Project Runway Philippines is a Philippine adaptation of Project Runway in America. This reality television series, which aims to find "the next big Filipino fashion designer," is produced by Solar Entertainment Corporation and Unitel Productions. It premiered on July 30, 2008 on cable through ETC Entertainment Central and on free TV through SBN 21. The show is hosted by model and actress Teresa Herrera, with fashion designer and faculty member of School of Fashion and the Arts Jojie Lloren serving as mentor. Filipino top model and lifestyle feature writer Apples Aberin-Sahdwani and fashion designer Rajo Laurel complete the judging panel. The winner will receive P500,000 (roughly US $11,000) in cash, a start-up business package, an editorial spread in Mega magazine, and an opportunity to show their collection in Philippine Fashion Week.

Languages: Mainly English, with some Filipino

Project_Runway United States Version Project_Runway_Canada Canadian Version Project_Catwalk United Kingdom Edition Project_Runway_Australia Australian Edition Project_Runway_Malaysia Malaysian Edition Project_Runway_Phillipines Philippino Edition

School of Fashion and the Arts in Manilla

The 14 finalists of Project Runway Philippines, which consists of a mix of established and new designers, were introduced in a press conference held in Greenbelt 5 Gallery in Makati City. The finalists are:

Aries Lagat - 25 years old from Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. He won the 2006 Mega Young Designers Competition (Mega YDC), an annual competition for Filipino novice fashion designers sponsored by Mega magazine. He is also a former scholar of top designer Ben Ferrales, and teaches in Fashion Institute of the Philippines.

Ava Paguyo - 27 years old from San Carlos City, Pangasinan. A textile designer who graduated with Biology and Clothing Technology majors.

Bo Parcon - 37 years old from Iloilo City. Dubbed as "Iloilo's Bad Boy of Fashion," he is one of the winners in a terno design competition sponsored by Metropolitan Museum.

Charette Regala - 36 years old from Quezon City, Metro Manila. A clothing technology professor in University of the Philippines Diliman campus and former consultant for a sporting apparel brand.

Eli Gonzales - 26 years old from San Pedro, Laguna. A graduate of Industrial Design, he is a fashion design professor at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila.

Ivan Raborar - 23 years old from Koronadal City, South Cotabato. He is a two-time winner of the T'nalak Haute Couture Grand Prize.

Jaz Cerezo - 25 years old from Dagupan City, Pangasinan. An Advertising graduate of Far Eastern University, she studied in Slim's Fashion and Arts School to pursue a career in fashion. She designs wedding dresses and evening gowns.

Lord Maturan - 24 years old from Talisay City, Cebu. Winner of 2007 Cebu Young Designers' Council.

Lorymer Villareal - 21 years old from Cebu City. An aeronautical student and a self-taught designer. He joined the 2005 Philippine Fashion Competition and became one of the country's representatives in the International Competition of Young Fashion Designers (ICYFD) in Paris that same year.

Mara Reyes - 21 years old from Pasig City, Metro Manila. A Fine Arts graduate and visual artist, she works as a costume designer.

Philipp Tampus - 36 years old from Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. A bridal and evening gown designer based in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates with 14 years of experience. Competed in 1994 Mega YDC.

Veejay Floresca - 23 years old from Makati City, Metro Manila. He studied fashion design in De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He competed in ICYFD in Paris, and was described by a fashion magazine as "The Next Face of Avant Garde."

Winnie Chua - 24 years old from Malate District, Manila. She is a fashion merchandiser and ready-to-wear designer.

Loida Hunter - 51 years old from San Pedro, Laguna. A dressmaker who specializes in corporate uniforms.

Project Runway uses progressive elimination to reduce the initial field of 12 or more fashion designers down to 3 or 4 before the final challenge. Each non-finale challenge (the scope of one episode) requires the designers to develop one more new garment to be presented at a runway show. The challenges may include creating a garment from non-traditional materials, such as recycled materials or items from a grocery store, using the 'clothes off their backs, designing for a certain person, corporate fashion line, or specialized theme (such as a cocktail party). A professional fashioin mentor is assigned to the designers and does not participate in the judging; instead, he visits the designers mid-way through each challenge to comment and suggest improvements for each design.

While on the show, the designers live in an apartment together and are prohibited from leaving without authorization. They are also prohibited from communicating with family or friends, nor are they allowed access to the Internet to research designs. Designers are also forbidden from bringing pattern books or similar how-to books with them during the show.

The designers are given a stipend and limited amount of time to finish each garment (from as short as half a day to two or three days). Often the designers work independently, although on some challenges contestants must work in teams. Once the deadline is reached, the designers must dress their models and select their hair, make-up, and accessories. Each model walks down the runway, and the garment the contestant made is rated by a panel of judges, scoring each dress in a number of categories from 0 to 5. The judges then interview the designers and share their opinions before conferring as a group and selecting winning and losing designers based on their scores and other considerations. Generally, the loser of each challenge is eliminated from the competition.

After the final challenge, the remaining three or four designers are then told to prepare a complete fashion collection to be presented at the next big Fashion Week. The finalists are given several months and several thousand dollars for this task which they perform at their own homes or studios. While some construction work can be outsourced, the majority of the garments must be created by the designers themselves. Prior to the show, the finalists return to the Project Runway studios to perform final fittings on their models, and also may be thrown an additional challenge, such as designing an additional outfit to fit the collection. The ultimate winner is selected by the judges, and receives $100,000 to start his or her own design line, a magazine spread in a popular fashion Magazine, and a mentorship from a design firm; some seasons have also included a new car as part of the prize package.

Fashion models who work with the designers throughout the season are also in the competition. Each week, as the number of designers dwindles, the number of models is also reduced, with one model remaining at the end. Models may sometimes be randomly pre-assigned to a designer; in other cases, designers will have an opportunity to pick the model they wish to work with. The winner of the previous challenge receives first pick and subsequent designers pick through a random draw. Included in the prize package for the winning model is coverage in a high fashion magazine, featuring the winning designer's designs.