Written by Emma McCarthy
Fashionistas, designers, and drama-lovers, dust off your sewing kits and clear your Thursday nights because Project Runway is officially strutting back down the catwalk with original show’s host Heidi Klum and season 4’s winner Christian Siriano! The fierce fashion competition series returns for Season 21 with a two-episode premiere on Thursday, July 31st at 9:00pm EDT on Freeform, and will stream shortly after on Hulu and Disney+.
After fans speculated Season 20 may have been the series’ last goodbye, Freeform closed a deal with Spyglass Media Group to revive the series for another 10-episode season. In an interview with US Magazine, Chairman and CEO of Spyglass Gary Barber praised how, “For 20 seasons, Project Runway has captured viewers’ attention and cultivated a loyal following. The series has proven to be a valuable and enduring brand worldwide, and we could not be more excited to broaden the show’s breadth of viewership within the Freeform, Hulu and Disney+ ecosystem.” Alfred Street Industries’ Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz are sharing the reins alongside Spyglass as producers for Season 21.
Heidi Klum is returning center stage, after an eight-year hiatus, as a host as confirmed by Us Weekly in January 2024. For context, Klum hosted the original Project Runway for 16 seasons with Tim Gunn as the designers’ mentor, helping to launch fashion careers, cultural catchphrases (“Make it werk!”), and a generation of design-obsessed viewers. Klum and Gunn’s exit from the series in 2018 to pursue their own show Making the Cut was largely credited to the fact that the producers would not allow the pair to make changes to the structure of the show in Project Runway.
HEIDI KLUM, CHRISTIAN SIRIANO
According to The List, Klum revealed how Making the Cut differed from Project Runway with their “shop” element that effectively connected the designers to the audience. Klum stated: “When you see a design that you actually love, you can buy it,” she said. “It’s not only great for the consumer, but it’s also amazing for our designers. We never had that aspect where we could actually help the designers to really branch out into the real world like this on ‘Project Runway‘”.
Klum will be joined by editor-in-chief of ELLE Nina Garcia and celebrity stylist Law Roach as judges for Season 21. Garcia is not new to the role of a judge, with her eye for fashion overlooking Project Runway contestants since its launch in 2004. Roach’s lens for style and haute-couture is proven by his A-list clientele, including Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Celine Dion, and Tom Holland.
As for this season’s mentor, Season 4 winner Christian Siriano will continue to succeed Tim Gunn’s legendary shoes to guide and support the contestants towards achieving their goals and fulfilling their potential. Siriano has served both as a mentor and a host since Season 17 when Klum and Gunn split from the show, fulfilling the roles of both in the last two seasons. Since earning his big break winning Project Runway in 2007 at just 21 years old, he has famously dressed celebrities such as: Ashley Graham, Angela Bassett, Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, Kelly Ripa, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Julianne Moore, Lady GaGa, Mariska Hargitay, Tiffany Haddish and more.
There is a lot to be excited for this coming season following the love that Klum, Garcia, Roach, and Siriano have for fashion and their loyalty toward tailoring the creative essence of this show.
The teaser for Season 21 displays a flare of heat and critique contestable to the flair of 1970s bell bottom jeans. Drama, fire, and tears are sure to spark and shed. Sneak peaks of guest judges revealed that Sophia Vergara, Zac Posen, and Nikki Glaser will appear during this season. As a fan of reality-tv popular in queer spaces, fans have noticed one contestant looks starkly familiar — Ethan Mundt, or better known by her drag name Utica Queen, starred on Season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. With a strong fanbase for her quirky personality and fierce couture runway looks, Utica injects genuine artistry into competition. Utica joins 11 other contestants into the sew-zone for the crown of Project Runway.
With iconic faces returning, fresh talent entering the spotlight, and fashion stakes higher than ever, Season 21 of Project Runway is stitched to thrill—and ready to make it werk.
