Project Runway season 14

Project Runway Season 14 is the fourteenth season of the television show Project Runway, appearing on Lifetime. The season began on August 6, 2015. There were 16 designers competing to become "the next great American designer." Supermodel Heidi Klum, Marie Claire creative director Nina Garcia, and fashion designer Zac Posen all returned as judges this season. Tim Gunn maintained his role as the workroom mentor.

Project Runway
Season 14
No. of tasks	14
No. of contestants	16
Winner	Ashley Nell Tipton
No. of episodes	14
Release
Original network	Lifetime
Original release	August 6 (2015-08-06) – November 12, 2015 (2015-11-12)
Season chronology

In a post-season interview Tim Gunn expressed his disappointment with the designers of this season citing a deficiency of energy in them for the title.^[1] He stated that he 'hated' the entire season labeling the progress of the contestants as 'lackluster'.^[2]

In 2018, Kelly Dempsey, Candice Cuoco, Merline Labissiere and Edmond Newton competed in the Project Runway All Stars (season 6), with Kelly placing 15th, Candice placing 12th, Merline placing 8th and Edmond placing 5th of 16.

Contestants

Contestant	Age	Hometown	Finish	Outcome
Duncan Chambers-Watson	25	Auckland, New Zealand	Episode 1	16th place
David Giampiccolo	26	Hollywood, CA	Episode 2	15th place
Hanmiao Yang	27	New York City, NY	Episode 3	14th place
Gabrielle Arruda	27	New York City, NY	Episode 4	13th place
Amanda Perna	28	Orlando, FL	Episode 5	12th place
Blake Patterson	24	Los Angeles, CA	Episode 6	11th place
Jake Wall	36	San Francisco, CA	Episode 7	10th place
Joseph Charles Poli	37	Las Vegas, NV		9th place
Lindsey Creel	28	Johnson City, TN	Episode 8	8th place
Laurie Underwood	29	Chicago, IL	Episode 9	7th place
Swapnil Shinde1	34	Mumbai, India	Episode 10	6th place
Merline Labissiere	32	Savannah, GA	Episode 11	5th place
Candice Cuoco	27	San Francisco, CA	Episode 14	4th place
Edmond Newton	37	Atlanta, GA		3rd place
Kelly Dempsey	31	Boston, MA		Runner-up
Ashley Nell Tipton	23	San Diego, CA		Winner

^Note 1 : Swapnil renamed Saisha after season 14, when transitioning.

Designer progress

Designer Elimination Table

Designers	1	2	3	4	51	6	7	8	9	10	11	122	13	14	Eliminated Episode
Ashley	WIN	IN	WIN	IN	LOW	HIGH	HIGH	LOW	HIGH	LOW	LOW	LOW	ADV	WINNER	14 – Finale, Part 2
Kelly	IN	HIGH	IN	IN	LOW	IN	WIN	HIGH	LOW	WIN	WIN	WIN	ADV	RUNNER-UP
Edmond	HIGH	WIN	LOW	IN	WIN	IN	HIGH	HIGH	WIN	LOW	HIGH	SAFE	ADV	3RD PLACE
Candice	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	LOW	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	LOW	HIGH	HIGH	ADV	4TH PLACE
Merline	HIGH	IN	LOW	IN	HIGH	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	HIGH	OUT				11 – The Runway's in 3D!
Swapnil3	IN	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	HIGH	LOW	IN	LOW	OUT					10 – Crew's All In
Laurie	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	LOW	LOW	IN	LOW	OUT						9 – Make It Sell
Lindsey	IN	IN	HIGH	LOW	LOW	IN	LOW	OUT							8 – Broadway or Bust
Joseph	IN	IN	LOW	IN	HIGH	IN	OUT								7 – Haute Tech Couture
Jake	IN	IN	HIGH	IN	HIGH	LOW	WD
Blake	LOW	HIGH	IN	WIN	HIGH	OUT									6 – Lace to the Finish
Amanda	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	OUT										5 – Gunn and Heid
Gabrielle	IN	IN	LOW	OUT											4 – Fashion Flip
Hanmiao	LOW	IN	OUT												3 – Shut Up and Sew
David	IN	OUT													2 – It's All in the Cards
Duncan	OUT														1 – Mad Dash Mayhem

^1 : In episode 5, although the judges categorized all the clothes into ones they liked and didn't like, their deliberation revealed the ones they liked the most (Edmond, Jake, and Swapnil). Similarly, the ones they liked the least were revealed when Amanda, Candice, and Kelly were left as the three in danger of going home, while Ashley, Laurie, and Lindsey were called safe.

^2 : In episode 13, Tim Gunn decided to retroactively use his "Tim Gunn Save" on Edmond, canceling out his elimination in episode 12.

  The designer won Project Runway Season 14.

  The designer advanced to Fashion Week.

  The designer won the challenge.

  The designer came in second but did not win the challenge.

  The designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge, but did not win.

  The designer had one of the lowest scores for that challenge, but was not eliminated.

  The designer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.

  The designer lost and was eliminated from the competition.

  The designer lost, but was brought back to the competition by Tim Gunn.

  The designer withdrew from the competition.

Model progress

Model Progress Table
Model	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10 1	11	12	13	14
Aube	EN	BP	–	BP	BP	AT	AT	AT	AT	–	AT	AT	–	AT
Kristina	KD	KD	AT, CC	KD	KD	ML	KD	KD	KD	–	KD	KD	KD	KD (2ND)
Zorana	ML	EN	BP, KD	EN	EN	–	EN	EN	EN	–	EN	EN	EN	EN (3RD)
Loli	AT	AT	–	AT	AT	CC	CC	CC	CC	–	CC	CC	–	CC (4TH)
Helen	DG	DG	JW, LC	ML	ML	EN	ML	ML	ML	–	ML	OUT
Emoni	SS	SS	AP, GA	SS	SS	KD	SS	SS	SS	–	OUT
Alina	JP	JP	–	JP	JP	JP	JP	LU	LU	–	OUT
Dominyka	LC	LC	JP, ML	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	OUT
Veronica	HY	HY	–	LU	LU	SS	LU	OUT
Hannah	DW	AP	EN, HY	AP	–	JW	OUT
Victoria K.	GA	GA	–	GA	AP	LU	OUT
Victoria W.	JW	JW	–	JW	JW	BP	OUT
Ashley	CC	CC	–	CC	CC	OUT
Natacha	LU	LU	LU, SS	OUT
Sherry	BP	ML	–	OUT
Sara	AP	OUT

^1 : In episode 10, the designers had other clients as their models.

  The model was paired with the winning designer of Project Runway Season 16.

  The model wore the design that advanced the designer to fashion week.

  The model wore the winning design.

  The model wore the design with the second-highest score.

  The model wore the design with one of the highest scores but did not win.

  The model wore the design with one of the lowest scores.

  The model wore the design that landed in the bottom 2.

  The model wore the losing design.

  The model was eliminated.

Model assignments

Designer Legend

• Amanda Perna: AP
• Ashley Nell Tipton: AT
• Blake Patterson: BP
• Candice Cuoco: CC
• David Giampiccolo: DG
• Duncan Chambers Watson: DW
• Edmond Newton: EN
• Gabrielle Arruda: GA
• Hanmiao Yang: HY
• Jake Wall: JW
• Joseph Charles Poli: JP
• Kelly Dempsey: KD
• Laurie Underwood: LU
• Lindsey Creel: LC
• Merline Labissiere: ML
• Swapnil Shinde: SS

Episodes

Episode 0: Road to the Runway

Original airdate: July 30, 2015

Episode 1: Mad Dash Mayhem

Original airdate: August 6, 2015^[3]

• The sixteen designers of Project Runway Season 14 went to Madison Square Garden for their first challenge. They had to create a look that expressed themselves as designers using fabrics found around the arena. Before the designers began to work, Tim Gunn announced to the designers that David, Swapnil, and Merline didn't bring their own personal tool kits while everyone else did.
• Guest Judge: Hannah Davis
• WINNER: Ashley
• ELIMINATED: Duncan

Episode 2: It's All in the Cards

Original airdate: August 13, 2015^[4]

• The fifteen designers go to Hallmark where they have two minutes to choose as many Hallmark Signature cards as possible to create a look. They had to use the cards as their materials and their inspiration. David and Ashley (who had immunity) were both told by the judges that they didn't follow the rules because there was exposed muslin.
• Guest Judge: Ashley Tisdale
• WINNER: Edmond
• ELIMINATED: David

Episode 3: Shut Up and Sew

Original airdate: August 20, 2015^[5]

• Global travel destinations and exotic locations inspire the designers (in teams of two) to create looks tailored for a day-to-night transition.

Location for inspiration	Designers
Greek Isles	Kelly and Blake
India	Laurie and Swapnil
Venice	Candice and Ashley
The Caribbean	Edmond and Hanmiao
Hong Kong	Jake and Lindsey
South of France	Amanda and Gabrielle
St. Petersburg	Merline and Joseph

• Guest Judge: Tracee Ellis Ross
• WINNERS: Ashley and Candice
• ELIMINATED: Hanmiao

Episode 4: Fashion Flip

Original airdate: August 27, 2015^[6]

• The designers visit Mood and put a modern twist on a classic design.
• Guest Judge: Kiernan Shipka
• WINNER: Blake
• ELIMINATED: Gabrielle

Episode 5: Gunn and Heid

Original airdate: September 3, 2015^[7]

• Tensions arise when the designers are split into two teams to battle for their fabrics in a paintball competition; the teams receive a surprise.
• Guest Judge: Kelly Osbourne & Lisa Perry
• WINNER: Edmond
• ELIMINATED: Amanda

Episode 6: Lace to the Finish

Original airdate: September 10, 2015^[8]

• The designers are tasked to create lingerie for host Heidi Klum's fashion line. They also get a rude awakening on the runway.
• Guest Judge: Bella Thorne
• WINNER: Merline
• ELIMINATED: Blake

Episode 7: Haute Tech Couture

Original airdate: September 17, 2015^[9]

• Fashion and technology collide when the designers seek recycled electronics in dumpsters in the season's second unconventional-materials challenge.
• Guest Judge: Paula Patton & Anne Fulenwider
• WINNER: Kelly
• ELIMINATED: Joseph
• WITHDREW: Jake
  • Jake withdrew from the competition after receiving news that his dog had to be euthanized.

Episode 8: Broadway or Bust

Original airdate: September 24, 2015^[10]

• The magic of Broadway inspires the designers, who create stylish looks based on the musical "Finding Neverland".
• Guest Judge: Coco Rocha
• WINNER: Candice
• ELIMINATED: Lindsey

Episode 9: Make It Sell

Original airdate: October 1, 2015^[11]

• The designers must create ready-to-wear looks to be reproduced and sold online; a disagreement between the judges leads to the most contentious runway yet.
• Guest Judge: Ciara & Yuchin Mao
• WINNER: Edmond
• ELIMINATED: Laurie

Episode 10: Crew's All In

Original airdate: October 8, 2015^[12]

• The designers must makeover real women from the ``Project Runway`` crew. Tim reaches his breaking point with one designer.
• Guest Judge: Shiri Appleby & Constance Zimmer
• WINNER: Kelly
• ELIMINATED: Swapnil

Episode 11: The Runway's in 3D!

Original airdate: October 15, 2015^[13]

• In a fashion-forward challenge, the designers use 3D-printing technology to create avant-garde styles.
• Guest Judge: Mel B.
• WINNER: Kelly
• ELIMINATED: Merline

Episode 12: Roll Out the Red Carpet

Original airdate: October 22, 2015^[14]

• The designers land in Los Angeles to create red-carpet looks in the final challenge before Fashion Week.
• Guest Judge: Christian Siriano
• WINNER: Kelly
• ELIMINATED: Edmond

Episode 13: Finale, Part 1

Original airdate: October 29, 2015^[15]

• In Part 1 of the two-part Season 14 finale, the designers journey home to create their collections and gear up for a visit from mentor Tim Gunn. They then return to New York, complete with a twist.
• TIM GUNN SAVE: Edmond.

Episode 14: Finale, Part 2

Original airdate: November 5, 2015^[16]

• Conclusion. The winning designer is crowned in the Season 14 finale. Before that, the designers scramble to retool their collections following a brutal critique with the judges. Appearing: Carrie Underwood.
• WINNER of Project Runway: Ashley
• ELIMINATED: Kelly (2nd place), Edmond (3rd place), Candice (4th place)

Episode 15: Season 14 Reunion

Original airdate: November 12, 2015^[17]

• The designers reunite to sew up Season 14 as they reflect on the highs, lows and memorable moments from their time on the show. Host: Tim Gunn.
• This season included a special prize for the designer who had won the most challenges throughout the competition. A reward of $25,000 was therefore awarded by Mary Kay to Kelly Dempsey for winning 4 challenges.