Models of the Runway

Format

Throughout a season, the models live together, which naturally leads to friendships, arguments, and sometimes outright hostility. Since modeling is a cutthroat field, the show highlights the models’ rivalries, their interactions with the designers, their makeup routines, their distinct personalities, and their past work and future goals. At the end of each episode, a picking process takes place where the Project Runway designers choose a model for the upcoming challenge. The models line up on a runway wearing nothing but a short black shift dress and no shoes, with Heidi Klum standing in the middle. The designers sit on the floor in front of them. The order of selection depends on the designers’ scores from the previous challenge, combined with a random draw from a bag. The winner picks first, the runner-up picks second, and the designer with the lowest score picks last. Since there is always one more model than there are designers at the start, one model ends up unchosen and gets eliminated. This means the lowest-scoring designer from the previous week has the biggest say in who goes home. When a designer is eliminated, the scene where they meet the models is often emotional, because the model who worked with that designer is likely to be sent home soon. The final moments of each episode are usually tearful, with the remaining models surrounding the eliminated model to say goodbye. Tim Gunn shows up in these final scenes, usually giving the model a compliment and telling her she needs to pack and leave immediately. Models of the Runway was not renewed for a third season. Instead, Austin Scarlett and Santino Rice now star in their own show, On the Road with Austin and Santino.