Teen fashionistas on 'Project Runway Junior' make it work.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Gunn said he was apprehensive about participating in a bite-size version of "Project Runway" featuring teen designers as young as 13.

"I thought," he recalled in a recent interview, "will I have to soft-pedal my critiques? Is it all going to be watered down? Are they going to be emotional wrecks and very fragile?"

Gunn was pleasantly surprised by the freshman class on "Project Runway Junior," which premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Lifetime. And yes, he DOES employ his signature catchphrase: "Make it work!"

The mentor, former educator at the Parsons design school and adult wrangler on the long-running "Project Runway" called the new show's young contestants lovable, sweet to each other and respectful of the process swirling around them.

That's saying a lot, considering the age range — 13 to 17 — among the 12 contestants from around the country.

Gunn saw bits of his younger self in them all, as did his co-host, model Hannah Davis, and two of the three judges, Christian Siriano and Kelly Osbourne. Aya Kanai, the executive fashion editor at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines, rounds out the judges' crew.


By Leanne Italie.
Full story at Yahoo News.