BRAVO ANNOUNCES "PROJECT RUNWAY" SEASON 5 CAST AND GUEST JUDGES

16 NEW DESIGNERS STRUT THEIR STUFF AS "PROJECT RUNWAY" RETURNS FOR A FIFTH SEASON ON BRAVO WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 AT 9 PM ET/PT

Guest Judges To include Diane Von Furstenberg, Sandra Bernhard, Apolo Ohno, Brooke Shields, LL Cool J, RuPaul, Rachel Zoe, Cynthia Rowley, Francisco Costa

NEW YORK July 14, 2008 Bravo's highly-anticipated fifth season of the Peabody Award-winning and seven-time Emmy-nominated creative competition series "Project Runway" returns Wednesday, July 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. It's time to introduce the designers who will strut their work in front of host supermodel Heidi Klum and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia with high hopes of avoiding the dreaded "auf Wiedersehen." In what is sure to be the most talked-about season yet, some of the biggest names in movies, fashion, sports and music including Diane Von Furstenberg, Sandra Bernhard, Apolo Ohno, Brooke Shields, LL Cool J, RuPaul, Rachel Zoe, Cynthia Rowley and Francisco Costa will take to the panel as guest judges for season five of "Runway."

"I feel as though we set the bar higher every season," said Klum. "We've got some truly talented, innovative and deeply creative designers this year, and I think it's fair to say, the most diverse everyone from a rocker chick who mostly works with leather to a more bohemian, surfer boy and everything in between."

"Season after season the designers have amazed us," said Tim Gunn, mentor to the designers. "They have different DNA, different chemistry within each other and different views their creative aptitude is right on par but how to characterize them? That's up to the audience!"

The 16 "Project Runway" contestants will be whittled down to the finalists who will show their own line in front of an audience of fashion industry movers and shakers at New York Fashion Week. As part of the winner's prize package, an editorial feature on the winning designer will run in an issue of ELLE Magazine, the winner will walk away with a cash prize of $100,000 in seed money from TRESemm professional hair care to start their own line and will have the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com. Saturn will award the winning designer a brand new 2009 Saturn VUE Hybrid.

Following are the 16 new "Project Runway" designers (bios and episodic descriptions enclosed):

- Blayne, 23 - Hometown: Yakima, Wash.; Resides in Seattle, Wash.

- Daniel, 25 - Hometown: Great Barrington, Mass.; Resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.

- Emily, 27 - Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.; Resides in Los Angeles, Calif.

- Jennifer, 27 - Hometown: East Syracuse, N.Y.; Resides in Pistoia, Italy

- Jerell, 28 - Hometown: Houston, Texas; Resides in Los Angeles, Calif.

- Jerry, 32 Hometown: Butte, Mont.; Resides in New York City

- Joe, 41 - Hometown/Resides in: Troy, Mich.

- Keith, 26 - Hometown/Resides in: Salt Lake City, Utah

- Kelli, 27 - Hometown/Resides in: Columbus, Ohio

- Kenley, 25 - Hometown: Pompano Beach, Fla.; Resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.

- Korto, 33 - Hometown: Liberia; Resides in Mabelvale, Ark.

- Leanne, 27 - Hometown: Yuta, Calif.; Resides in Portland, Ore.

- Stella, 42 Hometown: Astoria, N.Y.; Resides in New York City

- Suede, 37 - Hometown: Seven Hills, Ohio; Resides in Barryville, N.Y.

- Terri, 39 - Hometown: Chicago, Ill.; Resides in Columbus, Ohio

- Wesley, 23 Hometown: Blackstone, Mass.; Resides in New York City

"Project Runway" fans can log onto www.BravoTV.com to watch bonus clips from the show and to visit a "Best of Runway" page with highlights from the past four seasons leading up to the fifth season of fabulous. Also on BravoTV.com, users will have the chance to compete in online challenges by sending in photos of their take on each week's challenges. Users will once again be able to "Rate the Runway" and vote on which designs they think should have been "in" or "out" after every episode. On their mobile phones, viewers can join the Project Runway Mobile Fan Club and get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the designers, fashion tips and more. Text RUNWAY to 27286 to join. They can also access the "Project Runway" wireless website at wap.bravotv.com (or text PR to 27286), for designer blogs, photo diaries and episode recaps.

"Project Runway" is co-produced by The Weinstein Company and Miramax Films. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz ("Top Chef," "Last Comic Standing") and Rich Bye of Magical Elves are executive producers of "Project Runway." Heidi Klum is host and executive producer. Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, and Desiree Gruber and Jane Cha of Full Picture are also executive producers. Barbara Schneeweiss oversees the production on behalf of The Weinstein Company.

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been a NBC Cable Network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information visit www.bravotv.com.