Respect Authority

For someone whose favorite designer is “The Gap”—and even then, only when stuff is on sale—I find myself endlessly fascinated by Project Runway. Something about the combination of high-drama egos and high-stakes competition, coupled with a sassy gay (Oh Michael Kors, how I’ve missed you) makes this one of few shows that has managed to capture my attention for a full five seasons (I missed the Top Chef season with all the faux-hawks). This is, of course, to say nothing of the sheer awe with which I watch people turn rolls (I know they’re called bolts, but to use that word would suggest some knowledge of garment construction on my part, an untruth made evident by the fact that I’ve never even sewed a button back on) of fabric into beautiful dresses, or piles of trash into chic separates. In many ways, fashion design is like cooking for me: I know the ingredients exist, but put them in front of me and all I can think is “Don’t they sell this stuff, like, pre-made in stores?”

In short, Project Runway Season Six premiered last night, the first episode of the first season since the show’s controversial move to Lifetime, otherwise home to half-baked dramas and made-for-TV movies about domestic violence. Legal squabbling and network preference aside, Runway fans like myself have mostly spent the last year wondering whether moving PR off Bravo would mean changing some of the show’s fundamentals—judges, challenges, Tim Motherfucking Gunn. Those same fans will be relieved to know the answer to all of the above is a resounding no.

Because Runway proper is owned by the Weinstein brothers, the creative concept is theirs, and the show remains true to its five previous seasons. All of the judges have returned, including a once again pregnant Heidi Klum and fiercer-than-ever Michael Kors. The set is the same, as is the interminably dramatic music and Tim, beloved Tim. In fact, the only real difference appears to be the city—Season 6 is set in Los Angeles, so gone are the Manhattan condos, Big Apple-themed challenges and Parsons backdrop. (There is, however, a Mood fabric store in L.A.) Otherwise, same song, different verse.

So far, the season looks promising. Though I’m miffed about the Los Angeles setting, I have a feeling it’s a one-off, so I’m willing to accept a temporary change in scenery. The cast appears as eclectic and talented as ever, though the ease with which Lifetime found not only exceptional, but also physically attractive, designers suggests the days of Chris March might be over. After all, L.A. is for the beautiful people. All the requisite characters are accounted for: the beautiful black man, the design school ingénue, the self-taught hopeful. The predictable weirdo—an androgynous pixie who doesn’t sketch and lets the fabric “tell her what it wants to be”—got booted last night, so I’m hopeful that other more discreetly freakish participants will step up their crazy factor in episodes to come. (Ironically the pixie looked an awful lot like DJ Samantha Ronson, a similarity made more hilarious by the fact that last night’s guest judge was Lindsay Lohan). Oh, and they threw in a guy who overcame a crystal meth addiction, you know, just for good measure.

Ultimately the only annoying part about Project Runway is Lifetime’s shameless self-promotion. The network knows, as does its audience, that this is a coup, and for most of the four-plus million people that watch PR, Lifetime had heretofore been little more than the butt of teen pregnancy jokes. During the two-hour “All Star Challenge” that preceded last night’s premier (a smooth move on the network’s part), Lifetime quite literally counted down the minutes until the Season 6 debut, and commercial breaks were peppered with video clips of celebrities touting Runway. They’re even producing a pathetic spin-off show that follows the PR’s models. Clearly, Lifetime pulled out all the stops.

The thing is, they don’t need to. Project Runway could be on PBS next year, or the Home Shopping Network, and its fans will still watch. As long as Heidi Klum is popping out babies, Michael Kors is using phrases like “disco pool party” and Tim Gunn is Tim Gunn, PR will make it work.