Interview

It's worth noting, right there in the name, that Project Runway is not the first Weinstein/Miramax TV production with ambitions at cultural revolution. That would be Project Greenlight, which the brothers Weinstein–and the bros Affleck and Damon–promised us would change (in)dependent filmmaking forever. In light of the hubristic move to Lifetime, I bring this up not to rub in the ratings failure of Greenlight per se, so much as the floundering careers of its two seasons' purported winners. When the closest thing to a hit a star-is-born reality show produces is  the Battle of Shaker Heights, which grossed $280,000 on a $1,000,000 budget, despite the presence of then-teen star Shia LaBeouf, one might say that, Harvey, you have a problem.

On his other Project, this problem has been nicely obscured by the astroviral potential of outré outfits and outré-r personalities. Yet as Heidi, Kors, and the rest fly Bravo's fabulous coop, a certain question of credibility takes the fore. Of all the show's winners, only Season 5's Christian Siriano has managed to make an impression, selling a collection to Saks last year. But what about Jeffrey Sebelia? Or–remember her?–Chloe Dao. I'm not here to suggest that his is a make-it-or-break-it season for the show, only that this observer is starting to suspect that, unlike becoming an American Idol or the Next Food Network Star, success in fashion is–as in, say, academia and architecture–a slow-burn thing that can neither be bought nor bestowed. Thus the crisis of credibility, and confidence: Are we really seeing the best there is or just the wackiest? Is $100,000 and Nina Garcia really enough to lure the true top prodigies against their better judgment now that the surroundings are less Make Me a Super Model and Real Housewives and more Cook Yourself Thin and real housewives?

MORE »