Project Runway (season 7)
Encyclopedia
Project Runway Season 7 is the seventh season of the television show Project Runway
. The first episode aired on January 14, 2010 on the Lifetime Network.
Season 7 featured the return of the show to New York City, following a move to Los Angeles for Season 6
.
Returning as judges are supermodel Heidi Klum
, fashion designer Michael Kors
, and Marie Claire
fashion director Nina Garcia
. Tim Gunn
returned as a mentor to the aspiring designers.
The winner of this season of Project Runway will receive an editorial feature in an issue of Marie Claire magazine, a cash prize of $100,000 to start his or her own line, an opportunity to sell the line on Bluefly.com, and a $50,000 technology suite from Hewlett-Packard
to create, design, and run his or her business. The winning model of this season will receive a $25,000 cash prize and take part in the winning designer's fashion spread in Marie Claire.
The designers were asked to create a garment that represents who they are as a designer. They selected five fabrics each from a wide selection provided by Mood. The designers were preassigned models for their challenge and given one day to complete their design.
The designers were asked to create a party look from a burlap potato sack for their models to wear to an industry event. As the clients for this round, the models were allowed to choose their designers.
The designers were taken to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and shown ten iconic looks by famous designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior
, Madame Grès, and Cristóbal Balenciaga
. They were then asked to create a high-end signature look worthy of a master collection. The designers were placed in teams of two and given $500 per team to create their looks. As the winner of the last challenge, Jay was automatically a team leader. Tim drew the names of the other team leaders via a random lottery; those team leaders then selected their partners in the order they were chosen, as indicated in the table below.
On the second day of the challenge, the teams were asked to create a second "look for less", using only 10% of the budget for the first look and inspired by the signature look of one of the other teams.
Heidi mentioned when about to eliminate one of the bottom 4 designers that 2 of them might go.
The designers were asked to design a look for a Fashion Week
gala. The looks were required to feature the color red and elements with Campbell's branding and were modeled by women who had been impacted by heart disease. Designers had a budget of $100 to purchase fabrics and other elements and one day of time to finish the design. The winning garment will be produced and sold on projectrunway.com, with proceeds going to the American Heart Association
.
The designers were asked to design an outfit for the cover of Marie Claire magazine. The winning design would be worn by Heidi Klum on the cover of the April 2010 issue.
The designers were asked to create a fashionable children's look, to be modeled by a group of girls aged 5–9. Later the designers were asked to create an additional companion look for their adult models.
The designers were asked to create an innovative look and an accessory from materials sourced from a hardware store.
The designers were asked to create a look inspired by one of the four classical element
s: Earth
, Water
, Air
, and Fire
.
As the winner of the last challenge, Jay was allowed to choose his own element. After that, two designers were allotted to each element. The designers got to choose their element in the order in which Tim drew their names out of a bag.
The designers and their elements were as follows:
The designers were asked to create looks inspired by a distinctive New York City neighborhood. They were divided into four teams of two, with Tim drawing the names of team leaders at random. Each team was responsible for creating a day look and an evening look.
The teams and their neighborhoods were as follows (team leaders are named first):
The designers were asked to design and create their own print fabric as the basis for their looks.
The designers were asked to create a red-carpet look for Heidi Klum.
Maya chose to withdraw from the competition because she felt that she was too young and was not developed enough as a designer.
Since Maya withdrew from the competition, Anthony was brought back, and won the challenge along with Emilio.
This challenge marked a record-breaking third consecutive win for Emilio
The designers were asked to create a look inspired by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Jay and Mila were both kept in the competition and asked to design collections, but only one of them will show at Fashion Week.
This challenge boosted Emilio's own record from three consecutive wins to four
Four designers were given budget of $9000 and four months to finish ten pieces collection for New York Fashion Week. Tim Gunn visited the four remaining designers as they worked on their collections at home. When the designers returned to New York, Mila and Jay were asked to show three looks on the runway for the judges to decide which one of them would show at Fashion Week.
Three finalists work the last part of preparation, including casting model, hair and makeup counseling, for the final New York Fashion Week. Each shows their collection pieces at Fashion Week before the winner of Project Runway Season 7 is announced.
A half hour show after airing of Project Runway Season 7 Finale, hosted by Tim Gunn and Nina Garcia. All 16 designers and 16 models gathered together to talk about the events on the show and off camera scenes. There are a few highlights in this reunion episode: Designers being disloyal to their models, the conflict between Ping and Jesse, Anthony's controversial comments about Mila, Cerri's negative comments about Jay's design, Maya's withdrawal from competition, and others. Maya was also awarded the Fan Favourite prize.
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
. The first episode aired on January 14, 2010 on the Lifetime Network.
Season 7 featured the return of the show to New York City, following a move to Los Angeles for Season 6
Project Runway (season 6)
The sixth season of Project Runway, a reality competition show about fashion design, premiered on Lifetime Television on August 20, 2009, the first season to be aired on that network. The production of this season started in September 2008 and finished the pre-finale filming on October 17, 2008...
.
Returning as judges are supermodel Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum
Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...
, fashion designer Michael Kors
Michael Kors
Michael Kors is an American fashion designer. He is best known for designing classic American sportswear for women.-Personal life:...
, and Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
fashion director Nina Garcia
Nina Garcia
Nina García, is a Colombian fashion journalist and critic who has held the post of Fashion Director at Elle and Marie Claire magazines, and is currently a judge on the Lifetime reality television program Project Runway....
. Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn
Timothy M. "Tim" Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative...
returned as a mentor to the aspiring designers.
The winner of this season of Project Runway will receive an editorial feature in an issue of Marie Claire magazine, a cash prize of $100,000 to start his or her own line, an opportunity to sell the line on Bluefly.com, and a $50,000 technology suite from Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
to create, design, and run his or her business. The winning model of this season will receive a $25,000 cash prize and take part in the winning designer's fashion spread in Marie Claire.
Order of Elimination
| Designer | Age | Hometown | Place of Residence | Place Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christiane King | 16th | |||
| Pamela Ptak | 15th | |||
| Ping Wu | 14th | |||
| Jesus Estrada | 13th | |||
| Anna Lynett | 12th | |||
| Janeane Marie Ceccanti | 11th | |||
| Jesse LeNoir | 10th | |||
| Ben Chmura | 9th | |||
| Amy Sarabi | 8th | |||
| Maya Luz | 7th (withdrew) | |||
| Jonathan Peters | 6th | |||
| Anthony Williams * | 5th | |||
| Jay Nicolas Sario | 4th | |||
| Mila Hermanovski | 3rd | |||
| Emilio Sosa | 2nd | |||
| Seth Aaron Henderson Seth Aaron Henderson Seth Aaron Henderson is the winner of the seventh season of Project Runway along with his model, Kristina Sajko.He currently resides in Vancouver, WA, with his wife, Tina, and two children, Aaron and Megan.-References:... |
1st |
- Anthony was originally eliminated after Amy, but returned to the competition following Maya's withdrawal
Order of Elimination
| Model | Hometown | Age | Place Finished |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Gervais | Livingston, New Jersey Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield... |
19 | 16th |
| Elizaveta Melnitchenko | Salzburg, Austria | 19 | 15th |
| Sophia Lee | Taipei, Taiwan | 26 | 14th |
| Sarah Bell | Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's... |
22 | 13th |
| Kasey Ashcraft | Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury, Maryland -Demographics:Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury-Ocean Pines CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Salisbury metropolitan area and the Ocean Pines micropolitan area , which had a combined population of 176,657 at the 2010 census.As of the census of 2000, there were... |
24 | 12th |
| Megan Davis | Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857... |
19 | 11th |
| Alexis Broker | Denver, Colorado Denver, Colorado The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains... |
25 | 10th |
| Alison Gingerich | Leesburg, Ohio Leesburg, Ohio Leesburg is a village in Highland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,253 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leesburg is located at .... |
23 | 9th |
| Holly Ridings | Roscoe, Illinois Roscoe, Illinois Roscoe is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, a suburb of Rockford incorporated in 1965. The village is in a suburban area along the Rock River. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 10,785, up from 6,244 at the... |
24 | 8th |
| Valeria Leonova | Tula, Russia Tula, Russia Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:... |
23 | 7th (withdrew) |
| Cerri McQuillan | Dublin, Ireland | 23 | 6th |
| Monique Darton | Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota... |
24 | 5th |
| Brittany Oldehoff | Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010... |
20 | 4th |
| Brandise Danesewich | Saskatchewan, Canada | 32 | 3rd |
| Lorena Angjeli | Tirana Tirana Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over... , Albania Albania Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea... |
20 | 2nd |
| Kristina Sajko | Zagreb, Croatia | 29 | 1st |
Project Runway
| Designer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Episode and Number Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH | IN | LOW | IN | IN | WIN | IN | HIGH | WIN | HIGH | LOW | ADV | - | WINNER | 14 - Finale, Part 2 |
|
| Emilio | WIN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | WIN | WIN | ADV | - | ||
| Mila | IN | HIGH | WIN | HIGH | LOW | IN | HIGH | LOW | LOW | LOW | LOW | IN | ADV | ||
| Jay | IN | WIN | HIGH | IN | IN | HIGH | WIN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | OUT | 13 - Finale, Part 1 | |
| Anthony | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | OUT | WIN | OUT | |||
| Jonathan | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | LOW | LOW | OUT | 11 - Sew Much Pressure | |||
| Maya | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | WD | ||||
| Amy | IN | HIGH | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||
| Ben | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | IN | OUT | 8 - The Elements of Fashion | ||||||
| Jesse | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | HIGH | OUT | 7 - Hard Wear | |||||||
| Janeane | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | 6 - A Little Bit of Fashion | ||||||||
| Anna | IN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | 5 - Run For Cover | |||||||||
| Jesus | LOW | LOW | IN | OUT | 4 - Design Your Heart Out | ||||||||||
| Ping | HIGH | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Pamela | IN | OUT | 2 - The Fashion Farm | ||||||||||||
| Christiane | OUT | 1 - Back to New York | |||||||||||||
- Team Emilio and Seth Aaron co-won Episode 9, for the first time since Season 2.: Maya withdrew for personal reasons at the beginning of Episode 11. Anthony, who was originally eliminated in Episode 10, was brought back to take her place. Also, two winners were chosen for this challenge: Emilio and Anthony. Each of their dresses will be worn on the red carpet by Heidi Klum and Jessica Alba.: Emilio was advanced to fashion week first during the judging session. Seth Aaron was also advanced to fashion week. Jay and Mila will both create collections for fashion week, however only one will advance to compete at Bryant Park with Emilio and Seth Aaron.: Jay and Mila each presented three looks to the judges. After much deliberation, they concluded that Mila was more ready to show at fashion week than Jay. She advanced to the finale, and Jay was consequently eliminated.
- The designer won Project Runway Season 7.
- The designer was advanced to fashion week.
- The designer won the challenge.
- The designer came in second but did not win the challenge.
- The designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge, but did not win.
- The designer had one of the lowest scores for that challenge, but was not eliminated.
- The designer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.
- The designer lost and was out of the competition.
- The designer withdrew from the competition.
Models of the Runway
| Model | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14.1 | 14.2 | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristina | SH | SH | AW | SH | AW | AW | AW | AW | MH | AW | MH | SH | SH | SH | WINNER | 13 - Finale |
| Lorena | JC | MH | MH | MH | BC | BC | ML | ML | ML | ES | ES | ES | ES | ES | OUT | |
| Brandise | JP | JP | PW | ML | MH | JP | MH | MH | ES | MH | JP | MH | MH | MH | OUT | |
| Brittany | JE | JE | JC | JE | ES | JC | JS | JS | JS | JS | JS | JS | JS | OUT | ||
| Monique | ML | ML | JP | JS | JS | JS | AS | ES | AW | ML | AW | AW | OUT | |||
| Cerri | AL | AL | AL | AL | AL | MH | JP | JP | JP | JP | SH | OUT | 11 - Second Chances | |||
| Valeria | AS | JC | ML | JC | SH | SH | SH | SH | SH | SH | WD | 10 - Should I Stay or Should I Go? | ||||
| Holly | ES | ES | AS | ES | AS | ES | ES | AS | AS | OUT | 9 - To Pick Me or Not to Pick Me | |||||
| Alison | AW | AS | ES | JP | JP | AS | BC | BC | OUT | 8 - It’s a Hairy Situation | ||||||
| Alexis | MH | AW | BC | BC | JL | JL | JL | OUT | 7 - Hard to Wear | |||||||
| Megan | JL | JL | JL | JL | ML | ML | OUT | 6 - Role Models | ||||||||
| Kasey | JS | JS | JS | AS | JC | OUT | 5 - I'm Ready for My Close-Up | |||||||||
| Sarah | PP | PP | SH | AW | OUT | 4 - Heart to Heart | ||||||||||
| Sophia | BC | BC | JE | OUT | 3 - Modeling Difficulties | |||||||||||
| Elizaveta | PW | PW | OUT | 2 - Excuse Me, Is My Butt Showing | ||||||||||||
| Kelly | CK | OUT | 1 - Walk This Way | |||||||||||||
- The aftershow "Models of the Runway" fully reveals the eliminated model of a future challenge.: In place of the models, a group of women with heart disease modeled the designs. Colored boxes in this column refer to the models assigned to the winning and losing designers.: In this episode the models walk the runway with 5-9 years old girls.: Cerri was originally eliminated in Episode 10; however, she was brought back after Valeria, Seth Aaron's model, voluntarily withdrew to accept a job at Donna KaranDonna KaranDonna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
.: Only Brandise and Brittany walked the runway because their designers Mila and Jay had to compete for the final slot at Fashion Week.
- The model won Project Runway Season 7.
- The model wore the winning design that challenge.
- The model wore the losing design that challenge.
- The model was eliminated.
- The model was brought back into the competition.
- The model withdrew from the competition.
Designer legend
- Amy: AS
- Anna: AL
- Anthony: AW
- Ben: BC
- Christiane: CK
- Emilio: ES
- Janeane: JC
- Jay: JS
- Jesse: JL
- Jesus: JE
- Jonathan: JP
- Maya: ML
- Mila: MH
- Pamela: PP
- Ping: PW
- Seth Aaron: SH
Episode 1: Back to New York
Original Airdate: January 14, 2010The designers were asked to create a garment that represents who they are as a designer. They selected five fabrics each from a wide selection provided by Mood. The designers were preassigned models for their challenge and given one day to complete their design.
- Guest Judge: Nicole RichieNicole RichieNicole Camille Richie is an American fashion designer, author, actress, singer and television personality. Her father was Peter Michael Escovedo, a musician who played for a brief time with Lionel Richie, and her mother Karen was the executive assistant for Sheila Escovedo...
- WINNER: Emilio
- ELIMINATED: Christiane
Episode 2: The Fashion Farm
Original Airdate: January 21, 2010The designers were asked to create a party look from a burlap potato sack for their models to wear to an industry event. As the clients for this round, the models were allowed to choose their designers.
- Guest Judge: Lauren HuttonLauren HuttonLauren Hutton is an American model and actress. She is best-known for her starring roles in the movies American Gigolo and Lassiter, and also for her fashion modeling career.-Personal life:...
- WINNER: Jay
- ELIMINATED: Pamela
Episode 3: The Highs and Lows of Fashion
Original Airdate: January 28, 2010The designers were taken to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and shown ten iconic looks by famous designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Madame Grès, and Cristóbal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house....
. They were then asked to create a high-end signature look worthy of a master collection. The designers were placed in teams of two and given $500 per team to create their looks. As the winner of the last challenge, Jay was automatically a team leader. Tim drew the names of the other team leaders via a random lottery; those team leaders then selected their partners in the order they were chosen, as indicated in the table below.
On the second day of the challenge, the teams were asked to create a second "look for less", using only 10% of the budget for the first look and inspired by the signature look of one of the other teams.
Heidi mentioned when about to eliminate one of the bottom 4 designers that 2 of them might go.
| Team | Team Members | Second Look Inspired by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay and Maya | Janeane and Ben |
| 2 | Jesus and Amy | Ping and Jesse |
| 3 | Anthony and Seth Aaron | Jesus and Amy |
| 4 | Janeane and Ben | Mila and Jonathan |
| 5 | Mila and Jonathan | Anthony and Seth Aaron |
| 6 | Ping and Jesse | Emilio and Anna |
| 7 | Emilio and Anna | Jay and Maya |
- Guest Judge: Matthew WilliamsonMatthew WilliamsonMatthew Williamson is an English fashion designer. His collections often have an Indian influence, perhaps related to the time Williamson spent working in India for the clothing store Monsoon...
- WINNER: Mila
- ELIMINATED: Ping
Episode 4: Design Your Heart Out
Original Airdate: February 4, 2010The designers were asked to design a look for a Fashion Week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
gala. The looks were required to feature the color red and elements with Campbell's branding and were modeled by women who had been impacted by heart disease. Designers had a budget of $100 to purchase fabrics and other elements and one day of time to finish the design. The winning garment will be produced and sold on projectrunway.com, with proceeds going to the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
.
- Guest Judge: Georgina ChapmanGeorgina ChapmanGeorgina Chapman is an English fashion designer and actress. Chapman, alongside Keren Craig, an actress and a former model, are the co-founders of fashion label Marchesa.-Biography:...
- WINNER: Amy
- ELIMINATED: Jesus
Episode 5: Run for Cover
Original Airdate: February 11, 2010The designers were asked to design an outfit for the cover of Marie Claire magazine. The winning design would be worn by Heidi Klum on the cover of the April 2010 issue.
- Guest Judge: Joanna Coles, Editor in ChiefEditor in chiefAn editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of Marie Claire- WINNER: Anthony
- ELIMINATED: Anna
Episode 6: A Little Bit of Fashion
Original Airdate: February 18, 2010The designers were asked to create a fashionable children's look, to be modeled by a group of girls aged 5–9. Later the designers were asked to create an additional companion look for their adult models.
- Guest Judge: Tory BurchTory BurchTory Burch is an American fashion designer, business woman and philanthropist who was born, raised and educated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area....
- WINNER: Seth Aaron
- ELIMINATED: Janeane
Episode 7: Hard Wear
Original Airdate: March 4, 2010The designers were asked to create an innovative look and an accessory from materials sourced from a hardware store.
- Guest Judges: Isabel ToledoIsabel ToledoIsabel Toledo is a Cuban-American fashion designer based in New York.-Personal life:Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba and moved to New Jersey where she attended high school and met her future husband and collaborator, Ruben Toledo...
and Stephen Webster, jewelry designer- WINNER: Jay
- ELIMINATED: Jesse
Episode 8: The Elements of Fashion
Original Airdate: March 11, 2010The designers were asked to create a look inspired by one of the four classical element
Classical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
s: Earth
Earth (classical element)
Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.-European tradition:Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of heaviness, matter and the...
, Water
Water (classical element)
Water is one of the elements in ancient Greek philosophy, in the Asian Indian system Panchamahabhuta, and in the Chinese cosmological and physiological system Wu Xing...
, Air
Air (classical element)
Air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its supposed fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.-Greek and Roman tradition:...
, and Fire
Fire (classical element)
Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization. It has been regarded in many different contexts throughout history, but especially as a metaphysical constant of the world.-Greek and Roman tradition:Fire...
.
As the winner of the last challenge, Jay was allowed to choose his own element. After that, two designers were allotted to each element. The designers got to choose their element in the order in which Tim drew their names out of a bag.
The designers and their elements were as follows:
| Element | Designers |
|---|---|
| Earth | Mila, Emilio |
| Water | Maya, Ben |
| Air | Jay, Jonathan, Seth Aaron |
| Fire | Anthony, Amy |
- Guest Judge: Roland MouretRoland MouretRoland Mouret is a French fashion designer.-Training and early career:His fashion training consisted of three months in a Parisian fashion college in 1979. In the 1980s Mouret worked as creative director with Gai Pied Hebdo, a Paris-based gay publication, and was an Act Up activist...
- WINNER: Jonathan
- ELIMINATED: Ben
Episode 9: Takin' It To The Streets
Original Airdate: March 18, 2010The designers were asked to create looks inspired by a distinctive New York City neighborhood. They were divided into four teams of two, with Tim drawing the names of team leaders at random. Each team was responsible for creating a day look and an evening look.
The teams and their neighborhoods were as follows (team leaders are named first):
| Neighborhood | Team Members |
|---|---|
| Chinatown Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City... |
Anthony and Maya |
| East Village East Village, Manhattan The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side... |
Jay and Mila |
| Upper East Side Upper East Side The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park... |
Amy and Jonathan |
| Harlem Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands... |
Emilio and Seth Aaron |
- Guest Judges: Francisco Costa (sitting in for Michael Kors) and Molly SimsMolly SimsMolly Sims is an American model and actress. Sims is known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her role as Delinda Deline in the NBC drama Las Vegas. She is also an ambassador for Operation Smile...
- WINNERS: Seth Aaron and Emilio
- ELIMINATED: Amy
Episode 10: Hey, That's My Fabric
Original Airdate: March 25, 2010The designers were asked to design and create their own print fabric as the basis for their looks.
- Guest Judge: Vivienne TamVivienne TamVivienne Tam is a fashion designer based in New York City. She was born in Guangzhou, China and moved to Hong Kong at the age of three. She attended Hong Kong Polytechnic University....
- WINNER: Emilio
- ELIMINATED: Anthony
Episode 11: Sew Much Pressure
Original Airdate: April 1, 2010The designers were asked to create a red-carpet look for Heidi Klum.
Maya chose to withdraw from the competition because she felt that she was too young and was not developed enough as a designer.
Since Maya withdrew from the competition, Anthony was brought back, and won the challenge along with Emilio.
- Guest Judge: Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
- WINNERS: Emilio and Anthony
- ELIMINATED: Jonathan
- WITHDREW: Maya
This challenge marked a record-breaking third consecutive win for Emilio
Episode 12: The Big, Top Designers
Original Airdate: April 8, 2010The designers were asked to create a look inspired by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
- Guest Judge: Cynthia RowleyCynthia RowleyCynthia Rowley is an American fashion designer. The fashion label she created in the early 1980s bears her name.-Background:...
- ADVANCED: Emilio and Seth Aaron
- ELIMINATED: Anthony
Jay and Mila were both kept in the competition and asked to design collections, but only one of them will show at Fashion Week.
This challenge boosted Emilio's own record from three consecutive wins to four
Episode 13: Finale - Part 1
Original Airdate: April 15, 2010Four designers were given budget of $9000 and four months to finish ten pieces collection for New York Fashion Week. Tim Gunn visited the four remaining designers as they worked on their collections at home. When the designers returned to New York, Mila and Jay were asked to show three looks on the runway for the judges to decide which one of them would show at Fashion Week.
- ADVANCED: Mila
- ELIMINATED: Jay
- Had Jay been chosen rather than Mila, there would have been an all-male final following 2 all-female ones.
Episode 14: Finale - Part 2
Original Airdate: April 22, 2010Three finalists work the last part of preparation, including casting model, hair and makeup counseling, for the final New York Fashion Week. Each shows their collection pieces at Fashion Week before the winner of Project Runway Season 7 is announced.
- Guest Judge: Faith HillFaith HillFaith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
- WINNER: Seth Aaron
- ELIMINATED: Mila and Emilio
Episode 15: Reunion Special
Original Airdate: April 22, 2010A half hour show after airing of Project Runway Season 7 Finale, hosted by Tim Gunn and Nina Garcia. All 16 designers and 16 models gathered together to talk about the events on the show and off camera scenes. There are a few highlights in this reunion episode: Designers being disloyal to their models, the conflict between Ping and Jesse, Anthony's controversial comments about Mila, Cerri's negative comments about Jay's design, Maya's withdrawal from competition, and others. Maya was also awarded the Fan Favourite prize.