Project Runway (Season 5)

Project Runway season 5 began filming the first week of June 2008 and premiered July 16, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. It was the final season of Project Runway that aired on Bravo. Subsequent seasons were shown on Lifetime.

Returning as judges were supermodel Heidi Klum, fashion designer Michael Kors, and Elle editor-at-large Nina Garcia. Tim Gunn returned as a mentor to the designers.

The final four designers all produced collections for Bryant Park Fashion Week. The winner of this season of Project Runway received an editorial feature in an issue of Elle magazine, a cash prize of $100,000 from TRESemmé hair care to start her own line, the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com, and a new 2009 Saturn Vue automobile.

Designers
The 16 designers in season 5 were (in order of elimination):

Episode 1: Let's Start from the Beginning
Repeating the first challenge on Season 1 of Project Runway, the designers were asked to create a look using only materials purchased from a Gristedes grocery store. The designers were given 30 minutes and $75 to shop for items, and then one day to complete the outfit. Most designers were criticized by mentor Tim Gunn for utilizing fabric-substitutes such as tablecloths in their looks, which wasn't what the challenge was about. The winner received immunity for the next challenge. The guest judge, Warren Patrick, won Season 1 of Project Runway and won this same challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Warren Patrick
 * WINNER: Mary
 * OUT: Hattie
 * First Aired: July 16, 2008

Episode 2: Grass Is Always Greener
The designers were asked to create a cocktail dress with their models as their clients. They were asked to use environmentally friendly or conscious fabrics from Mood, with their models doing the fabric selections without their consultations. They were given $75 and one day to finish their garments. The winner did not receive immunity, but did get to sell their garment on Bluefly.
 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Natalie Portman
 * WINNER: Robin
 * OUT: Carlo
 * First Aired: July 23, 2008

Episode 3: Bright Lights/Big City
The designers were tasked to create a look of their choice inspired by the vibrant nightlife of New York City. Tim Gunn drove the designers around the city via a sightseeing tour bus, then provided them with digital cameras to take photographs of their inspiration. Four groups of designers were dropped off at different stops and had an hour to take their photos. They were given $100 and one day to complete their design. The winner received immunity for the next challenge.

The four groups and their assigned stopovers are as follows:
 * Henrietta, Omar, Robin, and Zahra at Columbus Circle.
 * Carmen, Jason, Maurice, and Mary at Times Square.
 * Heidi, Julia, and Luz at the New York Public Library.
 * Arden, Emma, and Josef at Greenwich Village.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Sandra Bernhard
 * WINNER: Mary
 * OUT: Heidi
 * First Aired: July 30, 2008

Episode 4: Rings of Glory
The designers were brought to the Armory Track and Field Training Center by their mentor, Tim Gunn, and were introduced to U.S. Olympian and speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno. Their next challenge was to design a womenswear look for the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies. They were given 30 minutes to sketch and draw inspiration from the National Track and Field Museum, after which they were given $150 and one day to complete their designs. The winner received immunity for the next challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Apolo Anton Ohno
 * WINNER: Josef
 * OUT: Maurice
 * First Aired: August 6, 2008

Episode 5: Welcome to the Jungle
Working in teams of two, designers were asked to make an outfit that could transition from day to night for Brooke Shields's character Wendy Healy on the television show Lipstick Jungle. The winning design was to be worn by Brooke Shields on Season 2 of Lipstick Jungle. Each team was given a budget of $150 and one day to complete their designs. After sketching individually for 30 minutes and pitching their ideas to Shields, six designers were picked by Brooke as team leaders (team leaders shown in bold below). The team leaders were picked in a random order and selected a teammate.


 * Henrietta and Luz
 * Arden and Josef
 * Carmen and Robin
 * Emma and Mary
 * Omar and Jason
 * Zahra and Julia

The winner did not receive immunity for the next challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Brooke Shields
 * WINNER: Zahra
 * OUT: Arden
 * First Aired: August 13, 2008

Episode 6: Good Queen Fun
The designers were asked to make an outfit for a drag queen. The designers were picked at random to select which drag queen to work with. They were given $200 to shop for supplies and two days to complete their designs. The winner received immunity for the next challenge. The designers' models were not used in this challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: RuPaul
 * WINNER: Zahra
 * OUT: Robin
 * First Aired: August 20, 2008

Episode 7: Fashion That Drives You
The designers were required to make an outfit made entirely out of the spare parts and raw materials from a Saturn hybrid car. They were told to walk to 142 West 31st Street in Manhattan. After taking an elevator to the roof of the building, they were instructed to collect as much of the recycled car parts from within the parked Saturn vehicles. They had four minutes to collect the materials and one day to complete their outfits. The winner received immunity for the next challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Michael Kors
 * Guest judges: Laura Bennett (sitting in for Nina Garcia), Rachel Zoe
 * WINNER: Henrietta
 * OUT: Luz
 * First Aired: August 27, 2008

Episode 8: Double 0 Fashion
The designers were taken to the Meatpacking District and brought to the offices and design showroom of living fashion legend and current CFDA president, designer Diane von Fürstenberg. Their challenge was to create a look for her Fall 2008 collection inspired by the movie A Foreign Affair, starring screen legend Marlene Dietrich. They were given free rein and 15 minutes inside Diane von Fürstenberg's fabric sample room to select fabrics for their designs. The winning garment was produced in limited quantities and exclusively sold to American Express cardholders, with proceeds going to the CFDA Foundation. The winner did not receive immunity for the next challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Michael Kors
 * Guest judge: Fern Mallis (sitting in for Nina Garcia), Diane von Fürstenberg
 * WINNER: Mary
 * OUT: Omar
 * First Aired: September 3, 2008

Episode 9: What's Your Sign?
The designers teamed up in pairs with eliminated designers to create an avant-garde garment around one of the two astrological signs of their group. They had one day and 8 hours to complete the look. The night before the runway, they were brought to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. This episode featured a surprise double elimination & the winner no longer had the advantage of immunity going forward.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest judge: Francisco Costa
 * WINNER: Jason
 * OUT: Emma and Josef
 * First Aired: September 10, 2008

Episode 10: Transformation
The designers were assigned recent college graduates and were given the task of giving them a fashion makeover to help them enter the workforce. Each designer was to gear their look to their client's specific profession, whilst keeping their style and pleasing both the clients and their mothers. The clients wore the outfits down the runway; the models were not used in this challenge.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest judge: Cynthia Rowley
 * WINNER: Jason
 * OUT: Julia
 * First Aired: September 17, 2008

Episode 11: Rock N' Runway
The designers were given the task of designing for each other. The looks were to be inspired by different genres of music. The designers wore their outfits down the runway; the models were not used for this challenge.

Teams (Designers names are in bold; genre applies to teammate):
 * Zahra designed for Jason (Pop music)
 * Mary designed for Henrietta (Hip hop music)
 * Henrietta designed for Carmen (Country music)
 * Carmen designed for Mary (Punk rock)
 * Jason designed for Zahra (Rock and roll)


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest judge: LL Cool J
 * WINNER: Zahra
 * OUT: Henrietta
 * First Aired: September 24, 2008

Episode 12: Nature Calls
Drawing inspiration from nature, the remaining designers headed to the New York Botanical Garden to design an evening gown.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest Judge: Georgina Chapman
 * WINNER: Carmen
 * OUT: None: (However, all four are on the elimination block when the final three are determined in the next episode).
 * First Aired: October 1, 2008

Episode 13: Finale, Part I
The designers were given the task, prior to leaving to create their collections, of creating a wedding dress for their collections. In addition to the wedding dress, they were judged on an 11th look, a bridesmaid dress to go with it.


 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * FINALISTS: Carmen, Jason and Zahra
 * OUT: Mary
 * First Aired: October 8, 2008

Episode 14: Finale, Part II
Prior to the runway show, the finalists, who each had twelve outfits ready for the runway, were informed that they would only be able to show ten, forcing last minute editing of their collections. The guest judge was originally scheduled to be Jennifer Lopez, but she was unable to participate due to a foot injury and was replaced by Tim Gunn
 * Judges: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors
 * Guest judge: Tim Gunn
 * First Aired: October 15, 2008
 * WINNER of Project Runway Season 5: Carmen Weaver
 * OUT: Zahra Hagos (1st Runner-Up), Jason Stacy (2nd Runner-Up)