Project Runway Feels Soulless Because It Forgot to Put Fashion First

By now, there’s no getting around the fact that Project Runway is an entirely different series than what we fell in love with.

The entire premise of the show has shifted so much that it’s virtually unrecognizable. It reads like corporate advertising mixed with cheap cattiness, and the concept of fashion-forward artistry on display is pretty non-existent.

There are many ways the show has run off track, but a primary one is the lack of a designer’s perspective at the judges’ table.

Make no mistake: the designers this season aren’t actually the problem.

Most of them are quite talented, and it’s been fun to watch some of the ensembles they deliver for any array of bizarre and puzzling challenges.

When Project Runway actually focuses on them — not just as potential reality stars falling into their respective Reality TV archetype for the sake of producing memeable content — the designers are actually competent, skillful, and interesting to watch.

At this point, it’s the structuring and production of the series that aren’t rising to the occasion for them.

That’s where it’s evident that Project Runway feels soulless.

It no longer feels like a competition manufactured to highlight aspiring designers and give them a real platform to showcase their talents in hopes of becoming the next big designer.

The series has traded in the actual fashion component of the competition for weak drama.

We spend more time watching the likes of Bryan and Bi sniping at each other over their past working relationship (that feels more like a lover’s quarrel) than we do getting a real feel for their style and what they’re capable of.

It’s not that Project Runway having ostentatious personalities is a bad thing. Reality TV essentially thrives off building personalities that viewers gravitate toward.

But Project Runway is fixating on them for all the wrong reasons.

A primary example of this is having a super-sized season of aspiring designers and then cutting practically half of them before we ever got a real chance to know them or witness their skills.

Project Runway is no longer centered on fashion.

If anything, they’re whittling and cutting away at those elements, so it feels less like a design competition and more like a meme generator with a loose theme.

We barely get to see much of the process of constructing a great fashion piece. The actual artistry of the craft should dominate every episode, not be scaled back.

The sad thing is we have the designers for it!

There are so many pieces I’ve loved this season, and when it comes to choosing some of the best of the bunch, my heart currently belongs to the excellent tailor Jude. He hasn’t had a weak design yet in my book.

And that’s where I can’t help but think about how the craftsmanship has fallen too under the radar.

As it stands, the only actual professional designer we have as a main cast member of the series is Christian Siriano. And he’s utterly wasted in the design room.

The series doesn’t bother to give him nearly enough screen time or hone in on the advice and skills he has to offer these up-and-coming designers.

Siriano feels muted as an addition, like he’s capable of so much more, but Project Runway itself hamstrings him at every turn.

The one designer we have in the whole process, and we barely get to see what his input entails, how he’d approach anything, and how he’d guide designers through certain processes. Why?

Christian Siriano as a mentor could be its own series — he’s one of the hottest designers in the world, and he literally got his start right there on Project Runway.

He’s the embodiment of what the series was about in its prime and how it can change the course of someone’s life.

Therefore, it makes little sense that the series underutilizes him, given that he lends this reality competition real legitimacy and pedigree.

Meanwhile, once we get to the runway, we’re watching a panel largely made up of people who aren’t designers critique a craft they don’t actually practice.

The feedback swings wildly between “I’d wear that,” personality preferences, and whichever witty quip lands best.

It leaves genuine conversations about construction, technique, and design almost as an afterthought.

The closest we get to legitimate feedback with real perspective, ironically, comes from Law Roach, but he oscillates too frequently between catty and constructive for the latter to ever fully land.

And guest judges more often than not just amount to whatever celebrity or reality star is available at the time.

But we need more than that.

If Project Runway will ever succeed at putting the “design” back into the competition and highlighting the artistry and craftsmanship it should serve as a love letter to, then that starts with permanently putting a designer at the judges’ table.

Models, stylists, and fashionistas have perspective, no doubt, and those are invaluable, but the perspective of an actual designer is paramount.

A designer isn’t simply judging whether something looks good. They’re evaluating construction, technical execution, innovation, problem-solving, and whether another designer pushed themselves creatively.

That’s the kind of feedback that actually helps contestants grow, and it’s exactly what’s missing from the judging panel.

Designer evolution used to be a crucial part of Project Runway’s appeal.

One can’t help but wonder how much stronger the series could be, as well as the designers themselves, if they were challenged more by someone in the field whom they respect on the runway.

Christian Siriano can’t be our only option.

Project Runway can have all the talented designers in the world, but until the series re-centers itself, it’ll keep feeling like a show that lost its soul.