In fashion, one day you're in, and the next day, you're out.
Fans of the long-running "Project Runway" series have heard host Heidi Klum utter this phrase hundreds of times to hopeful contestants, but it could also be said about the ever-expanding fashion reality show genre. The biggest and most popular, "Project Runway," starts its 10th season tonight, and another "All-Stars" version is currently in production.
Since its 2004 debut, "Project Runway" has spawned other like-minded shows, but its ancestors are a reality show staple: the makeover show.
Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," in which five gay men offered style, grooming and lifestyle tips to straight men, ran from 2003 to 2007. "Queer Eye" helped showcase that looking good and dressing well are just as important for men as they are for women. TLC's "What Not to Wear," in which stylists Stacy London and Clinton Kelly help ill-dressed women (and men) revitalize their wardrobes, also launched in 2003. "Project Runway" mentor Tim Gunn briefly got his own makeover show, "Guide to Style," from 2007 to 2008.
Putting face to fashion
The appeal of makeover shows isn't the fashion itself – after all, these are everyday people revamping their closets, so designer labels are less likely to be hanging in them. Rather, it's the transformation: The woman finally finds flattering clothes, gets her first new hairstyle in years, then debuts her new look to cheering family and friends.
The first glimpse of high fashion in reality TV came with "Project Runway." Its format was innovative, ceding the stage to the designers who made the clothes, not the people wearing them. Klum, whose résumé also includes supermodel, designer and actress, gave the show star-power while judges Michael Kors (renowned designer) and Nina Garcia (fashion editor) lent credibility, and longtime design educator Gunn offered competitors advice in the sewing process. The challenges were sometimes practical (create a red-carpet look for a celebrity) and sometimes outlandish (make a dress completely out of flowers), while showcasing the designers' talents.
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