Entertainment

ALL ABOUT ME

Soon, we’ll be awash in silk, satin and serious attitude. “I am young, raw talent and kind of a big deal,” says 21-year-old Christian, a bicoastal fashion designer with radically asymmetrical jet black hair who works for designer Rosetta Getty out of New York and Los Angeles. “It’s all about me.”

Bravo’s “Project Runway,” about to launch its fourth season on Wednesday, November 14th (10 p.m.), has sewn up fifteen new designers with the most impressive resumes to date. One freelances for Cirque du Soleil and Madonna. Another does red carpet gowns for Lindsay Lohan and Penelope Cruz. A third has had his designs featured in “Harper’s Bazaar” and “Cosmopolitan.” Several more also have their own clothing lines, including “Sistahs of Harlem” and “KJeans,” a brand which was featured on the cover of Victoria’s Secret.

“The designers this season are more competent and have a lot more experience,” says one of the show’s three judges, Elle magazine fashion director Nina Garcia. “And you could see it right away. It showed up in the very first challenge.”

Like any hit reality contest, “Project Runway” has proven its star-making ability and is now attracting those who may have been sewing on the sidelines. Does that mean we’ll be seeing more contestants like season two’s infamous Santino Rice, who had no trouble taking on the judges when they dared to question his creations?

“There are definitely colorful personalities,” says Garcia. “But someone that I thought was going to jump off the runway and strangle me? No. A big mouth does not necessarily translate into big talent.”

There is the danger, of course, that pitting designers who are already successful against one another will take some of the bite out of the competition. But Garcia says that for all their moxie and experience, this season’s bunch, as usual, includes some hothouse flowers who wilted under the strain of the intense, month-long competition.

“Toward the end, in the last challenge, they are not told what to do,” says Garcia, “and that’s a lot harder than being given something specific. The last challenge is really meant to produce something for New York Fashion Week. And you can choke very easily.”