Here's the REAL Reason Tim Gunn Is No Longer on 'Project Runway'
Project Runway has begun its 17th season on Bravo.
Iconic mentor Tim Gunn, however, is no longer part of the show.
Tim left the show to partner with his Project Runway cohost, Heidi Klum, on a new Amazon Prime Video series.
Tim Gunn is almost synonymous with Project Runway - but when the reality show returned to Bravo for its 17th season earlier this month, he wasn't part of it.
Prior to appearing on the hit competition show, Tim spent many years in the world of academia, working as associate dean and then Fashion Department Chair at Parsons School of Design. He's been credited with completely overhauling the curriculum there and making it the prestigious program it is today. But it wasn't until he joined the cast of Project Runway that he really found his way into the public eye. So now, after 16 successful seasons, fans can't help but wonder: Why is Tim Gunn not on Project Runway?!
The good news: Tim is most definitely not done with show business. In fact, he and his Project Runway costar Heidi Klum left the show to take on a whole new fashion television project: a brand new reality series on Amazon Prime Video.
"I am grateful to Project Runway for putting me on a path I never, in my wildest dreams, thought my career would take me!" Tim said in a September 2018 statement. "I'm excited for [our fans] to see what's next, as I partner with Amazon and Heidi Klum on our next great 'fashion' adventure."
Although details on Tim and Heidi's new streaming project are still limited, People reports that the upcoming show will be a "fresh take" on fashion competition TV and Amazon Fashion will provide an accompanying "shoppable experience" for viewers.
With all of this said, the show must go on for Project Runway, and Bravo will "make it work" (as Tim would say) in their absence: In season 17, former contestant/fashion designer Christian Siriano has taken Tim's place as the show's mentor, and model Karlie Kloss has replaced Heidi as host. Judges Elaine Welteroth, Brandon Maxwell, and Nina Garcia also remain with the cast.
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