Project Runway

Project Runway, the groundbreaking reality television series, premiered in 2004. Ten seasons into its run comes the official guide behind the scenes of a television and fashion landmark. In this book, fully illustrated with hundreds of photos, fans will learn how the show began and developed over the years, relive the highlights of seasons past, and learn what their favorite designers are doing today. The book will feature commentary from Heidi Klum throughout, as well as interviews with the people behind the scenes, top designers of ten seasons, and stars of the show: workroom mentor Tim Gunn and judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors. This is the ultimate source for all things Project Runway.

“There seems to be no one more qualified or equipped to ponder or even, dare I say, dictate ‘quality, taste, and style’ than Tim.” —Sarah Jessica Parker, actor/producer As Bravo’s style mentor on Project Runway and Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim Gunn became a household name. He delivered advice in a frank, witty, and authoritative manner that delighted audiences. Now readers can benefit from Tim’s considerable fashion wisdom in Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style. He discusses every aspect of creating and maintaining your personal style: how to dress for various occasions, how to shop (from designer to chain to vintage stores), how to pick a fashion mentor, how to improve your posture, find the perfect fit, and more. He’ll challenge every reader—whether a seasoned fashionista or a style neophyte-to “make it work!” “Tim Gunn’s book is as fun and informative as his knowledge of fashion!!!” —Diane von Furstenberg, designer “Tim’s book is perfect for helping you find your own personal style and accentuate it. His witty and encouraging voice is evident throughout, focusing on everything from organizing your closet and maintaining your wardrobe to caring for your skin and perfecting your posture. Whether you’re a fashion expert or a style novice, Tim’s book is full of practical yet chic tidbits everyone can enjoy.” —Nina Garcia, editor-in-chief of Elle magazine “Whether revealing the secrets of ‘The Under Arsenal’ or ruminating on the ‘tone’ and ‘diction’ of a handbag, Gunn’s text is clever, a touch waggish, and highly practical for both ensemble mavens and fashion criminals.” —Publishers Weekly

For more than 30 years, Lifetime has aired a broad range of programming, including original movies, sitcoms, dramas and reality shows. As other networks dedicated to women have come and gone, Lifetime continues to thrive in an ever-expanding cable marketplace, exploring such sensitive topics as race, commercialism, eating disorders, rape and domestic violence. This collection of new essays is the first to focus on Lifetime and the programs that helped define the network’s brand that appeals to both viewers and advertisers. Series like Project Runway, Girlfriend Intervention and Army Wives are explored in depth. The contributors discuss the network’s large opus of original films, as well at its online presence.

A fascinating chronicle of how celebrity has inundated the world of fashion, realigning the forces that drive both the styles we covet and the bottom lines of the biggest names in luxury apparel. From Coco Chanel’s iconic tweed suits to the miniskirt’s surprising comeback in the late 1980s, fashion houses reigned for decades as the arbiters of style and dictators of trends. Hollywood stars have always furthered fashion’s cause of seducing the masses into buying designers’ clothes, acting as living billboards. Now, forced by the explosion of social media and the accelerating worship of fame, red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image they—or their stylists—created. Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Combs, and a host of pop, sports, and reality-show stars of the moment are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands, embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on our screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry. And a few celebrities—like the Olsen Twins and Victoria Beckham—have gone all the way and reinvented themselves as bonafide designers. Not all celebrities succeed, but in an ever more crowded and clamorous marketplace, it’s increasingly unlikely that any fashion brand will succeed without celebrity involvement—even if designers, like Michael Kors, have to become celebrities themselves. Agins charts this strange new terrain with wit and insight and an insider’s access to the fascinating struggles of the bold-type names and their jealousies, insecurities, and triumphs. Everyone from industry insiders to fans of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model will want to read Agins’s take on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry, and where it is likely to take us next.

Winner of the John G. Cawelti Award for Best Textbook / Primer How did you decide what to wear today? Did you base your selection on comfort or style? Did you want to blend in or stand out - or was it just the cleanest outfit available? We each make these decisions every day, reflecting how we view ourselves and impacting how others see us. Our choices matter - not just to us personally, but also to the magazine editors, brand ambassadors and trend forecasters who make a living by selling to us. Communicating Fashion introduces key concepts from the intersecting worlds of fashion and communication studies to connect how we all use clothing to express ourselves and how media systems support that process. In doing so, Myles Ethan Lascity explores social, cultural and ethical issues through the work of fashion journalism, brand promotions and the growing role of online influencers as well as the impact of film, television and art on self-image and expression. Key topics: - Advertising, Branding and Fashion Retail - Clothing, Art and Cultural Significance - Clothing as Group and Cultural Norms - Clothing, Identity and Interpersonal Communication - Fashion News and Tastemaking - Fashion, Social Media and Influencers - Meaning within the Fashion System - On-screen Clothing

Survivor. The Bachelor. Extreme Makeover. Big Brother. Joe Millionaire. American Idol. The Osbournes. It is virtually impossible to turn on a television without coming across some sort of reality programming. Yet, while this genre has rapidly moved from the fringes of television culture to its lucrative core, critical attention has not kept pace. Beginning by unearthing its historical roots in early reality shows like Candid Camera and wending its way through An American Family, Cops, and The Real World to the most recent crop of reality programs, Reality TV is the first book to address the economic, visual, cultural, and audience dimensions of reality television. The essays provide a complex and comprehensive picture of how and why this genre emerged, what it means, how it differs from earlier television programming, and how it engages societies, industries, and individuals. Topics range from the construction of televisual "reality" to the changing face of criminal violence on TV, to issues of surveillance, taste, and social control. By spanning reality television's origins in the late 1940s to its current overwhelming popularity, Reality TV demonstrates both the tenacity of the format and its enduring ability to speak to our changing political and social desires and anxieties. Contributors include: Nick Couldry, Mary Beth Haralovich, John Hartley, Chuck Kleinhans, Derek Kompare, Jon Kraszewski, Kathleen LeBesco, Justin Lewis, Ted Magder, Jennifer Maher, Anna McCarthy, Rick Morris, Chad Raphael, Elayne Rapping, Jeffrey Sconce, Michael W. Trosset, Pamela Wilson.

Prior to the 1970s and 1980s, fashion marketing focused heavily (and perhaps solely) on women's fashions. Today, fashion marketing influences all products and how consumers use these products. How products are marketed, when products are marketed, the evolution of products into different sizes, shapes, colors, and uses are all influenced by fashion marketers. Fashion marketing is taken to different levels from branding a person (e.g., Ralph Lauren, the person), a line of products (e.g., Lexus luxury cars), or a single product (e.g., Coach handbag). This much-needed text introduces new methods and technologies to apply today's principles to future practices of fashion marketing.