Project Runway Australia
Encyclopedia
Project Runway Australia is a reality television
show based on Project Runway
wherein fashion Designers compete by making specific garments for specific challenges. All contestants appearing on the show are designers residing in Australia. The show features Megan Gale
as the host, and Kirrily Johnston, and Jarrad Clark as judges. Alex Perry
acts as a mentor to the contestants, as Tim Gunn
does in the American version. Production began in May, and the show premiered on Arena 8.30 p.m. (AEST) Monday 7 July 2008.
The prizes for the winner of Project Runway Australia included what is described as "$100,000 opportunity" to create their own fashion line to show in Melbourne Fashion Week, a Fiat 500
car, and having their clothes displayed in a six-page spread in Madison magazine.
It was announced on 15 October 2009 that the show had been picked up for a third season to air in 2011.
. Sarah Gale is a fashion buyer and a trend forecaster. She is a regular speaker at Melbourne's School for Fashion. Her judging point of view is commercial appeal. Jayson Brunsdon is a fashion designer in Australia. He has dressed several people including INXS
, Princess Mary
, and Linda Evangelista
. His clothes are sold in over 10 countries. Henry Roth, the mentor to the designers, is a fashion designer who lived in New York for 10 years. During that time he appeared on several shows and was even a judge on Style Court for two seasons.
Kirsty Hinze, Sarah Gale and Jayson Brunsdon were replaced by Megan Gale, Kirrily Johnston and Jarrad Clark respectively for the third season, with Alex Perry replacing Henry Roth as mentor..
. The challenges range in creative diversity to test the designers' ingenuity while maintaining their personal design aesthetic. These challenges may include creating a garment from non-traditional materials, such as: car parts, recyclable materials
; to designing for a certain high-profile person (such as singer Kelly Rowland
, a corporate fashion line (e.g., Myer
), or centered around a specialized theme (such as "cocktail party
", "wedding gown", or "bikini
").
The show takes place in Melbourne with designers using a workroom at the Whitehouse Institute of Design. They shop for materials at a fabric store in Melbourne (usually at Rathdowne Fabrics) — unless the challenge requires otherwise. The designers are sequestered by grouped genders together in apartments. While on the show, the designers are prohibited from leaving the apartments without authorization, making unauthorized communication with family or friends, or using the Internet to research designs. Designers are also forbidden to bring pattern books or similar how-to books with them during the show, or risk being disqualified from the competition.
The designers are given a budgeted stipend to select and purchase fabric
and notions
, and then provided a limited amount of time to finish their designs (from as short as half a day to two or three days). Often, the designers work independently, although on some challenges, contestants must work in teams or as a single collective group. Once the deadline is reached, the designers must dress their models and select their hair, make-up, and accessories. Each model walks down the runway, and the garment the contestant made is rated by a panel of judges, scoring each look in a number of categories from 0 to 5, or other personal annotations and comments in regards to the designs being presented. The judges then interview the designers who garnered the highest and the lowest scores (usually a top 3 and a bottom 3) and share their opinions before conferring as a group in private after the designers' defense of their outfits. The panel then selects the winning and losing designers based on their scores and other considerations. Typically, the winner receives immunity
for the next challenge, and therefore, cannot be eliminated. As the season progresses, immunity
is disregarded during later challenges to prevent the designers from getting an easy pass to make it into the final round. Other incentives given to the contestants aside from winning immunity is that the winning garment may be featured in print media, integrated into a limited edition look for a particular clothing brand, or sold at an online fashion store.
After the final challenge, the remaining three or four designers are then told to prepare a complete fashion collection of 10 looks. Unlike some other Project Runway franchises, in the Australian version, the three finalists do not all present at Fashion Week
. Instead, they are told they will present their collections in a live runway show before an audience of their peers, and the winner is chosen from that show. Only the winner of the season gets to go on to Fashion Week
.
The finalists are given 2 months and $10000 for this task, which they perform at their own homes or studios. While some construction work can be outsourced, the majority of the garments must be created by the designers themselves. Prior to the show, the finalists must return to Melbourne to oversee model casting, hair and make-up consultations, finishing touches to their clothes, final fitting on their models, and also may be thrown an additional challenge, such as designing an additional outfit to blend in with the collection. Their receipts are also handed over to the producers of the show to determine if they went overbudget or had outsourcing
done as favors, both of which are against the rules. Otherwise, they might be forced to eliminate a crucial aesthetic factor in their presentation, or risk affecting their potential scoring from the judging panel should they stand by their decision to use a forbidden item. The ultimate winner is selected by the judges, and receives $100,000 to start his or her own design line, a magazine feature spread in Madison magazine, and a mentorship from a design firm (ended on Season 3). Subsequent seasons have also included a new car as part of the prize package, courtesy of car company Fiat 500
.
Female fashion models
who work with the designers throughout the season are also in the competition. Each week, as the number of designers dwindle, the number of models are also reduced, with one model remaining at the end. Models are randomly pre-assigned to a designer during the first challenge, and from the second challenge onwards, the designers will have an opportunity to pick the model they wish to work with. This usually happens during the start of every episode save for the first, with the winner of the previous challenge receiving first pick, and the other designers picking models in order through host Hinze's random draw of large red shirt buttons with their names stored in a black velvet bag. Though, there are times when only the winning designer will be given the choice to pick with the following choices: either keep his or her previous model, take the losing designer's model from the last challenge, or switch models with another competing designer. Included in the prize package for the winning model is coverage in Madison magazine, featuring the winning designer's twelve-piece collection as part of her prize. However, certain challenges may not require the models at all.
Joining Hinze in judging duties includes Australian designer Jayson Brunsdon, fashion buyer Sarah Gale, and a fourth judge - typically a fashion designer, a supermodel
or a celebrity or a professional
from an industry related to the challenge given. Henry Roth, renowned Australian designer, acts as mentor
to the designers and does not participate in the judging. Instead, he visits the designers midway through each challenge to comment and suggest improvements for each design, as well as announcing additional challenge updates and enforcing the time limit before each runway show. Roth also usually announces the design challenges aside from Hinze, and accompanies the designers during their fabric shopping at Rathdowne or on field trips related to a particular challenge.
Next season is set to be hosted by Megan Gale, the face of David Jones while Hinze is moving on to start a family. Insiders rumour Jayson Brunsdon to be out and Alex Perry in, as Perry designs for David Jones as opposed to Brundsdon who currently designs for Myer.
nomination for outstanding reality series.
The winning designer of the first season was Brisbane
-based designer Juli Grbac
. Second place was Leigh Buchanon, and third was Petrova Hammond. As her prize for winning the competition among 12 designers, Grbac was eligible to receive a $100,000 cash prize, a Fiat 500
car and display of her work in the Australian edition of Madison magazine. The winning model of the first season, selected by Grbac, was Lucy McIntosh, who beat out models Yumika Hoskin (for Buchanon) and Anthea Crebbin (for Hammond).
Season 2 was won by Anthony Capon from Melbourne on 16 September 2009. William Lazootin achieved 2nd place and Lauren Vieyra came in 3rd place. Although she finished in ninth place, fashion designer Amber Renae
quickly established herself as a television personality following her appearance on the series.
replacing Kristy Hinze
as the host of the reality series. Gale now serves as a executive producer, and contestant mentor Henry Roth has been replaced by Australian designer Alex Perry
.
The 12 Designers are:
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show based on Project Runway
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
wherein fashion Designers compete by making specific garments for specific challenges. All contestants appearing on the show are designers residing in Australia. The show features Megan Gale
Megan Gale
Megan Kate Gale is an Australian model and actress.- Career :Born in Perth, Western Australia, Megan Gale's father is English and mother is part Maori and is the youngest of three children with two older brothers.-Modeling:...
as the host, and Kirrily Johnston, and Jarrad Clark as judges. Alex Perry
Alex Perry
Alex Perry is an Australian fashion designer, particularly noted for his designs in womenswear. After graduating from East Sydney Technical College in 1984, Perry worked as a model agent representing Australian models for international modelling agencies. In 1992 Perry opened his first atelier...
acts as a mentor to the contestants, as Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn
Timothy M. "Tim" Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative...
does in the American version. Production began in May, and the show premiered on Arena 8.30 p.m. (AEST) Monday 7 July 2008.
The prizes for the winner of Project Runway Australia included what is described as "$100,000 opportunity" to create their own fashion line to show in Melbourne Fashion Week, a Fiat 500
Fiat Nuova 500
The Fiat 500 or Fiat Nuova 500 is a city car built by Italian automaker Fiat since 2007. The car is currently produced in Tychy, Poland by Fiat Auto Poland S.A. and in Toluca, Mexico, by Chrysler Group LLC. The four-seater, three-door hatchback 500 is almost identical to the retro concept car...
car, and having their clothes displayed in a six-page spread in Madison magazine.
It was announced on 15 October 2009 that the show had been picked up for a third season to air in 2011.
The judges and mentor
Kristy Hinze is a model and appeared in the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit IssueSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....
. Sarah Gale is a fashion buyer and a trend forecaster. She is a regular speaker at Melbourne's School for Fashion. Her judging point of view is commercial appeal. Jayson Brunsdon is a fashion designer in Australia. He has dressed several people including INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
, Princess Mary
Princess Mary
-People:* Mary Tudor, Queen of France , daughter of Henry VII of England* Queen Mary I of England ,known as "Princess Mary" before her accession* Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange , daughter of Charles I of England...
, and Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista is a Canadian model. She has been featured on over 600 magazine covers and has garnered work on numerous modeling assignments with companies, most recently with L'Oréal.- Early years :...
. His clothes are sold in over 10 countries. Henry Roth, the mentor to the designers, is a fashion designer who lived in New York for 10 years. During that time he appeared on several shows and was even a judge on Style Court for two seasons.
Kirsty Hinze, Sarah Gale and Jayson Brunsdon were replaced by Megan Gale, Kirrily Johnston and Jarrad Clark respectively for the third season, with Alex Perry replacing Henry Roth as mentor..
Format
Project Runway uses progressive elimination to reduce the initial field of 10 or more fashion designers down to 3 or 4 before the final challenge. Each non-finale challenge (the scope of one episode) requires the designers to develop one or several pieces of new clothing to be presented at a runway showFashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
. The challenges range in creative diversity to test the designers' ingenuity while maintaining their personal design aesthetic. These challenges may include creating a garment from non-traditional materials, such as: car parts, recyclable materials
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
; to designing for a certain high-profile person (such as singer Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
, a corporate fashion line (e.g., Myer
Myer
Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
), or centered around a specialized theme (such as "cocktail party
Cocktail party
A cocktail party is a party where cocktails are served. Women may choose to wear what has become known as a cocktail dress.Although many believe the inventor of the cocktail party to be Alec Waugh of London, who in 1924 found a need for this pleasant interlude before a dinner party, an article in...
", "wedding gown", or "bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
").
The show takes place in Melbourne with designers using a workroom at the Whitehouse Institute of Design. They shop for materials at a fabric store in Melbourne (usually at Rathdowne Fabrics) — unless the challenge requires otherwise. The designers are sequestered by grouped genders together in apartments. While on the show, the designers are prohibited from leaving the apartments without authorization, making unauthorized communication with family or friends, or using the Internet to research designs. Designers are also forbidden to bring pattern books or similar how-to books with them during the show, or risk being disqualified from the competition.
The designers are given a budgeted stipend to select and purchase fabric
Fabric
A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
and notions
Notion (accessory)
In sewing and haberdashery, notions is the collective term for a variety of small objects or accessories. Notions can include items that are sewn or otherwise attached to a finished article, such as buttons, snaps, and collar stays, but the term also includes small tools used in sewing, such as...
, and then provided a limited amount of time to finish their designs (from as short as half a day to two or three days). Often, the designers work independently, although on some challenges, contestants must work in teams or as a single collective group. Once the deadline is reached, the designers must dress their models and select their hair, make-up, and accessories. Each model walks down the runway, and the garment the contestant made is rated by a panel of judges, scoring each look in a number of categories from 0 to 5, or other personal annotations and comments in regards to the designs being presented. The judges then interview the designers who garnered the highest and the lowest scores (usually a top 3 and a bottom 3) and share their opinions before conferring as a group in private after the designers' defense of their outfits. The panel then selects the winning and losing designers based on their scores and other considerations. Typically, the winner receives immunity
Immunity (reality television)
Immunity in reality television is a concept that is widely used in weekly elimination-type reality television shows by which a contestant participating in such a show may not be "kicked off" or eliminated from competition in a particular time period...
for the next challenge, and therefore, cannot be eliminated. As the season progresses, immunity
Immunity (reality television)
Immunity in reality television is a concept that is widely used in weekly elimination-type reality television shows by which a contestant participating in such a show may not be "kicked off" or eliminated from competition in a particular time period...
is disregarded during later challenges to prevent the designers from getting an easy pass to make it into the final round. Other incentives given to the contestants aside from winning immunity is that the winning garment may be featured in print media, integrated into a limited edition look for a particular clothing brand, or sold at an online fashion store.
After the final challenge, the remaining three or four designers are then told to prepare a complete fashion collection of 10 looks. Unlike some other Project Runway franchises, in the Australian version, the three finalists do not all present at Fashion Week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
. Instead, they are told they will present their collections in a live runway show before an audience of their peers, and the winner is chosen from that show. Only the winner of the season gets to go on to Fashion Week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
.
The finalists are given 2 months and $10000 for this task, which they perform at their own homes or studios. While some construction work can be outsourced, the majority of the garments must be created by the designers themselves. Prior to the show, the finalists must return to Melbourne to oversee model casting, hair and make-up consultations, finishing touches to their clothes, final fitting on their models, and also may be thrown an additional challenge, such as designing an additional outfit to blend in with the collection. Their receipts are also handed over to the producers of the show to determine if they went overbudget or had outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
done as favors, both of which are against the rules. Otherwise, they might be forced to eliminate a crucial aesthetic factor in their presentation, or risk affecting their potential scoring from the judging panel should they stand by their decision to use a forbidden item. The ultimate winner is selected by the judges, and receives $100,000 to start his or her own design line, a magazine feature spread in Madison magazine, and a mentorship from a design firm (ended on Season 3). Subsequent seasons have also included a new car as part of the prize package, courtesy of car company Fiat 500
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
.
Female fashion models
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
who work with the designers throughout the season are also in the competition. Each week, as the number of designers dwindle, the number of models are also reduced, with one model remaining at the end. Models are randomly pre-assigned to a designer during the first challenge, and from the second challenge onwards, the designers will have an opportunity to pick the model they wish to work with. This usually happens during the start of every episode save for the first, with the winner of the previous challenge receiving first pick, and the other designers picking models in order through host Hinze's random draw of large red shirt buttons with their names stored in a black velvet bag. Though, there are times when only the winning designer will be given the choice to pick with the following choices: either keep his or her previous model, take the losing designer's model from the last challenge, or switch models with another competing designer. Included in the prize package for the winning model is coverage in Madison magazine, featuring the winning designer's twelve-piece collection as part of her prize. However, certain challenges may not require the models at all.
Joining Hinze in judging duties includes Australian designer Jayson Brunsdon, fashion buyer Sarah Gale, and a fourth judge - typically a fashion designer, a supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
or a celebrity or a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
from an industry related to the challenge given. Henry Roth, renowned Australian designer, acts as mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
to the designers and does not participate in the judging. Instead, he visits the designers midway through each challenge to comment and suggest improvements for each design, as well as announcing additional challenge updates and enforcing the time limit before each runway show. Roth also usually announces the design challenges aside from Hinze, and accompanies the designers during their fabric shopping at Rathdowne or on field trips related to a particular challenge.
Next season is set to be hosted by Megan Gale, the face of David Jones while Hinze is moving on to start a family. Insiders rumour Jayson Brunsdon to be out and Alex Perry in, as Perry designs for David Jones as opposed to Brundsdon who currently designs for Myer.
Season one (2008)
Project Runway Australia premiered its first season on 7 July 2008. In its first season, Project Runway Australia received critical acclaim, including an AstraAstra
-Religion and mythology:* Astra in Sanskrit* Astra Planeta:**Children of Astraeus in Greek mythology, gods of the five wandering stars**The wandering stars, or naked-eye planets, themselves-Comics and manga:...
nomination for outstanding reality series.
The winning designer of the first season was Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
-based designer Juli Grbac
Juli Grbac
Juli Grbac is an Australian fashion designer who was the first winner of Project Runway Australia.Hailing from Brisbane, Grbac studied fashion design at Gateway TAFE in Brisbane and later went on to study fashion design in London. Grbac worked as a hand sewer for various companies before starting...
. Second place was Leigh Buchanon, and third was Petrova Hammond. As her prize for winning the competition among 12 designers, Grbac was eligible to receive a $100,000 cash prize, a Fiat 500
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
car and display of her work in the Australian edition of Madison magazine. The winning model of the first season, selected by Grbac, was Lucy McIntosh, who beat out models Yumika Hoskin (for Buchanon) and Anthea Crebbin (for Hammond).
Season two (2009)
Project Runway Australia premiered its second season on 8 July 2009.Season 2 was won by Anthony Capon from Melbourne on 16 September 2009. William Lazootin achieved 2nd place and Lauren Vieyra came in 3rd place. Although she finished in ninth place, fashion designer Amber Renae
Amber Renae
Amber Renae is an Australian fashion stylist, designer, television personality and model. She is widely known for her appearance on Arena TV’s Project Runway Australia. Renae has guest-starred on numerous shows, including Mornings with Kerri-Anne and the Dave and Kim Show; she is now a regular...
quickly established herself as a television personality following her appearance on the series.
Season three (2011)
The third season premiered on 4 July 2011, with Australian model Megan GaleMegan Gale
Megan Kate Gale is an Australian model and actress.- Career :Born in Perth, Western Australia, Megan Gale's father is English and mother is part Maori and is the youngest of three children with two older brothers.-Modeling:...
replacing Kristy Hinze
Kristy Hinze
Kristy Hinze is an Australian model, actress and television host. Hinze has appeared in Sports Illustrated as well as the Victoria's Secret catalogue.-Life and career:...
as the host of the reality series. Gale now serves as a executive producer, and contestant mentor Henry Roth has been replaced by Australian designer Alex Perry
Alex Perry
Alex Perry is an Australian fashion designer, particularly noted for his designs in womenswear. After graduating from East Sydney Technical College in 1984, Perry worked as a model agent representing Australian models for international modelling agencies. In 1992 Perry opened his first atelier...
.
The 12 Designers are:
-
- Amanda McKenna, 36, from Western Australia
- Anna McEachran, 31, from Western Australia
- Anthony Allars, 34, from New South Wales
- Claire Hocking, 24, from Victoria
- Craig Braybrook, 45, from Victoria
- Dylan Cooper, 21, from New South Wales
- Gabrielle Stephens, 40, from Victoria
- Johnny Schembri, 23, from New South Wales
- Matcho Suba, 27, from Victoria
- Nerida Bourne, 21, from New South Wales
- Rachael Perks, 21, from New South Wales
- Timothy Godbold, 42, from Western Australia