BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS TAKE ON FASHION AND BEAUTY TITANS KATIA BEAUCHAMP, CHRISTINE HUNSICKER, REBECCA MINKOFF AND GARY WASSNER IN NEW SERIES "PROJECT RUNWAY: FASHION STARTUP," PREMIERING OCTOBER 20

New York, NY (September 8, 2016) - Fashion and entrepreneurialism are brought to a whole new level with Lifetime's Project Runway: Fashion Startup, premiering Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 10:30pm ET/PT. The series showcases aspiring fashion and beauty entrepreneurs as they pitch their concepts for the chance to secure funds from a panel of expert investors to help grow their budding ventures.

The panel includes Katia Beauchamp, the Co-Founder & CEO of beauty retailer Birchbox; tech marketplace maven and Founder and CEO of plus-size clothing rental startup Gwynnie Bee, Christine Hunsicker; celebrated fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff; and business mentor of the CFDA Incubator program, CEO of Hilldun Corporation and Chairman of Interluxe Holdings LLC, Gary Wassner. With their own time and money on the line, the experts give each entrepreneur tough love and sage advice as they pitch their concepts with hopes of securing an investment. With so much at stake, Project Runway: Fashion Startup could be the beginning of a beautiful partnership for some, or the end of a dream for others. Special appearances by renowned fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger; Founder and President of the Rodial Group, Maria Hatzistefanis; Co-Founder of SoulCycle, Julie Rice; and Jenny Fleiss, Co-Founder and Head of Logistics at Rent the Runway, will be made throughout the series, among others.

Project Runway: Fashion Startup is produced by The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Matador. Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Patrick Reardon and Barbara Schneeweiss serve as executive producers for TWC while Jay Peterson, Todd Lubin and James Bruce executive produce for Matador. Executive producing for Lifetime are Mary Donahue and David Hillman.

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ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC boasts an active unscripted television production division which garnered nine Emmy nominations in 2013, five in 2014 and twelve in 2015. In addition to producing the reality powerhouse Project Runway, TCW Television produces its spin-off series and critically-acclaimed Project Runway All Stars, hosted by Alyssa Milano and Project Runway Jr, featuring supermodel Hannah Davis, and fashion critic Kelley Osbourne. In addition, TWC's scripted television produces Marco Polo and Peaky Blinders with Netflix and Scream with MTV, along with the upcoming The Mist,Six and Omert�. TWC will also launch several new projects in 2016 across several networks, including MTV, Lifetime, and AMC. For more information on The Weinstein Company, please visit: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Official Website

ABOUT MATADOR

Matador is a full-service production company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in 2013 by Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin, the company is a creative collaboration between two experienced producers and longtime friends, bringing together their unique vision and knack for making popular and innovative content across a variety of platforms. After only three years, Matador has produced over twenty-eight series for TV as well as sports and feature documentary specials, virtual reality content and digital programs across multiple networks, including the series that turned into a phenomenon, Lip Sync Battle (Spike). Outside of Lip Sync Battle, Matador's output has shown an impressive range across networks and genres, from the horror-themed competition of Hellevator (GSN) to the historical hilarity of Great Minds with Dan Harmon (History) to the booze-soaked Alaskan wilderness of Alaska Proof (Animal Planet). Matador's renegade art documentary Banksy Does New York (HBO) was nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming at the 36th Emmy Awards, the ESPN 30 for 30 short Mecca fused sports and aesthetics in truly unique fashion, while Hurricane of Fun - The Making of Wet Hot (Netflix) got fans to fall in love with the cult comedy classic all over again. With a whole slew of new exciting shows - including Geeking Out starring Kevin Smith and Greg Grunberg (AMC) - Matador is showing no signs of slowing down.

ABOUT LIFETIME

Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. The critically acclaimed UnREAL, Devious Maids, Project Runway, Dance Moms, Bring It!, The Rap Game and Little Women franchises anchor the network's programming, in addition to its over 25 original movies annually that continue to define the TV movie genre. In 2015, Lifetime launched Broad Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers to make its content which totals over 450 original hours. Lifetime's Fempire positions the network as a curator of feminist content and conversations, as well as a place where women connect, learn and are entertained. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.