Project Runway Season 5 was weird. Honestly, if you go back and watch it now on streaming, you can feel the tension through the screen, but it’s not just the usual workroom catfights. This was the final season to air on Bravo before the messy, multi-year legal battle moved the show to Lifetime, and that "lame duck" energy is everywhere. It’s arguably the last time the show felt truly gritty and New York-centric before the production values got all shiny and the challenges started feeling like glorified commercials.
Leanne Marshall won. You remember her—the girl who did the waves? She basically pioneered that architectural, petaled fabric look that every prom dress designer tried to copy for the next three years. But Season 5 wasn't just about the winner. It was about the shift in how we consume reality TV.
The Transition That Changed Everything for Project Runway Season 5
When people talk about the "Golden Age" of reality competition shows, they usually stop at Season 4 (the Christian Siriano year). By the time Project Runway Season 5 rolled around in 2008, the formula was starting to show some cracks, but the talent was still incredibly high. We had Kenley Collins playing the villain role with her vintage aesthetic and "I don't care what Heidi says" attitude. We had Korto Momolu, who, frankly, probably should have won if we’re judging by sheer versatility and cultural impact.
The show was filmed at Parsons, as usual, but there was this looming cloud. The Weinstein Company had already inked the deal to move the show to Lifetime, and NBCUniversal was suing them. You can almost see Tim Gunn’s concern deepening with every "make it work." The stakes felt higher because everyone knew the New York era was wrapping up.
It’s easy to forget that this season had some of the most practical—and most ridiculous—challenges in the show's history. Remember the Saturn car challenge? Or the one where they had to design for Brooke Shields for Lipstick Jungle? It was the peak of mid-2000s product placement. It was shameless. It was glorious.
The Leanne Marshall vs. Korto Momolu Debate
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the finale. Leanne Marshall’s collection was a masterclass in cohesion. It was all turquoise, ivory, and sand, inspired by waves. It was technically perfect. However, if you talk to fashion historians or just people who were obsessed with the forums back then, a lot of people felt Korto Momolu got robbed.
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Korto brought color. She brought African influence that hadn't really been seen on a mainstream stage like that before. She brought soul.
The judges—Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia—went with the "safe" architectural choice. Leanne’s win solidified a specific type of Project Runway aesthetic: the "structural feminine" look. It’s a look that defined the late 2000s.
Then you have Kenley.
Kenley Collins was the outlier. She did the 1950s thing before Mad Men made it cool for everyone else. She was defiant. She argued with the judges. She told Nina Garcia she was wrong. It was the kind of television we don't get anymore because everyone is too afraid of their "edit" or losing brand deals. In Season 5, the designers still felt like actual people, not influencers-in-waiting.
Why the Cast Was the Last "Real" One
Think about the personalities. You had Joe Faris, the "denim guy" from Detroit. You had Suede, who referred to himself in the third person, which was annoying but undeniably memorable. You had Blayne Walsh and his "licious" catchphrase. It was quirky without being forced.
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- Stella Zotis: The "Leatha" queen. She only worked in leather. She was a quintessential New York character that the show stopped casting in later years in favor of more polished, "marketable" designers.
- Terri Stevens: A creative powerhouse who fell victim to a team challenge (the dreaded "drag queen" episode).
- Jerell Scott: Who managed to make incredibly intricate pieces that somehow always felt just a little bit "too much" for the judges, yet he stayed in the top for most of the season.
The chemistry in the workroom during Project Runway Season 5 was chaotic because the talent levels were so lopsided. You had professionals like Keith Bryce and then you had people who seemed like they’d never sewn a zipper in their lives.
The Drag Queen Episode and Cultural Impact
We have to talk about "Good Queen Fun." This was Episode 6. The designers had to create outfits for drag queens. Today, after fifteen seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, this seems like a standard Tuesday. In 2008? It was groundbreaking for a mainstream cable show.
It also gave us one of the most awkward moments in the series: the designers trying to figure out how to pad a male body. It was a collision of two worlds that showed Project Runway’s power to normalize different facets of the creative industry. Plus, seeing the late Chris March (from Season 4) return as a guest judge was a nice touch of continuity.
But beneath the fun, there was a struggle. The designers were tired. The transition to the Bryant Park tents for the finale was the last time the show felt like it was part of the actual "official" New York Fashion Week schedule before it became its own separate entity.
How to Revisit the Season Today
If you’re looking to dive back into Project Runway Season 5, don't just watch the episodes. Look at the context. This was the year of the Great Recession. People were losing their homes, and here were these designers trying to make $100,000 to start a label in an economy that was crashing.
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When you watch Leanne’s final collection walk the runway, you’re seeing the last gasp of a certain kind of fashion industry. One where a "discovery" on a reality show could actually lead to a sustainable, high-end career without needing a million Instagram followers first.
Actionable Takeaways for Fashion Fans
If you're a student of fashion or just a fan of the show, here is how you should "study" Season 5:
- Analyze the Cohesion: Look at Leanne Marshall's final collection. Notice how she uses a single motif—the wave—and repeats it in different scales. That’s how you win this show.
- Study the "Villain" Edit: Watch Kenley Collins. Notice when she's actually being "difficult" and when she's just standing up for her design aesthetic. It’s a great lesson in how personality affects brand perception.
- Contrast with Modern Seasons: Compare the construction time and the materials. The budgets in Season 5 were relatively small compared to the "glam" eras that followed, forcing more creative problem-solving.
- Follow the Careers: Don't just stop at the finale. Leanne Marshall went on to have a massive bridal line. Korto Momolu is still designing and is a staple of the "All-Stars" circuit. Seeing where they landed proves that Season 5 was one of the most "productive" years for actual talent.
The reality is that Project Runway never quite regained its soul after this season. The move to Lifetime changed the editing style, the pacing, and eventually, the host and mentor. Season 5 remains a time capsule of a world where New York fashion felt accessible, high-stakes, and just a little bit messy.
Go back and watch the "Olympic Challenge" from Episode 4. It’s a perfect example of the show's peak: high pressure, weirdly specific constraints, and the beginning of the end for several designers who just couldn't handle the heat. It’s better than any modern "social media" challenge they’ve cooked up lately.
The biggest lesson from Season 5? Stick to your DNA. Leanne did waves. Korto did her heritage. Kenley did the 50s. The designers who tried to "play the game" or guess what Nina wanted were the ones who went home early. That’s as true today in any creative field as it was in 2008.