Project Runway season 1

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Contents

Project Runway
Season 1
Pr1con23.jpg
Host of the show Heidi Klum and season 1 contestants
No. of tasks10
No. of contestants12
Winner Jay McCarroll
No. of episodes11
Release
Original network Bravo
Original releaseDecember 1, 2004 (2004-12-01) 
February 23, 2005 (2005-02-23)
Season chronology
Next 
Season 2

Project Runway season 1 is the first season of Project Runway , Bravo's reality competition show for fashion designers. The season received critical acclaim including an Emmy nomination for outstanding competitive reality series. Growth in audience popularity was also dramatic from its debut to the season finale, making it a sleeper hit. Project Runway gave Bravo one of its most successful series since Queer Eye for the Straight Guy .

The winning designer of the first season was Pennsylvania-based designer Jay McCarroll. As his prize for winning the competition among 12 designers, McCarroll won $100,000, a mentorship with Banana Republic to aid in developing his own fashion label, and a feature of his work in the American edition of ELLE magazine. The winning model of the first season, selected by McCarroll, was Julia Beynon. McCarroll later turned down both the $100,000 and the mentorship with Banana Republic, stating that the prizes came with too much contractual baggage. [1]

Austin Scarlett later appeared in Project Runway All Stars in 2012, where he finished runner-up. Wendy Pepper, in the same year, competed in the second season of the All Stars edition placing 12th out of 13. In 2016, Daniel Franco competed in the fifth season of the All Stars edition, placing 12th out of 13. In 2023, Nora Pagel and Kara Saun appeared in the twentieth season with Nora placing 14th and Kara placing 7th out of 14.

Contestants

ContestantAgeHometownFinishOutcome
Daniel Franco 28 Los Angeles, California Episode 112th place
Mario Cadenas23 Miami, Florida Episode 211th place
Starr Ilzhoefer27 Charlotte, North Carolina Episode 310th place
Vanessa Riley34 Houston, Texas Episode 49th place
Nora Caliguri21 Cheshire, Connecticut Episode 58th place
Alexandra Vidal22 Miami, Florida Episode 67th place
Kevin Johnn 44 New York, New York Episode 76th place
Robert Plotkin28 New York, New York Episode 85th place
Austin Scarlett 23 New York, New York Episode 94th place
Wendy Pepper39 Middleburg, Virginia Episode 113rd place
Kara Saun 37 Los Angeles, California Runner-up
Jay McCarroll 29 Dallas, Pennsylvania Winner

The 12 models competing for an ELLE spread in the first season were:

ModelAgeHometownPlace Finished
Mary Henderson19 Texas 12th
Alison Zebelian19 Michigan 11th
Josiane Barboza21 Brazil 10th
Audrey Chihocky18 Virginia 9th
Joy Pursell21 Texas 8th
Morgan Quinn21 Iowa 7th
Erin Denardo21 New Jersey 6th
Olga Kononova18 Czech Republic 5th
Martinique Mitchell21 California 4th
Melissa Haro 17 California 3rd
Jenny Toth22 Ohio Runner-up
Julia Beynon20 California Winner

Challenges

Elimination Chart
Designers1234 1 5678911Eliminated Episode
JayININHIGHINHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHLOWWINNER10 – Finale
KaraINWINININWININWINWINLOWRUNNER-UP
WendyLOWLOWWINLOWINLOWLOWLOWWIN3RD PLACE
AustinWININLOWLOWLOWWINLOWLOWOUT9 – Design for the Red Carpet
RobertINHIGHLOWININHIGHHIGHOUT8 – Postal Uniform Challenge
KevinINININWININLOWOUT7 – Design a Collection
AlexandraININHIGHHIGHINOUT6 – Making a Splash
NoraHIGHLOWINLOWOUT5 – "Model" Clients
VanessaHIGHININOUT4 – Collaboration
StarrLOWLOWOUT3 – Commercial Appeal
MarioINOUT2 – Vision
DanielOUT1 – Innovation
Results
  The designer won Project Runway Season 1.
  The designer won that challenge.
  The designer had the second highest score for that 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.

^Note 1 : Although Nora's team was voted the best, the judges thought that Nora's teamwork was very poor, therefore she was placed in the bottom two.

Rate The Runway

Elimination Chart
Designers12345678910
JayINHIGHHIGHININLOWWINHIGHHIGHWINNER
KaraINWINININHIGHHIGHHIGHWINWINRUNNER-UP
WendyININWINLOWHIGHLOWLOWLOWOUT3RD PLACE
AustinWINHIGHLOWLOWOUTWINHIGHLOWLOW
RobertHIGHINLOWINWINHIGHOUTOUT
KevinINININWINLOWOUTLOW
AlexandraININHIGHHIGHININ
NoraHIGHININHIGHLOW
VanessaINLOWINOUT
StarrLOWLOWOUT
MarioLOWOUT
DanielOUT

Models

Elimination Chart
Model12345678910Finale
JuliaAVAVJMASASJMJMJMJMJMWINNER
JennyJMKJNCKSKSKSKSKSKSKSOUT
MelissaRPRPASKJNCASWPWPWPWPOUT
MartiniqueKJASKSAVRPWPKJASASOUT
OlgaASMCKJVRKJRPRPRPOUT
ErinMCWPAVJMAVAVASOUT
MorganKSVRVRWPJMKJOUT
JoyVRNCSINCWPOUT
AudreySISIWPRPOUT
JosianeWPKSRPOUT
AlisonNCJMOUT
MaryDFOUT
  The model was the winner of Project Runway Season 1
  The model wore the winning designer's outfit
  The model wore the losing designer's outfit
  The model was eliminated
Notes:

Designer legend

Episodes

Episode 1: Innovation

Original airdate: December 1, 2004

Designers created a sexy, glamorous outfit for a night on the town made only from materials bought at a Manhattan supermarket. The designers had a budget of $50 and one hour to make their purchases. They had one day to complete the design and the winner had immunity for the next challenge and could not be eliminated.

WINNER: Austin
ELIMINATED: Daniel

Episode 2: Vision

Original airdate: December 8, 2004

Designers used plain white cotton jersey to build a garment that conveys "envy." They had a budget of $50 and one day to complete the design.

WINNER: Kara
ELIMINATED: Mario

Episode 3: Commercial Appeal

Original airdate: December 15, 2004

Designers created a holiday dress to fit with Banana Republic's current line. They had to pick their fabrics at the studios and had two days to complete their designs.

WINNER: Wendy
ELIMINATED: Starr

Episode 4: Collaboration

Original airdate: January 5, 2005

The designers created a new look for rising rock star Sarah Hudson. A team event with three teams, each with a lead designer and two assistants. Each team had $150 and one day to complete the design.

TeamTeam LeaderTeam Members (in the order of being chosen)
1KevinNora, Alexandra
2JayKara, Robert
3AustinWendy, Vanessa
WINNER: Kevin
ELIMINATED: Vanessa

Episode 5: "Model" Clients

Original airdate: January 12, 2005

Working with their chosen models, the designers created a wedding dress for that model. The designers had a budget of $300 and two days to complete the design.

WINNER: Kara
ELIMINATED: Nora

Episode 6: Making a Splash

Original airdate: January 19, 2005

Designers made swimsuits, then attended an evening party with their swimsuit-clad models. The designers had a budget of $75 and five hours to complete their garments. The winner was the designer who received a mention from New York Post reporter Richard Johnson on "Page Six," the newspaper's gossip column.

WINNER: Austin
ELIMINATED: Alexandra

Episode 7: Design a Collection

Original airdate: January 26, 2005

Designers created a collection for the year 2055 as one team. Kevin was the team leader for this challenge. Each designer had a budget of $50 to spend in a vintage shop and one day to complete the collection.

DesignerType of Look
Austin2055 Cocktail Party Dress
Robert2055 Streetwear
Kevin2055 Service Uniform
Wendy2055 Youth Outfit
Jay2055 Nightclub Outfit
Kara2055 Business Suit
WINNER: Kara
ELIMINATED: Kevin

Episode 8: Postal Uniform Challenge

Original airdate: February 2, 2005

Designers redesigned the uniform worn by United States Postal Service workers. The designers had a budget of $100 and one day to complete the design. This episode is particularly notable for the fact that Jay's model was unable to attend the runway showing in time. As a result, Austin walked in her place and received positive feedback for doing so by the judges.

WINNER: Kara
ELIMINATED: Robert

Episode 9: Design for the Red Carpet

Original airdate: February 9, 2005

Designers created a dress for Access Hollywood reporter Nancy O'Dell to wear to the Grammys. The designers had $300 and two days to complete the design.

WINNER: Wendy
ELIMINATED: Austin

Episode 10: Reunion

Original airdate: February 16, 2005

All of the participating designers gathered for a reunion hosted by Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn on the eve of Olympus New York Fashion Week at which the final three designers displayed their collections.

Episode 11: Finale

Original airdate: February 23, 2005

The final three designers—Jay, Kara Saun and Wendy—were visited by Tim Gunn at their homes to show the progress of their collections. Each designer created a twelve piece collection for a showing at New York Olympus Fashion Week. Kara Saun had designer shoes created for her collection, however producers determined that was in breach of the contract.

WINNER: Jay
ELIMINATED: Kara (first runner-up), Wendy (second runner-up)

References

  1. Givhan, Robin (December 9, 2005). "Baggage on the 'Runway'". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. "Nancy O'Dell's Project Runway Grammys Dress" . Retrieved August 23, 2025.