Project Runway (season 1)

Project Runway (Season 1)
Host of the show Heidi Klum and season 1 contestants.
Winner	Jay McCarroll
Original run	December 2004 – February 2005
Filming dates
No. of episodes	11
No. of tasks	10
No. of designers	12
Season chronology
Next	Season 2

Project Runway Season 1 was 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. McCaroll later turned down both the $100,000 and the mentorship with Banana Republic, stating that the prizes came with too much contractual baggage.

Season 1 contestants

The 12 fashion designers competing in the first season were:

Contestant	Age	Hometown
Mario Cadenas	23	Pembroke Pines, Florida
Nora Caliguri	21	Cheshire, Connecticut
Daniel Franco	32	Los Angeles, California
Starr Ilzhoefer	27	Charlotte, North Carolina
Kevin Johnn	37	New York, New York
Jay McCarroll	29	Dallas, Pennsylvania
Wendy Pepper	39	Middleburg, Virginia
Robert Plotkin	28	New York, New York
Vanessa Riley	34	London, England
Kara Saun	37	Los Angeles, California
Austin Scarlett	22	New York, New York
Alexandra Vidal	21	Miami, Florida

(ages listed are the designers' ages at the time the show was taped in the summer of 2004.)

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

Model	Age	Hometown
Josiane Barboza	21	Brazil
Julia Beynon	20	California
Audrey Chihocky	18	Virginia
Erin Denardo	21	New Jersey
Melissa Haro	17	California
Mary Henderson	19	Texas
Olga Kononova	18	Czech Republic
Martinique Mitchell	21	California
Joy Pursell	21	Texas
Morgan Quinn	21	Iowa
Jenny Toth	22	Ohio
Alison Zebelian	19	Michigan

(ages listed are according to the profiles on bravotv.com)

Season 1 challenges

Elimination Chart

Designer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	11	Episodes
Jay	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	LOW	1st	11 - Finale
Kara	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	2nd
Wendy	LOW	LOW	WIN	LOW	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	WIN	3rd
Austin	WIN	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	WIN	LOW	LOW	OUT		9 - Design For The Red Carpet
Robert	IN	HIGH	LOW	IN	IN	HIGH	HIGH	OUT			8 - Postal Uniform Challenge
Kevin	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	LOW	OUT				7 - Design A Collection
Alexandra	IN	IN	HIGH	HIGH	IN	OUT					6 - Making A Splash
Nora	HIGH	LOW	IN	LOW	OUT						5 - "Model" Clients
Vanessa	HIGH	IN	IN	OUT							4 - Collaboration
Starr	LOW	LOW	OUT								3 - Commercial Appeal
Mario	IN	OUT									2 - Vision
Daniel	OUT										1 - Innovation

Results

     Green background and WIN means the designer won Project Runway.

     Blue background and WIN means the designer won that challenge.

     Turquoise background and HIGH means the designer had the second highest score for that challenge.

     Light blue background and HIGH means the designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge, but did not win.

     Pink background and LOW means the designer had one of the lowest scores for that challenge, but was not eliminated.

     Orange background and LOW means the designer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.

     Red background and OUT means 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.

Season 1 Fashion models

Elimination Chart

Model	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Finale
Julia	AV	JM	JM	AS	AS	JM	JM	JM	JM	JM	WINNER
Jenny	JM	KJ	NC	KS	KS	KS	KS	KS	KS	KS	OUT
Melissa	RP	RP	AS	KJ	NC	AS	WP	WP	WP	WP	OUT
Martinique	KJ	AS	KS	AV	RP	WP	KJ	AS	AS	OUT
Olga	AS	MC	KJ	VR	KJ	RP	RP	RP	OUT
Erin	MC	WP	AV	JM	AV	AV	AS	OUT
Morgan	KS	VR	VR	WP	JM	KJ	OUT
Joy	VR	NC	SI	NC	WP	OUT
Audrey	SI	SI	WP	RP	OUT
Josiane	WP	KS	RP	OUT
Alison	NC	AV	OUT
Mary	DF	OUT

     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:

• Designers chose their models prior to each challenge, with the winner of the previous challenge choosing first and the other designers choosing in random order. The model who was not chosen would be eliminated.
• Since models are eliminated at the beginning of the next episode, no model was eliminated in episode 1.
• There are only 10 sections for models instead of 11 because no models were out in the reunion episode.

Designer legend

• Alexandra Vidal: AV
• Austin Scarlett: AS
• Daniel Franco: DF
• Jay McCarroll: JM
• Kara Saun: KS
• Kevin Johnn: KJ
• Mario Cadenas: MC
• Nora Caliguri: NC
• Robert Plotkin: RP
• Starr Ilzhoefer: SI
• Vanessa Riley: VR
• Wendy Pepper: WP

Episode Summary

Episode 1: Innovation

• 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 USD and 1 hour to make their purchases. They have one day to complete the design and the winner had immunity for the next challenge and cannot be eliminated.
• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and Patricia Field.
• WINNER: Austin
• OUT: Daniel
• First broadcast December 1, 2004

Episode 2: Vision

• Designers used plain white cotton jersey to build a garment that conveys "envy." They had a budget of $50 USD and one day to complete the design.
• Judges: Nina Garcia, Constance White, style director at eBay; and Paul Berman, from 30 Van Dam.
• WINNER: Kara Saun
• OUT: Mario
• First broadcast December 8, 2004

Episode 3: Commercial Appeal

• Designers created a holiday dress to fit with Banana Republic's current line. They had to pick their fabrics at the studios and two days to complete the designs.
• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and Deborah Lloyd, Head Designer at Banana Republic.
• WINNER: Wendy
• OUT: Starr
• First broadcast December 15, 2004

Episode 4: Collaboration

• 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 USD and one day to complete the design.
• Kevin, Nora and Alexandra
• Jay, Kara and Robert
• Austin, Wendy and Vanessa

Note: team leader in bold

• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and Sarah Hudson.
• WINNER: Kevin (teamed with Nora Caliguri and Alexandra Vidal)
• OUT: Vanessa (teamed with Austin Scarlett and Wendy Pepper)
• First broadcast January 5, 2005

Episode 5: "Model" Clients

• Working with their chosen models, the designers created a wedding dress for that model. The designers had a budget of $300 USD and two days to complete the design.
• Judges: Michael Kors; Anne Slowey, Fashion News Director at ELLE; and wedding dress designer Amsale.
• WINNER: Kara Saun
• OUT: Nora
• First broadcast January 12, 2005

Episode 6: Making A Splash

• Designers made swimsuits, then attended an evening party with their swimsuit-clad models. The winner was the designer who received a mention in the New York Post gossip column "Page Six". The designers have a budget of $75 USD and 5 hours to complete the design.
• Judges: Constance White; Anne Slowey; and Richard Johnson, editor of "Page Six".
• WINNER: Austin
• OUT: Alexandra
• First broadcast January 19, 2005

Episode 7: Design A Collection

• 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 USD and one day to complete the collection.
• Judges: Anne Slowey; Michael Kors; and Betsey Johnson.
• WINNER: Kara Saun
• OUT: Kevin
• First broadcast January 26, 2005

Episode 8: Postal Uniform Challenge

• Designers redesigned the uniform worn by United States Postal Service workers. The designers had a budget of $100 USD and one day to complete the design.
• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and United States Postal Service worker Becky Negich.
• WINNER: Kara Saun
• OUT: Robert
• First broadcast February 2, 2005
• Kara is the First person to win 2 challenges in a row.

Episode 9: Design For The Red Carpet

• Designers created a dress for Access Hollywood reporter Nancy O'Dell to wear to the Grammys. The designers have $300 USD and two days to complete the design.
• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and Nancy O'Dell.
• WINNER: Wendy
• OUT: Austin
• First broadcast February 9, 2005

Episode 10: Reunion

• All of the participating designers gathered for a reunion hosted by Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn on the eve of New York Olympus Fashion Week at which the final three designers will display their collections.
• Judges: not applicable
• WINNER/OUT: not applicable
• First broadcast February 16, 2005

Episode 11: Finale

• The final three designers, Jay, Kara Saun, and Wendy, were visited by Tim Gunn at their homes to show their progress of their collection. Each designer created a twelve piece collection for a showing at New York Olympus Fashion Week.
• Judges: Nina Garcia; Michael Kors; and Parker Posey.
• Winner of Project Runway Season 1: Jay
• OUT: Kara Saun (1st Runner-Up), Wendy Pepper (2nd Runner-Up)
• First broadcast February 23, 2005

External links

Contestant sites

• Alexandra Vidal official web site
• Austin Scarlett official web site
• Jay McCarroll official web site
• Kara Saun official web site
• Mario Cadenas official web site
• Wendy Pepper official web site
• Daniel Franco official web site

Preceded by (none)	Project Runway Season 1	Succeeded by Season 2
Preceded by (none)	Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll	Succeeded by Chloe Dao
Preceded by (none)	Fan Favorite (none)	Succeeded by Daniel Vosovic