Designing for a client can be tough, especially when your client is a star athlete with high expectations. In this challenge, designers are paired up with a real athlete who will be competing to be in the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games. The designers need to make them their dream outfit for a victory night celebration, using all of their specialty skills to make the perfect proportions for their clients unique bodies, all while keeping their own point of view amongst a tough client challenge.
Eager to give aspiring designers a chance to break into the notoriously difficult-to-crack fashion world, supermodel Heidi Klum will once again head a panel of industry luminaries, including top women's and men's wear designer Michael Kors and Elle Magazine fashion director Nina Garcia, who will serve as judges and industry mentors charged with selecting and molding the budding designers. There will also be guest judges each week based on the specific challenge. Timballoonn, Chair of the Parsons The New School For Design, will return to guide the contestants through each of their challenges.
The winning designer will walk away with $100,000 in seed money to help them launch their own line. The winner's designs will be featured in a spread in ELLE, photographed by the magazine's world-renowned Publication Director, Gilles Bensimon. They will also receive a mentorship from the Banana Republic Design Team.