Competitor Kate Pankoke is getting a second chance on Project Runway.
“There will be some high fashion coming down the runway, and some huge dramatic moments coming,” Pankoke tells the Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive interview.
Project Runway, which just entered its twelfth season, is introducing new twists and changes into the show. Part of these changes includes “Runway Redemption”, in which viewers voted on which of the three former competitors would return. Pankoke received the most votes, beating out Valerie Mayen from season eight and Lawrence Coleman from season six.
Pankoke, a twenty-four-year-old from Chicago, originally appeared on season eleven, which held the show’s first “teams” edition. She was sent home during a challenge in which designers had to create a prom dress out of duct tape.
“I am so grateful to the fans and the press for really getting behind me and making this possible. This “Runway Redemption” idea has never happened before, and I think because of how I was eliminated, and the fact that Tim Gunn saved [eventual winner] Michelle Lesniak Franklin last season, the producers were really looking to the fans. And that makes a difference. They implemented all these new things — the anonymous runway, fans can vote during the episode on whether the judges got it right. With how vocal they were about my elimination and during other seasons, I thank them for that because without them, I wouldn’t be back,” Pankoke tells the Hollywood Reporter.
Project Runway airs at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.