Bravo’s ‘Project Runway’ Season 18 is Here!

After its successful relaunch on Bravo last year, “Project Runway” returned on Thursday December 5. Coming back are model host Karlie Kloss and mentor and Season 4 winner Christian Siriano along with judges Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell and Elaine Welteroth.

What’s new? A fresh line-up of 16 designers hunching over those Brother sewing machines and an array of notable guest judges, including actresses Laverne Cox, Rachel Brosnahan, Kiernan Shipka and Leslie Jones. Others include singer Cyndi Lauper, Olympian Lindsey Vonn, fashion designer Thom Browne, artist Ashley Longshore and stylist Marni Senofonte, who was a welcome addition last season.

And, as requested by many fans, Christian will get a “Siriano Save” a la the “Tim Gunn Save” of yore, giving the mentor an opportunity to bring one eliminated designer back into the competition, and the chance to present a final collection at New York Fashion Week. There is also a diverse pool of models that feature an array of sexualities, racial backgrounds and ages as well as a non-binary model, a trans model and a “Dreamer.”

The premiere episode will fly high as the contestants gather at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport as they pair up to design cohesive pieces inspired by space exploration. As the revived Project Runway did last season during selected challenges, viewers can occasionally buy both the winning look and a fan-favorite choice manufactured by Nineteenth Amendment and sold on BravoTV.com/Project Runway.

Also be aware of online opportunities to get more involved with the fashion competition show online with the digital series “Project Runway After Show” and “Viewer Verdict” available at BravoTV.com. And Season 17’s winner Sebastian Grey‘s digital series “Fashion Sewing with Sebastian Grey” will stream on the Bluprint digital platform and app in conjunction with the Season 18 premiere.

The winner will earn a grand prize of $250,000 courtesy of Bluprint, a feature in Elle magazine, the chance to be featured in a Bluprint digital series, $50,000 compliments of Pilot and a mentorship with the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Project Runway airs Thursdays on Bravo at 9:30pm EST.  If you missed the first episode you can catch up on demand or check out more behind the scenes fun stuff at BravoTV.com.

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Photo Credit:  Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com