'Project Runway' star Tim Gunn getting his own Bravo reality series

Bravo announced today that it has signed a production deal for Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, a new reality series that will feature Project Runway star Tim Gunn helping hapless fashion dilemmas transform into stylish individuals.


"I'm practically delirious that Bravo has given me this incredible opportunity and together, we vow to redefine 'makeovers,'" Gunn stated in the network's announcement.  "This series aims to be one-part education with two-parts fun, and you'll see me being a fashion therapist, not a svengali."

In each episode of the series, Gunn will use his decades of fashion design experience to help ordinary people realize their true style potential.  Gunn's manual for each transformation will be "Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style," a new book that he's co-wroting with writer Kate Moloney (the book is scheduled to be published in May 2007.)  

The reality show will cover many of the same types of topics as the book, including choosing an appropriate style, finding the right fit, revamping closets, identifying fashion role models, teaching proper grooming, and selecting the right accessories.

"Bravo is extremely lucky to have Tim Gunn as a part of our family," said Frances Berwick, executive vice president of programming and production at the cable network. "We want our viewers to see his own opinions, his personal ideas on style, fashion and more. I am pleased to bring Tim Gunn's Guide to Style to our viewers, because they have certainly been asking for more of him."


Given Gunn's show will work off the still-to-be completed book, Bravo isn't sure when the show will begin production or premiere.  "This is totally dependent on when he hands in his book," Bravo president Lauren Zalaznick told The Chicago Tribune reporter Maureen Ryan after the network formally announced the show at today's Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. "It'll be a series, it's [a matter of] waiting to actually make it good."

Nor is the network ready to formally announce when Project Runway, the network's top rated show, will return for its fourth season.  "We're fluid. I'm not saying that because we're cagey. Our [Runway] time frame is dictated by the fashion shows, and [those occur in] September and February," Zalaznick told Ryan.

However whenever Runway does return, Bravo fully expects that Gunn will be part of it.  "Tim and Heidi... I think they're Runway. But I think everyone thinks that," Zalaznick told Ryan.  "I can just say flat out, our first priority is to Runway."






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio