Amarillo College Ranger

Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: The Exhibit

Media Credit: www.Google.com Project Runway host Heidi Klun holds up the designers from Season 4.

Project Runway has been a guilty pleasure of mine since the first season aired on Bravo when I was a sophomore in high school. Five seasons later, it still is one of my favorite shows on TV. So it is safe to say that I've looked forward to Wednesdays for quite some time now.

For people who are unfamiliar with Project Runway, 16 designers have to compete against each other in challenges every week.

At the end of each episode, one or sometimes two designers are "auf'd" by host Heidi Klum.

After the contestants are reduced to the final three or four, they are given $8,000 and 12 weeks to create an entire collection to be shown at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park.

The designers are given challenges every episode, some of them more outrageous than the season before. For example, during the first season, the designers had to use edible food items to make a garment. In season two, they went to a local flower shop and made dresses out of flowers and leaves.

Season three had the most environmentally safe challenge, because the designers had to use recyclable materials to construct their designs. In the fourth season the designers had to create a costume for the World Wrestling Entertainment divas to wear in the wrestling ring. The designers of the fifth season had to make a look that was inspired by fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg.

Although some of the designs featured on the show are not always original or beautifully made, I think that sometimes the judges can get a little carried away with their criticisms. It is not one judge in particular; Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia all have been known to be cruel. I have seen designers break down and cry because the judges were so harsh.

However, my favorite person from the show, Tim Gunn, always has constructive criticism and encouraging words for the designers.

Each episode also features a guest judge. Parker Posey, Natalie Portman, Debra Messing, LL Cool J, Victoria Beckham, RuPaul and Brooke Shields all have been guest judges.

The most impressive part of the show is being able to see the designer's vision goes from a sketch on a piece of paper to an actual couture dress walking down the runway.

I do not believe anyone will be telling the three-time-Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning Project Runway "Auf Wiedersehen" anytime soon.

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