Returning to the runway for a seventh season, host and supermodel Heidi Klum heads a panel of industry luminaries, including as judges top women's and menswear designer Michael Kors, and fashion expert Nina Garcia, as they decide who is "in" and who is "out."

Tim Gunn, Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc., will once again act as a mentor to the designers as they take on weekly fashion challenges.

The 16 Project Runway contestants will be whittled down week-by-week to the finalists who will show their own line in front of an audience of fashion industry movers and shakers at Bryant Park Fashion Week.

Project Runway's seventh-season grand prize winner will receive a $100,000 cash prize intended to help launch their own clothing line; a Marie Claire magazine editorial feature; an opportunity to sell the line on Bluefly.com, and a $50,000 technology suite from Hewlett-Packard to create, design and run his or her business.

Guest judges this season include Nicole Richie, Lauren Hutton, Matthew Williamson, Georgina Chapman, Joanna Coles, Tory Burch, Isabel Toledo, Stephen Webster, Roland Mouret, Francisco Costa, Molly Sims, Vivienne Tam, Jessica Alba, Cynthia Rowley and Faith Hill.

Season 7 Contestants

Alexis Broker, 25, from Denver, Colorado
Alison Gingerich, 23, from Leesburg, Ohio
Brandise Danesewich, 32, from Saskatchewan, Canada
Brittany Oldehoff, 20, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Cerri McQuillan, 23, from Dublin, Ireland
Elizaveta Melnitchenko, 19, from Salzburg, Austria
Holly Ridings, 24, from Roscoe, Illinois
Kasey Ashcraft, 24, from Salisbury, Maryland
Kelly Gervais, 19, from Livingston, New Jersey
Kristina Sajko, 29, from Zagreb, Croatia
Lorena Angjeli, 20, from Albania
Megan Davis, 19, from Des Moines, Iowa
Monique Darton, 24, from Brainerd, Minnesota
Sarah Bell, 22, from Cincinnati, Ohio
Sophia Lee, 26, from Taipei, Taiwan
Valeria Leonova, 23, from Tula, Russia