Bravo has revealed the identities of the fifteen designers that will appear in Project Runway 3, which will premiere Wednesday, July 12 at 10PM ET/PT.
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As first revealed in Project Runway 3's casting application, unlike the first two Project Runway editions that used New York's Fall Fashion Week (an event that takes place in February) as the backdrop for their finales, Project Runway 3's finale will take place at New York's Spring Fashion Week, a September event.
Like its first two editions, Project Runway's third season will once again be hosted by Heidi Klum and feature clothing designer Michael Kors and Elle Magazine fashion director Nina Garcia as part of the show's judging panel. Tim Gunn, Chair of the Parsons The New School For Design where the contestants will compete in weekly design challenges, will also return and help guide the contestants through the competition.
Unlike last season, a mentorship with the Banana Republic Design Team won't be part of Project Runway 3's prize package. Instead, in addition to a 2007 Saturn Sky Roadster, an ELLE magazine photo spread, and a $100,000 cash prize intended to help them launch their own clothing line, Macy's will award the show's third edition winner a mentorship with I.N.C. International Concepts.
Borrowing a page from The Real World's playbook, Bravo will air a one-hour Project Runway 3 casting special on Wednesday, July 12 at 9PM ET/PT (immediately before the third season's 10PM ET/PT premiere.) Rather than Klum, Gunn -- the show's true breakout star -- will host the special.
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As previous noted, although still unconfirmed by the network, Bravo's decision to air Project Runway's third edition as part of its summer programming schedule would appear to indicate that assuming the show's third edition continues to draw strong ratings, Project Runway will be moving the twice-a-year format typically adopted by most popular reality competition series. Assuming Project Runway 3 uses a broadcast schedule similar to that of Project Runway 2, the third edition would broadcast its finale in early October -- a timeframe that would still allow the show to take a two month break before broadcasting a fourth installment during the same winter timeframe in which Project Runway's first two editions aired.
The fifteen designers who will be competing on Project Runway 3 are:
• Bradley Baumkirchner, a 32-year-old from Los Angeles, CA
• Laura Bennett, a 42-year-old from New York, NY
• Robert Best, a 36-year-old from West Hollywood, CA
• Malan Breton, a 32-year-old from Long Island City, NY
• Bonnie Dominguez, a 31-year-old from San Diego, CA
• Stacey Estrella, a 40-year-old from San Francisco, CA
• Katherine Gerdes, a 25-year-old from Minneapolis, MN
• Kayne Gillaspie, a 27-year-old from Norman, OK
• Ulrike "Uli" Herzner, a 35-year-old from Miami Beach, FL
• Alison Kelly, a 25-year-old from Brooklyn, NY
• Angela Keslar, a 33-year-old from Amesville, OH
• Michael Knight, a 28-year-old from Atlanta, GA
• Vincent Libretti, a 49-year-old from Santa Monica, CA
• Keith Michael, a 34-year-old from New York, NY
• Jeffrey Sebelia, a 36-year-old from Los Angeles, CA