Project Runway premiered 15 years ago today and, in honor of the occasion, we are checking in on the winners of the competition show to see what they are doing now.
Of course, Christian Siriano was one of the most popular contestants while vying to win the fourth season of Project Runway in 2008, which he went on to win. But, his post-show career has been even more impressive!
The 34-year-old designer's creations can be seen on A-listers such as Taylor SwiftMichelle Obama and Rihanna. He also returned to Project Runway as a mentor for the show's 17th season.
However, he is not the only past winner who has made a name for themselves in fashion after the show.
Chloe Dao, who was crowned the winner of season two, has her own collection and boutique in Houston, Texas while Ashley Nell Tipton, who took the top prize during season 14, sells her clothing at JCPenney. She also created her own line of wide-fit jewelry.
How Christian Siriano Went From Project Runway's Fiercest Contestant to World-Renowned Designer
If you're in the market for bridal couture, look no further than season five champion, Leanne Marshall, or season six winner, Irina Shabayeva, who both create incredible looks for brides.
See what all the past Project Runway winners are doing now below.
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We'll never forget Jay McCarroll's incredible finale show, with each autumn-themed look color-coordinated to match a pair of headphones. Despite having never won a challenge, he was still a worthy winner.
He started a blog and stayed in the press for a while with a documentary, a feature film and a line sponsored by the Humane Society.
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Chloe Dao won an iconic season of Project Runway, up against Santino Rice and Daniel Vosovic, and while a lot of people were rooting for Daniel, you can't argue that Dao didn't deserve the win.
Now, she's still active, with a website and a boutique in Houston (and a line we're kind of dying over).
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Not a lot of fans were thrilled when Jeffrey took home the win after spending the whole season as the villain, making moms cry and making us question his decision-making skills every single time we saw his neck tattoo.
After a couple of failed lines and companies and a stint on Project Runway: All Stars, he now seems to be doing pretty well designing clothes for kids.
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The fiercest of them all. Christian was the obvious winner of season four, and has gone on to have the most success by far. His label is especially popular with celebrities (he dresses stars from Taylor Swift to Leslie Jones to Michelle Obama) and he also serves as a judge on Project Runway Junior and as a mentor for Season 17 of Project Runway.
Chances are even if you don't know Project Runway, you know the name Christian Siriano.
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Leanne Marshall was known for the feminine waves she loved to incorporate into looks, and her finale show was that to a T.
Now, she puts that signature feminine stamp on all her clothes, but she's mostly known for her gorgeous wedding dresses.
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Irina Shabayeva's armor-inspired finale collection was truly badass, though she wasn't all that pleasant to watch during her season.
Since then, she competed on Project Runway: All Stars twice, and now she's doing lots of collections to benefit charities and is known for her bridal designs, too.
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Henderson not only won his season of Project Runway but also went on to win season three of Project Runway: All Stars, becoming the first designer to win both. He returned to compete on season 7 of All Stars in 2019 but was the second designer eliminated.
The reality star has become known for his sustainable designs as well as creating shoes with 3D printers!
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No joke, we have still not forgiven Project Runway for crowning the boring bully Gretchen over Mondo Guerra in season 8. Mondo did go on to win the first season of All Stars, but we're still mad.
As of 2016, Gretchen had taken a step back from designing and decided to go back to school to get her MBA.
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Regardless of her (serious) lack of sewing skills, beauty queen Anya was a fan favorite from the beginning, so it wasn't much of a shock when she took home the win. Maybe not the most fair of decisions by the judges when you compare her work to Viktor, Joshua or Kimberly, but the argument kind of comes down to whether you consider Project Runway to be a sewing competition or design competition.
Anyway, Anya is still designing. She has an online store and a lingerie line, and designs for Trinidad's carnival event. In 2019, she competed in Season 7 of Project Runway: All Stars.
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Dmitry Sholokhov won both season 10 of Project Runway and season 4 of All Stars but, to be honest, we mostly just remember his accent, and not his designs.
Now, he's clearly doing some very cool stuff, because we want almost every design he posts on Instagram. Also, in 2019, he competed on Project Runway: All Stars and was named the Fashion Designer Of The Year by Metropolitan Fashion Awards in Los Angeles.
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Franklin has strangely escaped our memory. Her season and her looks just weren't all that memorable to us...which is probably because that was the first "teams" edition of the series, making it hard for designers to stand out, or to be pleasant to watch.
Now, Michelle is still designing, and her clothes can be found on her website!
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Streater's prints were just to die for, and her final collection was certainly worthy of that win.
Now, she's selling prints of her prints and appears to still be designing. You can buy those prints on her website.
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Possibly nothing has made us as happy as that time Sean created that rainbow dress for the rain runway, which changed from white to full of color as the water hit it. We would have given him the win for that look alone. Tim Gunn has even called Sean his favorite contestant, and we get it.
You can find his more recent stuff on his website.
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Tipton's win was notable because all her models were plus size, and she used the show as a platform to make totally cute, fashionable, wearable clothes for plus size women. JCPenney now sells her clothes and she created a wide-fit jewelry line as well.
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We cannot tell a lie: Erin should not have won season 15. She shouldn't have even made it to Fashion Week, but it was as if the judges decided she was going to win from the beginning, regardless of how her looks declined throughout the season.
However, based on her Instagram, Erin has been designing some incredibly cool things that make us a little more OK with her win.
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In a season that celebrated body diversity like never before, Kameyama was crowned the Project Runway winner for the "unexpected emotion" that his collection showed during New York Fashion Week.
Since then, the 39-year-old was named the Fashion Design Chair at FCI Fashion School. He showed his work at New York Fashion Week 2019. He also launched The Brothers Project, a line featuring branded street wear. In addition to being a designer, the season 16 winner is also a classical pianist and composer.
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After Grey was named the winner of Project Runway, Nina Garcia called him "the personification of the American dream." Less than a year later, the Colombian-born designer already created a women's wear line that be found on his website.
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