Project Runway season 4


The fourth season of Project Runway, Bravo's reality competition for fashion designers, premiered on November 14, 2007. Returning as judges were supermodel Heidi Klum; fashion designer Michael Kors; and Nina Garcia, Elle magazine fashion director. Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., again acts as a mentor to the contestants.
Through a series of weekly challenges, contestants were eliminated, leaving three finalists left who then went on to show their designs in the final episodes at New York Fashion Week. The winner, Christian Siriano, received prizes including: an editorial feature in Elle, $100,000 from Tresemmé to start his own line, the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com, and a 2008 Saturn Astra automobile. Siriano mentors the designers on Project Runway from season 17.
Elisa Jimenez, Sweet P Vaughn and Rami Kashou later appeared in Project Runway: All Stars in 2012, where Elisa placed 13th, Sweet P Placed 12th, and Rami came in 8th place out of 13. In 2014, Chris March appeared in Project Runway [All Stars season 4|the fourth season] of All Stars, coming in 12th place out of 14.

Contestants

Models

ModelAgeHometownOutcome
Wendi Sullivan28Canton, MA15th place
Cheron Smith22Torrance, CA14th place
Anna Lita Perez25Kyiv, Ukraine13th place
Christina Anderson-McDonald23Meadowbrook, PA12th place
Ashley Evans22Smithville, MO11th place
Katie Nelson19New York, NY10th place
Aviva Brocks21London, England9th place
Marie Salter25Katy, TX8th place
Jacqueline Miranne21New York, NY7th place
Amanda Alter23DeWitt, AR6th place
Lea Rannells22Bridgewater, NJ5th place
Marcia Mitchell23The Berkshires, Massachusetts4th place
Lauren Browne18Grafton, MA3rd place
Samantha "Sam" Ruggiero19Redding, CTRunner-up
Lisa Nargi25New York, NYWinner

Challenges

Designer legend
  • Carmen Webber: CW
  • Chris March: CM
  • Christian Siriano: CS
  • Elisa Jimenez: EJ
  • Jack Mackenroth: JM
  • Jillian Lewis: JL
  • Kevin Christiana: KC
  • Kit Pistol: KP
  • Marion Lee: ML
  • Rami Kashou: RK
  • Ricky Lizalde: RL
  • Simone LeBlanc: SL
  • Steven Rosengard: SR
  • Sweet P: SP
  • Victorya Hong: VH

Episodes

Episode 1: Sew Us What You Got

The designers arrive in New York and are asked to create a garment that best reflects who they are as a designer. They are given 10 minutes to grab from $50,000 worth of fabric in three tents set up in Bryant Park. The designers are randomly assigned models.

Episode 2: I Started Crying / Money Changes Everything

The remaining designers are asked to create a two-piece garment for Sarah Jessica Parker's BITTEN line using $15 of materials and only one day to complete their look. All fourteen designers pitched their designs to Parker, who chose seven to work in teams of two to create the design. The winning design was sold beginning in November 2007 at Steve & Barry's stores.
Team LeaderOther Team Member
RickyJack
ChristianCarmen
RamiJillian
ElisaSweet P
KitChris
VictoryaKevin
MarionSteven

Episode 3: Fashion Giant

The remaining designers are asked to create a three piece menswear outfit for guest judge Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. The designers are randomly assigned male models.

Episode 4: Trendsetter

Each designer picks one of 12 outdated fashion trends. Then working in four teams of three, each team must incorporate all three styles into a cohesive collection of three outfits. They have $225 and two days for the project.
Team LeaderTeam MembersThe Outdated Fashion Trends
JillianKevin, RamiOveralls, 1970s Flare, Poodle Skirt
ChrisSweet P, StevenShoulder Pads, Baggy Sweater, Dancewear
ChristianJack, KitZoot Suit, Pleather, Fringe
RickyElisa, VictoryaNeon, Cut-Outs, Underwear As Outerwear

  • Note 1: Although Victorya, Elisa and Sweet P's overall group performance was LOW, their garments were considered good by the judges.
  • Note 2: Following the runway presentation, the judges announced that because they all unanimously loved Jillian's look, she was immediately named the winner.
  • Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
  • Guest Judge: Donna Karan
  • WINNER: Jillian
  • OUT: Chris
  • First aired December 5, 2007

Episode 5: What's the Skinny?

Each designer has to create an outfit for a woman who has recently lost weight, using one of the woman's outfits from before her weight loss as raw material for the new design. The new outfit must incorporate aspects of the now-thin woman's personality, as well as the designer's own style. Each designer is given $10 to use for additional materials. They have one day to complete the outfits.
Designers and Clients:
  • Steve with Laura
  • Chris with Silvia
  • Jillian with Erika
  • Kevin with Elyse
  • Sweet P with Chris
  • Victorya with Ory
  • Elisa with Tracy
  • Ricky with Penny
  • Kit with Alicia
  • Christian with Kerry
  • Rami with Lisa
  • Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
  • Guest Judge: Patrick Robinson, head designer for The Gap
  • WINNER: Christian
  • LEFT: Jack left to receive medical treatment for a MRSA infection. To keep the same level of competition, he was replaced with Chris, the last designer eliminated.
  • OUT: Steven
  • First aired December 12, 2007

Episode 6: Eye Candy

Designers are to create a garment using any materials that were available at the Hershey's store in Times Square, New York City. They are given no budget but only five minutes to collect materials, and are given only one day to complete the outfit.

Episode 7: What a Girl Wants

Designers are challenged to design a prom dress for a group of 16- and 17-year-old girls from St. John Vianney High School in New Jersey. The girls, along with their mothers, pre-select the designers they want to work with based on the designers' portfolios. The designers have a budget of $250 for materials from Mood and two days to construct the dresses. The winner is dependent on who did the best according to the clients, and they are judged on time management.

Episode 8: En Garde!

Each designer is randomly paired with another designer and asked to select a team leader. Each team is asked to create an avant-garde outfit based on inspiration from their models' hair styles. They are given a budget of $300 and two days to create this look. The following day, each team is asked to create another, simpler, ready-to-wear outfit which embodies the "essence" of the avant-garde look they have been working on. For the second piece, the designers have a budget of $50. The leader of the winning team receives immunity in the next challenge, while the winning team and their outfits are featured in a TRESemme fashion shoot.
Teams:

Episode 9: Even Designers Get the Blues

The designers are tasked with creating an iconic look using deconstructed denim fabric and white cotton while also showing off the Levi's 501 legacy. The designers are given three minutes to collect provided denim jeans and jackets and cotton fabric hanging from clotheslines in a storeroom; Notions such as buttons, rivets, and other fasteners are provided in the workroom. The designers have one day to complete the design. From this challenge forward, the winning designer would no longer gain immunity in the following challenge.

Episode 10: Raw Talent

Each designer selects one of six WWE Divas based on their general attitude, and must design an outfit that matches that attitude and can be worn in the wrestling ring. The designers are given $100 for fabric and two days to complete the designs.

Episode 11: The Art of Fashion

The designers are given 45 minutes in three galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to select a piece of art to use as inspiration for a dress, using provided cameras to capture the artwork. They are given $300 for materials at Mood, and two days to complete the design.
Designers and their art inspiration:
  • Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
  • Guest Judges: Roberto Cavalli
  • WINNER: Christian
  • OUT: Sweet P
  • First aired February 13, 2008
  • All the designers who remain in the competition at the end of this episode will show collections at Bryant Park at New York Fashion Week in February 2008.
  • While statements throughout the show stated that only three designers would move on, the judges declared Rami and Chris tied, and thus, both will develop their line for the Bryant Park show. However, prior to the show, both will display their three best pieces to the judges, who will then decide who will actually be participating for the Project Runway competition during Bryant Park, reducing the final judging decision to three.
  • While they say that only the one that wins the tie will move on, since Fashion Week was before the airing of this episode, Sweet P actually developed a line for the event, and sold at least one garment.

Episode 12: Reunion

All the designers gather for a reunion. Christian Siriano is given $10,000 as the winner of the viewer "Fan Favorite" contest by Season 3's Mychael Knight. Highlights of the season are reviewed, including different designers' reactions to being eliminated, the judges' unaired reactions to the Raw Talent episode, as well as the remaining designers' wrestling diva alter-egos; personality traits of the designers such as Chris March's laugh, Ricky Lizalde's crying, Elisa Jimenez's offbeat personality, and Christian's repeated use of the word "fierce".

Episode 13: Finale (Part 1)

The four remaining designers are given five months and $8000 to create a collection of twelve looks for Fashion Week. Three and a half months later, Tim visits each of the designers to assess their progress. The designers return to New York City after five months. Chris and Rami are to select their three best outfits from their collections, and are given three hours to fit pre-selected models and prepare their hair and makeup before the runway show; they each can use the help of one of the other competitors. The winner of this runway show, Rami, joins the other two, Jillian and Christian, in the competition at the Bryant Park show.
  • Guest Judges: none
  • ADVANCED: Rami
  • OUT: Chris
  • First aired February 27, 2008
  • Chris and Sweet-P showed decoy collections at Fashion Week, as their elimination episodes had not yet aired.

Episode 14: Finale (Part 2)