Can Bravo Fashion Up Another "Project Runway"?

I'm crossing my fingers in hope. After Bravo lost the rights for Project Runway to Lifetime, they have announced that they are casting for a new reality show. They call the show The Fashion Show, and while the title has questionable originality issues, one can only hope that the show does well.

The new show's premise still has fashion designers but their prize is to have their designs sold in a retail store. This worries me, the use of "retail" points to lower end clothing. I'm hoping that we can still see insane inspiration challenges. The big finale hasn't been announced either, so I'm hoping that it's not a line of clothes I see at Macy's. Some Project Runway winners wouldn't survive doing retail. Christian, winner of season 4, clearly had high fashion taste and was praised by Victoria Beckham. I would hate to see him have to tailor his clothes for retail.

Project Runway has had a strong cast for judges and hosts. Michael Kors has brought his "jet-set American" opinions out and although some of his quips are grating, most of them are on the point. He understands that design is a business and loves seeing fresh faced designers because it invigorates him. After watching episodes of Stylista, I'm happy that they replaced Anne Slowey with Nina Garcia. She has a taste level and elegance to her. Slowey is rude and just wants to be on television. The backbone to Runway is Tim Gunn, whose taste level and design aesthetic is amazing. If I had to be criticized by one person, I would fully trust Tim Gunn's eye.

After several seasons of Runway, there are some things you just expect. The new show will have some big shoes to fill. If The Fashion Show can't get judges and hosts that are credible, Bravo would be better off spending more time on Top Chef or even that hair cutting show.