Project Runway is officially back for Season 22, and it’s bringing some serious star power with it.
The biggest headline? America’s Next Top Model mastermind Tyra Banks is joining the show as a recurring judge.
Yes, the woman who gave us smizing, fashion meltdowns, and enough reality television moments to fill a museum is heading to the Project Runway…Runway. Honestly, it feels like a crossover event that should have happened years ago.
Tyra Banks Enters the Workroom
Banks is no stranger to the fashion competition world. Long before social media influencers became household names, she was teaching aspiring models how to walk, pose, and survive increasingly bizarre photoshoot concepts on America’s Next Top Model.
She also has previous Project Runway experience, having appeared as a guest judge during Season 21.
Now she’s back in a bigger capacity, joining an already stacked panel that includes returning host Heidi Klum, fashion editor Nina Garcia, celebrity stylist Law Roach, and Season 4 winner Christian Siriano, who returns as mentor.
That’s a lot of fashion expertise sitting at one judging table.
And let’s be honest, the combination of Klum, Roach, Garcia, and Banks feels like the reality television equivalent of assembling the Avengers.
The Tim Gunn Question
Of course, no discussion about Project Runway can avoid the giant, stylish elephant in the room. Where is Tim Gunn?
For 16 seasons, Gunn wasn’t just a mentor. He was the mentor. Calm, supportive, occasionally stern, and endlessly quotable, he became one of the most beloved figures in reality television.
Designers panicked. Tim appeared.
Garments fell apart. Tim appeared.
Someone tried making a dress entirely out of questionable materials. Tim appeared and somehow made everyone feel better.
His signature phrase, “Make it work,” became part of pop culture history.
Beyond Project Runway, Gunn built an entire career around mentoring and fashion education through projects like Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, Under the Gunn, several bestselling books, and Project Runway: Junior. Which makes one detail especially surprising. According to reports, Gunn was never even considered for the revival.
But there is also this clip as to why Tim Gunn did not continue with the production. He stood up for the ownership of the intellectual property of the designers and, well, it didn’t end they way it should have.
While Christian Siriano has done an excellent job as mentor and brings his own unique energy to the role, many viewers still associate Project Runway with Tim Gunn’s warmth, wisdom, and perfectly timed reality checks.
RELATED: Project Runway Reboot: Make It Work—Without Tim Gunn?
Tyra’s Complicated Reality TV Moment
Banks’ return to the reality competition world comes during an interesting chapter of her career.
According to People, she filed a lawsuit against Netflix over its docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. Banks claims that only about 16 minutes of her lengthy interview appeared in the final production. She alleges that her comments were taken out of context and reassembled to support what she describes as a false and defamatory narrative.
The docuseries generated significant discussion because it revisited many controversial moments from America’s Next Top Model.
One of its most talked about elements was Banks herself acknowledging that the show often pushed contestants beyond reasonable limits. She reflected on how audience demand for bigger drama and more shocking television created pressure for each season to escalate the intensity.
It was a surprisingly candid look back at one of reality TV’s most influential franchises.
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Will Season 22 Deliver?
With Heidi Klum back at the helm, Christian Siriano mentoring designers, Law Roach delivering fashion expertise, Nina Garcia keeping standards high, and Tyra Banks dropping in as a recurring judge, Season 22 certainly has the ingredients for an entertaining return.
Guess who’s back! pic.twitter.com/nQuVUfEWCh
— LAW ROACH (@LUXURYLAW) June 18, 2026
The show also arrives at a moment when fashion competition series feel more relevant than ever. Between red carpet culture, social media fashion criticism, and celebrity stylists becoming stars in their own right, audiences are more fashion obsessed than ever before.
Still, for many fans, the biggest challenge may not be the designers’ sewing skills.
It may be adjusting to a Project Runway world without Tim Gunn.
One thing is certain: Season 22 is already giving us plenty to talk about before the first model even steps onto the runway.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to stare dramatically at a bolt of fabric and whisper, “Make it work.”