Ongoing litigation has kept Project Runway's sixth season off Lifetime's programming schedule, however it apparently won't prevent the show's finalists from having the opportunity to present their design collections at New York's upcoming Fashion Week.

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"Given the circumstances, we're trying to do right by the designers," executive producer Jane Cha told the New York Daily News in a Saturday report. 

"We always told them, as they applied, that they'd get to show during New York Fashion Week, and even though the circumstances are different, that's what we're giving them."

While the live runway show for Project Runway's sixth-season finale will begin as usual at 9AM at Bryant Park on the last day of Fashion Week, producers have had to alter the setup "significantly," according to the Daily News.

"We'll pre-shoot the intros and we're going to have the designers whose collections they are backstage, and some of our other cast members will be there, too," Cha told the Daily News.

Cha's confirmation that decoys will be used should come as no surprise since it is a tactic the show has previously used in order to prevent the premature disclosure of a season finale's finalists. 

Project Runway's finale runway shows have traditionally included "decoy" collection presentations from any designer that has yet to be eliminated in broadcasts of the show's already-filmed episodes, not just the finale's actual finalists.

However unlike Project Runway's previous finale runway shows, the pre-filmed introductions and inclusion of additional non-finale contestants will prevent the audience from knowing whether a specific designer created one of the collections that is subsequently shown -- and if so, which one.

In addition, fewer people will be allowed backstage and be able to see the designers preparing for their runway shows. 

"Anyone back there will have signed non-disclosure agreements and there will be tighter security than usual," Cha told the Daily News, adding she isn't concerned that those in attendance at Bryant Park will be able to guess the eventual winner.

"When you watch Season 6, a lot of the challenges have very specific parameters, so they're expressing their esthetic within them."

Project Runway's litigation began in April when NBC Universal -- the parent company of Bravo, the cable network that aired Project Runway's first five seasons -- sued the show's The Weinstein Company production company to prevent its move to Lifetime.

NBCU claims they were not given a contractually-mandated chance to match Lifetime's offer before the production company inked a deal to move the show to the women's network beginning with its sixth season.

The ongoing lawsuit has stopped Lifetime from proceeding with its previous plan to premiere Project Runway's sixth season this month.


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