M, Zara and TopShop, all of which have mass produced runway looks at much cheaper prices, has made that dream into a reality.

Now, these stores along with American companies including Target are featuring lines by big-name designers such as Stella McCartney, Vera Wang and Karl Lagerfeld.

Even Citysearch has started a new blog on Fashion Week. It's written by shopping editor Keith Wagstaff.

"I think everyday people can get a lot of good ideas from Fashion Week," Wagstaff said.

Project Runway: Just a Beginning

Of course a spot in Fashion Week or even a win on "Project Runway" doesn't mean a long-lasting career in the fashion world.

It took McCarroll almost two years to put together his line, and Season 2 winner Chloe Dao chose a more low-profile route by staying in Texas.

Many of the other colorful contestants will fade simply into reality TV history.

While some toss off "Project Runway's" success, fashion insiders think "the show is credible and believable and well beyond a television fad," Mallis said.

For now, the team behind "Project Runway" doesn't have time to focus on its place in fashion history.

It's just working hard to get ready for Friday's big show.

Which doesn't mean it doesn't appreciate the adoration from the fashion world and beyond.

When creating the show, "we just thought fashion had a lot of inherently interesting elements to it," Levine said.

"But even now I am always amazed by the reach and breadth of the show, from teenage girls to fashionistas, to fashion designers to my mother."