Season 4
Fourteen of the most talented Project Runway designers return to compete in the biggest and most competitive Project Runway All Stars season ever, in which former standout designers come back to New York to compete for runway gold.
As the returning designers know, nothing is as it seems on Project Runway All Stars. Before revealing the first challenge, host Alyssa Milano reveals that two former Project Runway winners, Dmitry Sholokhov and Michelle Lesniak, are back, making the competition tougher than ever.
TV fashion correspondent and Marie Claire's Senior Fashion Editor Zanna Roberts Rassi returns to mentor the designers as they are judged each week by Isaac Mizrahi and Marchesa's Georgina Chapman.
Some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment make up this year's A-list celebrity guest judges including Emmy Award nominee Laverne Cox of Orange Is the New Black, Emmy winner Debra Messing, Modern Family's Ariel Winter, Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino, singer Nicole Scherzinger, Emmy-nominated host Cat Deeley, reality stars Snooki and JWoww, celebrity photographer Nigel Barker, QVC program host Lisa Robertson and many others.
Designers appearing this season include Betsey Johnson, Michael Bastian, Elie Tahari and Ivanka Trump, and special appearances by Project Runway judges Nina Garcia and Zac Posen.
This season's highlights include a surprise visit to London for a challenge featuring British royalty, a collaboration with Broadway's Wicked: The Musical and the first-ever wedding ceremony live on the runway.
Designers for Project Runway All Stars Season 4 include:
Samantha Black (Brooklyn, NY) - Season 11, 7th place
Samantha has been working on her line Sammy B Designs and taking business classes at Macy's Business Program. Samantha was recently named "designer to watch" by both Essence and Ebony magazine.
Helen Castillo (Union City, NJ) - Season 12, 5th place
Helen has been struggling to make a name for herself, although she has had some success and celebrity interest. She designed a Grammy dress for Mary Lambert and mainly makes custom dresses for the everyday woman.
Fabio Costa (New York, NY) - Season 10, Runner-up
Fabio narrowly missed his chance to win his season but was so inspired that he and his design partner went straight to work creating their own androgynous and minimalist line called NotEqual. He is ready to come back to the runway and this time isn't walking away without the win.
Gunnar Deatherage (Louisville, KY) - Season 10, 8th place
Recently the creative director of NFocus Magazine, Gunnar spends his days styling, overseeing photo shoots and working on his designs at night for his line, Deatherage Designs.
Justin LeBlanc (Raleigh, NC) - Season 12, 3rd place
Justin returned to being a full-time professor after Season 12 and recently completed his spring/summer collection, which will debut at the end of August at the Contemporary Art Museum. And on top of all of that, he is also working on a Fall/Winter 2014/2015 collection with a theme based on his definition of love without boundaries.
Michelle Lesniak (Portland, OR) - Season 11, Winner
Michelle returned to Portland after her successful run on Runway and is currently in the process of opening her own boutique. Dedicated to local manufacturing and ethical business practices, she is undoubtedly playing a key role in shaping and growing the Portland fashion industry.
Benjamin Mach (New York, NY/Sydney Australia) - Season 11, 11th place
His made-to-order Benjamin Mach label, merging luxurious fabrics with label launched February 2014, merging luxurious fabrics with a modern design.
Chris March (New York, NY) - Season 4, 4th place
Chris continues to build his business, Chris March Designs, designing for stars like Madonna, Prince and Lady Gaga. He recently formed an exclusive partnership with Target to design costumes and wigs for Halloween season.
Patricia Michaels (Albuquerque, NM) - Season 11, Runner-up
Patricia returned to Albuquerque where she has been building a new studio and working on a ready-to-wear collection. On the side, she booked back-to-back fashion shows all over the country and is working on a short film with her son.
Kate Pankoke (Chicago, IL) - Season 11, 9th Place/Season 12, 6th place
Third time's a charm for Kate, who will stop at nothing to be the next big designer. She now has her own bridal line and a new collection launching in October. Her fascination with princesses has led her to design wedding dresses that enable every woman to feel like royalty on their special day.
Jay Sario (New York, NY) - Season 7, 4th place
After his original season, Jay moved from Hawaii to New York, where he currently works as a full-time visual merchandiser for Calvin Klein North America and freelances on the side. His recent passion is bridal wear.
Dmitry Sholokhov (New York, NY) - Season 10, Winner
After winning Season 10 of Runway, Dmitry created his own brand, Dmitry Sholokhov, and showed his collection in Moscow. He has an exclusive collection for Lord & Taylor. He believes that the greatest thing he took away from Runway was all of the accolades and critiques he received from the panel of expert judges.
Alexandria von Bromssen (San Mateo, CA) - Season 12, Runner-up
Last year, Alexandria returned to San Mateo, where she manages her own clothing line, owns a designer boutique and runs a sewing camp for kids called Camp Couture. She is most proud of designing a modern and edgy wedding dress made from recycled fabrics and vintage lace.
Sonjia Williams (Woodside, NY) - Season 10, 5th place
Project Runway really helped Sonjia understand more about the fashion business and what it takes to succeed. She currently has a collection with Anabelle NY, and her clothes are available in Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. She is also working on her own solo line, Something by Sonjia.
The winner of Project Runway All Stars will be given the ultimate in prize packaging, which includes the chance to create their own capsule collection with QVC and appear during QVC's Spring Fashion Week programming; a fashion spread in Marie Claire and a position at the magazine as Contributing Editor for one year.
CHI Haircare will send the winner to stay in a luxury spa resort as a special guest at their International conference in Cancun, Mexico, plus product and staff for entire year of runway shows; from Mary Kay, an entire year's worth of beauty products for their fashion shows and professional makeup artist services for their debut show; a cash prize of $150,000 and a complete custom sewing studio to launch the winning line from Brother Sewing and Embroidery.
Project Runway All Stars is produced by The Weinstein Company and Bunim/Murray Productions. Executive producers are Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein (co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company), Meryl Poster and Barbara Schneeweiss of The Weinstein Company, Jonathan Murray and Gil Goldschein of Bunim/Murray Productions, Rob Bagshaw (Top Chef Masters, Paradise Hotel, Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge) and Rob Sharenow, Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and David Hillman of Lifetime.