Project Runway is Bravo’s biggest hit. Over 2 million viewers tune in each week to watch 15 up and coming fashion designers compete for a chance to win a cash prize and jump-start their career in the fashion industry.
According to a recent WWD article, since the debut of Project Runway, fashion design programs nationwide have experienced a huge surge in their enrollment rates. In 2003, 250 students graduated with a fashion design degree in the US as compared to 700 students in 2006. Project Runway has not only demystified the fashion industry for viewers, it has also served as an inspiration for hopeful designers who would not have pursued fashion design as a career otherwise.
Although fashion design programs are pleased about the increasing interest, some educators are concerned that Project Runway is creating an unrealistic view of the fashion industry and the lives of struggling fashion designers. According to Tim Gunn of the Parsons School of Design, viewers must remember that the contestants on Project Runway are already seasoned designers. “These contestants are already designers… We really push them to the limits of designing, and the pressures and stress levels they are experiencing are real, but this is not the education you get when you attend Parsons,” notes Gunn.
Although critics may be correct in their assertion that Project Runway glamorizes the lives of struggling fashion designers, it is undeniable that the show has also inspired countless hopeful fashion designers to seriously pursue a career in fashion design.
