13 Former Project Runway Contestants Return for 'Project Runway All Stars'

Project Runway fans -- and more than a dozen of the Emmy(R) Award-nominated series' past contestants -- will have to wait no more. Lifetime today announced the new judges, mentor, host and 13 of the show's most talented, memorable, opinionated, adored and feared designers as contestants for its eagerly anticipated all new unscripted series, Project Runway All Stars. As they face the most demanding challenges in the history of Project Runway to claim the highest stakes ever for the franchise, each designer will have the rare opportunity to redeem themselves before an entirely new panel of fashion experts closely reviewing their work. World-famous designers Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman will serve as judges on the new series, which will be hosted by supermodel Angela Lindvall and feature fashion tastemaker and Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles as mentor for the Runway veterans. Project Runway All Stars will premiere later this year on Lifetime.

With a clean design slate, a fresh perspective on their art and a different mentor providing her own counsel and insight, the 13 designers set to have another judgment day by proving they still have the innovation, talent and poise that made them household names will now have to meet even higher expectations from Mizrahi and Chapman. The Project Runway All Stars designers include:

Austin Scarlett (New York) - Season One, Fourth Place - Winner of Project Runway's first ever challenge, Austin wowed judges and viewers alike with his eccentric ball gowns and ability to produce glamorous fashions under tight deadlines, including a gown made entirely out of cornhusks.

Kara Janx (New York) - Season Two, Fourth Place - Best known for her signature wrap dress, a kimono dress and her girly, flirty clothes featuring an urban vibe, Kara lasted 11 episodes before being eliminated in Season Two.

Elisa Jimenez (New York) - Season Four, 10th Place - Famously remembered among her fellow competitors and viewers for marking her clothes with spit, rather than a fabric pencil.

Rami Kashou (Los Angeles) - Season Four, Runner-up - Recognized for his signature Grecian-style draping look, made it to the final two of Season Four before losing to Christian Siriano.

Sweet P/Kathleen Vaughn (Pasadena, CA) - Season Four, Fifth Place - Perhaps best-known for her club-influenced garments and retro pieces, her baby-doll inspired dress wowed judges during Season Four.

Jerell Scott (New York) - Season Five, Fourth Place - A hit on Season Five, creating stunning and opulent designs before his love of bling on his dresses led to his downfall.

Kenley Collins (Brooklyn) - Season Five, Second Runner-up - One of Project Runway's most controversial contestants who regularly talked back to judges and had run-ins with other Season Five designers, is best-known for her vintage, flapper-inspired looks.

Gordana Gehlhausen (San Diego) - Season Six, Fourth Place - One of Project Runway's more experienced designers, made it to the 12th episode of Season Six by showcasing her signature knit and crochet wear.

Anthony Williams (Atlanta) - Season Seven, Fifth Place - Known for his competitive spirit and hilarious one-liners, his aesthetic for bold and striking colors and sequins was seen throughout his designs.

Mila Hermanovski (Los Angeles) - Season Seven, Second Runner-up - Her overly confident and opinionated personality took her to the final three in Season Seven, when she chose to show a black and white collection inspired by shadows at Bryant Park.

April Johnston (Savannah, Georgia) - Season Eight, Fifth Place - The second-youngest contestant ever to appear on Project Runway, best known for her dark textures and grunge-inspired pieces.

Michael Costello (Palm Springs) - Season Eight, Fourth Place - Most known for no formal training and his signature draping style, was followed by accusations and controversy throughout Season Eight.

Mondo Guerra (Denver) - Season Eight, Runner-up - Won three challenges in a row in Season Eight with his eye-popping and heart-felt designs, bravely revealed his HIV positive status on the show, placing second in one of Project Runway's most talked-about endings ever.

These designers will each vie for the most lucrative prizing ever in Project Runway history. Prizes include an exclusive designer's boutique in select Neiman Marcus stores and on NeimanMarcus.com, $100,000 dollars in technology and office space to help grow their business from HP and Intel, $100,000 cash from L'Oreal Paris, a feature spread in Marie Claire, for which he or she will serve as a guest editor for one year, and a sewing and embroidery studio provided by Brother International.

Lifetime has ordered twelve 60-minute episodes of Project Runway All Stars, which will be produced by The Weinstein Company and Bunim-Murray Productions. Executive producers include Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein (Co-Chairmen of The Weinstein Company), and Meryl Poster and Barbara Schneeweiss of The Weinstein Company, Jon Murray and Gil Goldschein of Bunim-Murray Productions, Rob Bagshaw (Top Chef Masters, Paradise Hotel) and Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy and David Hillman of Lifetime Television.

Born in Brooklyn, Isaac Mizrahi has been a leader in the design business for more than 20 years, earning numerous awards including four coveted CFDA awards. Mizrahi is currently the Creative Director of Liz Claiborne New York, overseeing design and development. Ever the revolutionary, Mizrahi launched his lifestyle collection, ISAACMIZRAHILIVE! on QVC in 2009 and was one of the first designers to team up with Target on a collection of chic and stylish clothing and accessories in 2003. In addition to dressing celebrities on and off the red carpet, Mizrahi has created costumes for movies, theatre, dance and opera, even earning a Drama Desk Award for his costumes for The Women. Mizrahi has a daily web series (seen on WATCHISAAC.COM), which features his unique take on cooking, trends, style, fashion, and entertaining. Mizrahi has appeared in films and television shows including Sex & the City, Ugly Betty and Celebrity Jeopardy and was the host of his own series on both the Oxygen Network and the Style Network and on The Fashion Show.

British-born Georgina Chapman began her career as a costume designer, model and actress before she co-founded the luxury fashion label, MARCHESA, with her partner and close friend Keren Craig in 2004. The two met in college at the Chelsea College of Art & Design in London and merged their complementary skills in costuming and textiles in the creation of their design house, named after Marchesa Luisa Casati, the noted eccentric European style icon. MARCHESA consists of evening gowns, wedding and cocktail dresses, hand bags and table top, and is the toast of the fashion industry outselling its competitors at major global retailers. Thanks to Chapman's impeccable eye and design ability, MARCHESA routinely ends up on the hottest A List celebrities at red carpet events around the globe, including Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Lopez, Sienna Miller, Blake Lively, Rihanna and many more. Chapman and her work have been featured in numerous publications, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue UK, The Daily Telegraph, Vanity Fair and Elle. In 2006, MARCHESA was named as one of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund's top ten finalists, and in 2007 the label won the British Fashion Awards, for Red Carpet Designer of the Year. Chapman currently serves as the brand's Designer and Creative Director, producing two seasonal collections, two bridal collections, and two pre-collections per year. Chapman and her husband Harvey Weinstein, with daughter India Pearl, split their time between New York City, Connecticut, and London.

Joanna Coles was named Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. edition of Marie Claire, a joint venture between Hearst Magazines and Marie Claire Album, in April 2006. Coles was recently named Adweek's Editor of the Year at the same time as the magazine was listed as #2 on Adweek's Hot List, an annual list of the most influential and successful magazines. Coles has appeared regularly as an expert on the Today Show, CBS Early Show, The Rachael Ray Show, E!'s Chelsea Lately and CNN. She also produced and starred in the Style network's non-scripted series about Marie Claire called Running in Heels. British-born Coles moved to New York in 1997 as the New York Bureau Chief for The Guardian and subsequently The Times of London. Before moving to New York she worked as a radio and TV broadcaster for the BBC, a weekly op-ed writer and interviewer for The Guardian.

Angela Lindvall grew up in a small, rural community outside of Kansas City, Missouri, and fell into modeling by accident when her older sister who initially convinced Angela to sign up for a local fashion show with her for fun. Angela has since appeared on the cover of many major publications, including all the international Vogues, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, ID, Dazed and Confused and many more. Lindvall's "chameleon" like qualities has made her one of the most sought after models and one of the few to work with nearly every major fashion house including the likes of Prada, Chanel, Valentino, Gucci, Louie Vuitton, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Chloe, Stella McCartney, and Versace to name a few. She continues to be one of the most sought after models in an otherwise fickle industry. Lindvall has also appeared on the big screen in the films CQ and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. On television, she co-hosted Alter Ecco, with Adrian Grenier on which was one of Discovery's Planet Green Channel.

 

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