by Gina Scarpa

 

Next Thursday, a new group of designers will hit New York City to compete on season 7 of Project Runway, airing on Lifetime.  The trailer for the new season features lots of drama, excitement, and shocking moments and the cast is extremely diverse, featuring contestants from six different countries and ranging in age from 21 to 47 years old. 

 

The winner of season 7 will receive an added bonus.  They’ll walk away with the usual prize: There's still the editorial spread in Marie Claire, the opportunity to sell the line at Bluefly.com and $100,000 seed money from L'Oreal Paris. However, they will also receive a technology suite by HP and Intel worth $50,000.

 

Host Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn will of course return, as well as regular judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors.  This season will also feature a slew of celebrity guest judges and Nicole Ritchie will be the first to join the panel on the season premiere.  "Nicole is a fabulous guest judge," Runway executive producer Sara Rea told People magazine. "She has strong opinions and gives clear and specific constructive criticism to the designers. Also, she isn't afraid to disagree with the other judges."

 

The designers competing this season are:

• Amy Sarabi, 26 years old from Plano, Texas
• Anna Lynett, 23 years old from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
• Anthony Williams, 28 years old from Birmingham, Alabama
• Ben Chmura, 30 years old from Meriden, Connecticut
• Christiane King, 30 years old from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
• Emilio Sosa, 43 years old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Janeane Marie Ceccanti, 28 years old from Willows, California
• Jay Nicolas Sario, 31 years old from The Philippines
• Jesse LeNoir, 25 years old from Painesville, Ohio
• Jesus Estrada, 21 years old from Mazatlan, Mexico
• Jonathan Peters, 29 years old from Woonsocket, Rhode Island
• Maya Luz, 22 years old from Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Mila Hermanovski, 40 years old from Dallas, Texas
• Pamela Ptak, 47 years old from Pittsfield, Massachusetts
• Ping Wu, 34 years old from Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
• Seth Aaron Henderson, 38 years old from San Diego, California

 

Joining the group of reality stars who write for RealityWanted is Christopher Straub.  Following his appearance on season 6 of Project Runway, Christopher is still designing from his home in Shakopee, Minnesota.  He also has a design studio in a neighboring city where he creates his wholesale and retail product.   Christopher has many pieces in development including handbags and accessories, apparel and even home décor.  Many wearable items are available at his website, christopherstraub.com, and have recently become available on ShopNBC, the home shopping network. Christopher will be writing each week about what he loved on the runway… and what he could have done without! 

 

 

Season 6 winner Irina Shabayeva will also be checking in with RealityWanted midseason to size up the season 7 designers on Project Runway.  First up for the winner is a showing at New York Fashion Week next month.  To see Irina's collections and check out her store, visit her website, irinashabayeva.com.

 

Check back every week to read our recaps, interviews with ousted designers, Christopher’s weekly thoughts on the season 7 designs, and Irina's feedback on how the designers stack up in her book.

 

Project Runway premieres next Thursday, January 14, at 10pm ET on Lifetime.

 

(Image courtesy of Lifetime)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa and Christopher at twitter.com/schmistopher

 

For more Project Runway links, visit SirLinksALot.net