Tim Gunn Reveals His Favorite — and Least Favorite — Seasons of Project Runway (Exclusive)
Tim Gunn mentored designers on ‘Project Runway’ for 16 seasons
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Tim Gunn is taking a trip down memory lane, revealing his favorite — and least favorite — seasons of Project Runway.
“In many ways, season 1 will always be my favorite because it was the first. It’s like your first child,” the former Project Runway mentor, who worked on the show for 16 seasons alongside Heidi Klum, 51, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’m not a parent, but I feel like one after 32 years of teaching. It’s always special and nostalgic.”
However, when it comes to the quality of work, Gunn, 71, reveals that nothing compares to season 13, which aired in 2023 and saw Sean Kelly — known for his eveningwear on the show — emerge as the winner.
“There were so many extraordinarily talented designers,” Gunn says. “It was always so difficult for the judges to choose a winner, and that’s exactly what you want. You want that kind of high-level competition.”
He continues, “It still makes me tear up. It was so breathtaking. Breathtaking. And Heidi wore one of his gowns to the Emmys,” Gunn adds, recalling Kelly’s final project. Since then, Kelly made a swift pivot post-win to swimwear, founding his company, Hercules New York.
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As for his least favorite season, Gunn is quick to answer: season 14.
“I’m not a fan,” he says of the season. “I thought the work was very lackluster, and I kept pounding on the workroom table, saying, ‘You have to raise the bar here. This is just so dull, so normal. These are clothes you could go to a store right now and buy, so who cares?’ I mean, as Heidi’s always telling the designers, you need to cut through the noise so people listen to you.”
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Looking back on his time hosting the show, Gunn adds that, although he acted as a mentor for the designers, he didn’t see himself as a critical factor in their success. For him, he says, it was just an honor to be with them and offer them critical feedback and advice.
“I remind them all the time, ‘You are responsible for your own decisions. I’m not. So you have to own whatever it is that you do as you move forward,'” he says. “I would caution them: Don’t think about what the judges may like. If you’re not confident in what you’re presenting, it doesn’t matter. And then, what if you do think about what they’ll like and you design for that particular genre or look, and then you win? What do you do for the rest of the season? You keep channeling Heidi and Nina Garcia. I mean, that won’t work.”
“So I was always very adamant about making sure they accept responsibility for their decisions and truly express who they are,” he adds.
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While many of the contestants across all the seasons had a lifelong impact on Gunn, he also notes that once they leave the show, he maintains a personal and professional policy to keep his distance. He doesn’t reach out to alumni; if they contact him, he’ll respond, but otherwise, he doesn’t make the first move.
“We’ve had so many talented people, and I’ll also add, when people ask, ‘Well, whatever happened to so-and-so?'” he says. “I respond this way: So-and-so can only do what their resources and ambitions allow them to do. And we have no control over that, aside from ‘make it work,’ one of my refrains in my classrooms and occasionally on Project Runway. I can’t want you to succeed more than you do. And why do I feel that I’m more invested in this than you are? That won’t work.”
