Throng

Friday, April 18th at 9:30pm

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn returned to find the next great fashion designer in the season premiere of Project Runway, screening Friday, April 18th at 9:30pm on 3.

This season will see judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia return to help decide who's in and who's out while Tim Gunn once again reprises his role as mentor to the designers.

In the new season of the hit reality series fans will meet designers who've dressed Jessica Alba, Lenny Kravitz and Madonna and have had their work shown in the glossy pages of Elle and Vogue. And no, they're not the guest judges - these are the contestants.

"We've got a very sophisticated, very savvy group this year," Michael Kors told American TV Guide. "These are definitely not people fresh out of Home Ec." Adds Runway's genial guru Tim Gunn, "It's the greatest compliment the show can have, that designers working in the industry see it as a vehicle to help their careers."

Project Runway host and judge Heidi Klum agrees with Gunn's assessment of the fourth season cast and credits the fact that the show has become a launching pad for hungry designers.

"I think it has something to do with so many people seeing the creditability of the show, and that you really have to have talent to succeed or even to get onto the show," Klum told Reality World.

"I think that people see that and go, 'Okay, wow. This can be a really big opportunity.' So a lot of really good designers are now trying to participate and get on the show. I think each year the designers have become better and better, and the fourth season has some of the best designers yet. They're great technicians, they have great ideas. They're just all around really, really talented."

Among the potential breakout contenders are Elisa Jimenez, 42, an "accidental fashion designer" whose avant-garde pieces have been worn by Pink and Courtney Love, and Rami Kashou, 31, a designer of red-carpet attire for Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. But not everybody has been rubbing elbows with starlets; Marion Lee, 39, is a soft-spoken flower-shop owner from Dallas. The youngest of the bunch, Christian Siriano, 21, is a recent London design-school grad who modestly describes himself as a "celebrity in my own head."

In the season premiere episode entitled “Sew Us What You Got” the designers will receive their first challenge; to construct an outfit which will represent their personality. In the end, three will be chosen to show their work at Mercedes Fashion Week in New York and the winner will receive money to start their own line and the opportunity to sell their clothing.

Don’t miss the season premiere of this hit reality series as the 10 brand new design hopefuls are introduced for the first time, Project Runway returns to 3 on Friday, April 18th at 9:30pm.