"Project Runway" Announces Season 9 Designers

The 20 "Project Runway" Season 9 designers.

Photo: Lifetime Television

The 9th season of "Project Runway" premieres at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Central) July 28. Lifetime has announced the roster of 20 designers who are going to compete, and made accessible a wealth of background content online so you can begin considering the real contenders before the show even airs. This may be the most exposure some of these designers get, since the plan is to eliminate four in the first episode!

You can watch each designer's casting session, closet tour, and home visit. In addition, his or her photos and brief biographies are posted on Lifetime's "Project Runway" page. Each designer has Facebook "Like" tallies beneath their photo. David Chum, for example, has nearly 700 "likes" while Olivier Green has 28. It's a popularity contest already and the show hasn't even aired!

The producers are also going to use Twitter to track a Fan Favorite starting with the premiere episode. The competitors also have Twitter hashtags beneath their portraits. Starting with the first episode, fans can select a favorite designer by tweeting using a particular designer's #hashtag on Twitter.

The fan-selected winner is awarded $10,000 during the final episode, a nice consolation - or a nice bonus, since the fan favorite could also be the winner. Fans can also visit the Fan Favorite page (coming soon!) to find out the leading designer at any given tune and view the stream of supportive tweets associated with each contestant.

Here are the designers (alphabetically by first name). Use the links to see more content about each.

Amanda Perna
Anthony Ryan Auld
Anya Ayoung-Chee
Becky Ross
Bert Keeter
Bryce Black
Cecilia Motwani
Danielle Everine
Cecilia Motwani
David Chum
Fallene Wells
Gunnar Deatherage
Joshua Christensen
Joshua McKinley
Julie Tierney
Kimberly Goldson
Laura Kathleen
Olivier Green
Rafael Cox
Serena da Conceicao
Viktor Luna

Anyone you know? These are new names to me, but of course that's the point! I'm glad Lifetime made so much content available online in advance. That means more time to spend on challenges during the show - and it's also an opportunity to get to know all of the designers, even those who won't be on the show for more than one episode. Are you going to review the designers before Season 9 begins? Who do you think is a standout from the start?

Sarah McFarland, contributor
Posted on Jul 15th, 2011 in sewing, design, Project Runway Season 9, Season 9 Designers, Project Runway Designers

Comments (4)

jaclyn1013 writes: I absolutely LOVE Heidi Klum, especially when it comes to her latest ventures and fashion! Check out this awesome feature on her and see what makes her tick-- http://bit.ly/qcmXud
Posted: 10:44 am on July 28th

lapark writes: i am hoping to see more of becky ross. when i first saw her interview i got the feeling she is down to earth regular kind of gal. but that will probably be her downfall on the show... contestants tend to be over the top...but looking at her past projects i think she would stand a good chance at making wearable outfits out of whatever textile they throw at her. her halter dress that was made from trash others had thrown out looked completely wearable.
Posted: 4:19 pm on July 20th

DrivesSewMachBest writes: I am impressed by Danielle Everine. I really like her styles and her presentation. She'd get my vote to continue on the Project Runway Challenge.

Posted: 11:23 am on July 20th

416 writes: I reviewed the designers before Season 9 and can't wait for it to start. I am a big fan of young and upcoming designers. After looking at the closet tours and reading about the designers, I chose Laura Kathleen. She designs the style of clothing I like. The Marilyn Monroe style is a good choice for her clothes. I think she will be a standout from the start.
Posted: 11:11 am on July 20th

You must be logged in to post comments. Log in.