Host and judge Heidi Klum and design guru and mentor Tim Gunn—who begin their fourth season of Auf-ing designers who can’t “make it work” on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m./9c on Bravo—opened up about the new crop of designers, their all-time favorite “Runway” drama queen and why they tell people not to watch their own Emmy-nominated show.
How does this cast rank compared to previous seasons?
Tim Gunn: I'll jump in and just say that with each successive season of "Project Runway,” the group of designers has been stronger and stronger. And season four is our strongest group yet.
Heidi Klum: A lot of really good designers out there are now trying to get on the show. Each year the designers have become better, and the fourth season is definitely some of the best designers yet. They’re great technicians, they have great ideas and they’re just all around really, really talented.
Tim Gunn: And the fact that the designers do see the show as a positive vehicle for their careers is, at least in my view, the greatest compliment we could have.
Any twists, surprises or drama we can look forward to?
HK: There's always lots and lots of drama. And we always put a twist on it because the [designers] think, "OK, this is the fourth season already so we kind of know what's going on here." And I love it when I can break to the news to them that some things are going a little different this time around. There are definitely twists!
TG: We had one incredibly talented designer who had a difficult time with the experience of the show. I probed and asked, "Why does all this surprise you? You've seen the show." And the response was, "I didn't think it was really the way it appeared on television. I thought that it was all cheated and that there were days for these challenges and breaks in between." [Laughs]
Some people think that certain contestants are kept on the show because of their personalities rather than their designs…like the Wendy Peppers of the world.
TG: That's preposterous. [In] the audition process, we bring the pool down to about 120 people. And I will say that any one of those 120 people could have won the entire season.
HK: If you are not a designer and if you don't know what you're doing, you won't even make it on or last the first challenge.
Heidi, are you happy to be back working with your fellow judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors again?
HK: Oh, absolutely. We had one episode this year where Michael started into this whole laughing fit—he was unstoppable. And then he was crying and then I was crying and laughing, then Nina was crying of laughter. It was hilarious. You know, when we do our judging day, what people see at home is only 15 minutes long, [but] we film all day. We're there from morning until like nine or 10 o'clock at night. It's not just like boom, boom, boom, you're in, you're out, Auf Wiedersehen and see you next time. We really take it to heart what they do and we want to be fair. Sometimes when you sit under these lights for hours and hours and hours…that one day we lost it so badly.
TG: I'll just add I lost it too. [Laughs] And so did the whole crew.
And Tim, since you have a lot of hands on work with the designers every day, do you have a favorite from the very beginning?
TG: Honestly, I'm the worst judge of these things. The people that I think, "Oh, this person's going to be a shoe in," end up not being as strong or as I may have expected. And people I'm perhaps a little concerned about end up just taking off, having an incredible trajectory.
Is it hard for either of you to judge them all equally when you see what goes on backstage and in the workroom?
HK: When I see those things, I'm surprised the way they are back there. They all yell at each other and get mad…
TG: And that's my world.
HK: But he's good at that. I completely keep all my emotions out of it. I look at it very, very dry.
TG: And that's why Heidi's a superb judge…and why I would be a terrible one.
Who is your all-time favorite drama queen from the show?
HK: Well my favorite drama queen really was Santino. I mean he was not only a great designer but…I mean the things that came out of his mouth sometimes were just unbelievable! [Laughs] Very over the top—sometimes you have to think about if that even can be aired or has to be bleeped. [Laughs] I liked that about him, that he was so blunt and straightforward. But at the same time, he made it on there because he was really good and, ultimately, he made it all the way to the end.
TG: And I also found Santino to be very loveable. But I had a kind of relationship with him because I was in the workroom with him all the time.
[Laughs] Well, and he was the best Tim Gunn impersonator the world has ever seen…
HK: Yeah, that was funny.
TG: [Laughs] He was unbelievable! I have to tell you…on the show when I hear my voice off camera, I think Is that me or is it Santino? [Laughs] I would never be sure.
And do you have a favorite overall designer from the show, winner or not winner?
HK: Well, we have someone on the show right now who I'm totally rooting for who has been amazing, but we can't talk about them yet. I did like Chloe Dao a lot. I think that she was consistent, innovative and also had real smarts, the way she would speak about her clothes. I really like that a lot. And she's a business person—she actually converted her experience on the show to a reality, which I think is very important.
TG: I stand in total agreement with Heidi about that. Yeah—Chloe.
Well, I can’t stop watching the show. Even if I’ve seen an episode five times, I’ll watch it again if there’s a marathon…but you must get that a lot.
TG: I will say that when people tell me that they haven't seen the show, I tell them not to. And I tell them the reason: It's like television crack! Once you start watching, you get addicted.
What will set this season apart?
TG: Watch what happens…
Season four of “Project Runway” premieres Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m./9c on Bravo.
