After months of anxiously awaiting the return of our favorite fashion design reality show, Project Runway Season 5 finally premiered last night! This season is going to fierce and only those who can “make it work” will be in the final three who get to show their collections at Olympus Fashion Week. If you are like us and cannot wait until next Wednesday to get your Project Runway fill, make sure you check out www.projectrunway.com to get the latest dish on your favorite show!
Make sure you check out the designers bios–and learn about their fashion inspirations, education, and careers. This week’s winner, Kelli, was the one who made the cut; we said auf wiedersehen to Jerry who’s rainy day fun was stormed by the judges.
The best part is the auction! I am dying to get my hands on a Runway original. Make sure you bid in the online auction! Each week, the designs will be up for bid, so you can actually own your favorite piece from the challenge. Right now, Kelli’s winning dress constructed from hand-painted vacuum bags and coffee filters is currently leading the auction. Make sure you also check out Blayne’s and Daniel’s designs and place your bid!

You can also look through all the photo galleries see the behind-the-scenes action at Project Runway. Check out the designers as they learned about the first challenge and the finished designs on the runway. Look at all the designers hard at work in the workroom, the models getting their hair and makeup done,
sexy and tour the apartment. Make sure you also check out all the videos, where you can see the audition tape from the cutting room.

Lastly, make sure you keep up with the blog! It is updated continually with posts about this week’s guest judge, Austin Scarlett, information from the cutting room floor, and more. You can also shop for your favorite fan merchandise, like the Tim Gunn Bobblehead.

Now you’ll be the know-all about everything Project Runway!

Erika Peña Designs : I am a designer, an entrepreneur and, above all, a dreamer. I was born in Puerto Rico, after my parents, Juan Isidro Peña and Maritza Milagros Peña, had emigrated from the Dominican Republic. On my 18th birthday, I moved to New York to study at Parsons School of Design. That is where my adventure began.

In New York, my focus was fashion design and I worked with many designers, most notably Donna Karen and Josie Natori. Following my work with these talented women, I was inspired to launch a clothing line called “epe”. It was during this period, when I was collaborating with a number of different designers on various projects, that I started looking not only to the future from my inspiration and this led me on the path to launching the Erika Peña line.

The inspiration of my jewelry line comes from my move from Manhattan to Puerto Rico. I wanted to convey this experience through my jewelry, which is a bit rough and edgy like New York, and a bit light and airy like the Caribbean. In 2006, I joined forces with my sister Bielka Peña-Bevillard with her financial background, and my designer background we are building our clientele and expanding the Erika Peña Empire!