'Project Runway': More designers means more show for Season 8

If you’ve always felt that an hour of “Project Runway” a week is not enough, then you’re in luck.  At 9 p.m. Thursday, July 29, the series kicks off its eighth season featuring 17 designers – the most in series history. In the show’s expanded 90-minute format, the contestants will battle it out in New York to win the approval of host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia as well as celebrity judges, such as actress Selma Blair in the premiere episode.

And who are the lucky 17? Meet the "Project Runway, Season Eight" designers below the cut:

·         A.J. Thouvenot, 26: Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.; lives in St. Charles, Mo.

·         Andy South, 23: Hometown: Waipahu, Hawaii; lives in Honolulu.


·         April Johnston, 21: Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.; lives in Savannah, Ga.

·         Casanova, 33: Hometown: Fajardo, Puerto Rico; lives in Astoria, N.Y.

·         Christopher Collins, 30: Hometown: Encinitas, Calif.; lives in San Francisco   

·         Gretchen Jones, 28: Hometown: Fairplay, Colo.; lives in Portland, Ore.

·         Ivy Higa, 30: Hometown: Seoul; lives in New York City

·         Jason Troisi, 33: Hometown: Greenwich, Conn.

·         Kristin Haskins-Simms, 38: Hometown: Philadelphia

·         McKell Maddox, 29: Hometown: Brigham City, Utah; lives in Layton, Utah

·         Michael Costello, 27: Hometown: Los Angeles; lives in Palm Desert

·         Michael Drummond, 31: Hometown: St. Louis

·         Mondo Guerra, 32: Hometown: Denver

·         Nicolas D’Aurizio, 31: Hometown: Hackensack, N.J.; lives in New York City

·         Peach Carr, 50: Hometown: Winfield, Ill.; lives in Lake Forest, Ill.

·         Sarah Trost, 27: Hometown: Frazier Park; lives in Toluca Lake

·         Valerie Mayen, 28: Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas; lives in Cleveland, Ohio

— Claire Zulkey

Photo: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Photo credit: Barbara Nitke / Lifetime Television.