FIRST the Brooklyn Dodg ers and now this.
“Project Runway,” the high-style reality series synonymous with New York’s fashion industry, is heading to Los Angeles.
The sixth season of “Runway” – the first that will air on Lifetime after the cable channel’s deal to grab the show away from Bravo – will be filmed for the first time at least partially on the West Coast, a spokesman for Weinstein Co., which owns the show, told The Post yesterday.
Although some of the show is moving to LA, portions of the season will be filmed in New York, including the show’s trademark finale to be filmed during Fashion Week next February, the spokesman said.
The LA move is being made to accommodate host/executive producer Heidi Klum.
“Heidi’s been traveling a great deal and she wanted to be closer to her family,” the spokesman said, referring to Klum’s husband, singer Seal, and her three children who live in LA.
The news of “Runway’s” move to LA – even if only for part of a season – comes as a surprise since it was just a few weeks ago that Lifetime execs insisted that nothing would change about the hit reality show when it shifts from Bravo to Lifetime.
The LA move will take advantage of the Weinstein Co.’s ties to the Hollywood film community. Weinstein Co. is the movie company run by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
“There’s not a designer who has not been incredibly inspired by Hollywood,” said “Runway” executive producer Desiree Gruber. “Season 6 designers will have a chance to be up close and personal with the Hollywood scene and see what they can do with it.”
A source confided yesterday that the West Coast portion of “Runway” will involve “very A-list” guest celebrities who will take part in the show’s weekly challenges and participate as guest judges.
Bravo’s last hurrah with “Runway” is in production now and set to debut in July.
In order for the first Lifetime version to debut in November, production will have to begin almost immediately after the final Bravo season is finished. Bravo’s finale will incorporate next September’s Fashion Week in New York.
After Season 6, “Runway” will return to New York full-time, the Weinstein Co. spokesman said.