Contestants and Rosters of Celebrity Guest Judges Revealed for New Season of "Project Runway"
But still no Tim Gunn.
As we get closer to its return next month, we’re learning who will be competing in the new season of Project Runway, coming to Freeform, Hulu, and Disney+, as well as a full roster of celebrity judges for the season.
What’s Happening:
- E! News is giving us an update to the new season of the acclaimed hit reality series, Project Runway, which is set to arrive at its new home on Freeform, Disney+, and Hulu next month.
- We’ve already known that for the first time since 2018, Heidi Klum will return as the host of the show and as one of the judges, alongside a returning Nina Garcia and new judge Law Roach and mentor to the contestants, Christian Siriano, who stepped in to replace Tim Gunn in 2018, when he left alongside Klum.
- Today, we’re learning more about the contestants of the show - some we might know from elsewhere - and about some of the celebrity judges we’ll see helping the panel throughout the season.
- Season 21 will see the return of previous Project Runway hopefuls - Jesus Estrada (from season seven) and Caycee Black (from season 19). Adding to the drama, Jesus’ twin brother, Antonio Estrada, will also be competing.
- The rest of the contestants include:
- Alex Foxworth
- Angelo Rosa
- Belania Daley
- Ethan Mundt (previously seen on Rupaul’s Drag Race)
- Joan Madison
- Joseph McRae
- Madeline Malenfant
- Veejay Floresca
- Yuchen Han
- Along with the contestants, we also are learning of the celebrity guests judges who will appear this season, including:
- Sofia Vergara
- Tyra Banks
- Nikki Glaser
- Sara Foster
- Jenna Lyons (The Real Housewives of New York City)
- Christian Cowan (Designer)
- Joan Smalls (Supermodel)
- Zac Posen
- Mickey Guyton
- Harris Reed
- Michael Kors
- One of these guest judges will join Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Law Roach each week to help determine who will be eliminated.
- Returning once again as a mentor to the contestants is Project Runway alum and acclaimed designer Christian Siriano - who didn’t hold back when telling E! News what fans can expect in the new season, including some thoughts on new judge Law Roach, saying: “Having Law as a judge is incredible because you’re getting very real fashion in the moment."
- Siriano also suggested that he will be quite blunt with his own advice to the contestants as well, sharing a brief anecdote: “They’re like, ‘Oh, I want to dress Ariana Grande…I’m like, ‘Well, I dressed her last week and she’s never wearing this.’ So that’s what I do."
- This season also marks the first time that Heidi Klum is back on the acclaimed reality series since her departure in 2018, with Siriano adding “It’s incredible Heidi being back makes it so fun and amazing. Her and Law don’t like the same things, and Nina doesn’t like the same things."
- The new season of Project Runway arrives on Freeform on Thursday, July 31st, with a two episode premiere at 9:00 PM ET with subsequent episodes arriving weekly starting at 10:00 PM ET.
- The episodes will be available soon after they air on both Hulu and Disney+.
Heidi’s Got No Gunn:
- For me personally, Project Runway will always seem slightly off without Tim Gunn.
- When the announcement came back in October of 2024 that the series would be revived with Klum attached, many thought that this would also include the return of the iconic mentor (and eventual co-host), Tim Gunn, since he left with her in 2018 to start the not-as-successful Making the Cut.
- Gunn’s mentoring ability, along with his history of teaching, make him a creative advisor to the contestants. He wouldn’t tell the contestants exactly what he would do (which of course, the contestants will do), but guide them along toward their eventual realization that maybe their design could use a little rethinking.
- Gunn’s personality, quite frankly, is what got me into the show in the first place. With his vocabulary and word choice that often left contestants puzzled and his genuine concern for each of the contestants (and later, outspoken disagreements with the judges and even winners), he was arguably one of the main reasons to watch the show for many regular viewers.
- While Siriano and Klum do have a great dynamic - with Siriano himself winning season four of the show with Klum having often expressed her admiration for him, sometimes citing him as her favorite designer from the series - it’s not as meaningful (at least as expressed in what we’ve seen) or as fun as the relationship between Gunn and Klum.
- In fact, an interview from People tells a background story on why Gunn is not on this season, even though it seems that Klum texted him directly before learning that he would not be returning - with Siriano returning instead.
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