Bravo's Project Runway fashion designer competition, a spinoff of sorts of Miramax's Project Greenlight filmmaking series that was dropped by HBO but later picked up by Bravo, will premiere Wednesday, December 1 at 10PM ET/PT. Hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, Project Runway will give aspiring designers a chance to break into the notoriously difficult-to-crack fashion world via an America's Next Top Model-like competition format.

ADVERTISEMENT

Similar Top Model, the designers will compete in a series of weekly design challenges with one contestant being eliminated by the judging panel weekly -- only unlike Top Model, the focus won't be on the models, but instead on the clothing that they are wearing. Joining Klum on the program's judging panel will be designer Michael Kors, Elle Magazine fashion director Nina Garcia, Fashion News Director Anne Slowey and a special rotating guest judge who will be selected based on their relevancy to each week's task.

"Our contestants are so talented and this show will give them a chance to make it in fashion, which is a really tough business to break into," said Klum. "I'm excited to give them a great showcase to display their talents. I'm really excited for people to see the show--our contestants are fabulous, and of course, this is fashion--there's a lot of angst and drama!"

The ten episode series will feature weekly eliminations until its group of twelve initial designers is narrowed to only three remaining contestants. The three finalists will then face-off with full lines on the catwalk at New York's Fall Fashion Week in February 2005. Project Runway's winner will receive a photo spread in Elle Magazine, $100,000 in seed money to help them launch their own fashion line, and a mentorship from the Banana Republic Design Team.

The twelve designers competing in Project Runway are:

• Alexandra Vidal - Coral Gables, FL
• Mario Cadenas - Pembroke Pines, FL
• Austin Scarlett - New York, NY
• Nora Caliguri - Cheshire, CT
• Daniel Franco - Los Angeles, CA
• Robert Plotkin - New York, NY
• Jay McCarroll - Dallas, PA
• Starr Ilzhoefer - Charlotte, NC
• Kara Saun - Los Angeles, CA
• Vanessa Riley - Houston, TX
• Kevin Johhn - New York, NY
• Wendy Pepper - Middleburg, VA

Project Runway is executive produced by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves (Project Greenlight, Last Comic Standing,) and Heidi Klum.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS