Bravo designs a 'Runway' substitute

NEW YORK - Generally speaking, a fashion show and a runway go hand in hand. But for TV audiences, they'll now be rivals.

Bravo is debuting The Fashion Show tomorrow to fill the void left after Project Runway bolted to rival Lifetime, which will televise Runway's sixth season this summer.

Bravo recruited designer Isaac Mizrahi, singer Kelly Rowland, and IMG Fashion vice president Fern Mallis, the force behind much of New York Fashion Week, for its new reality show.

The Fashion Show: Each week, a winning garment is to be manufactured and sold to the public via an online store; all the designers are professionals; and the winner at the end of the season will have his or her own line available at retail.

However, the similarities to the Heidi Klum-helmed show are striking. Few fashion personalities could rival the wit and openness of Michael Kors, but Mizrahi probably can. Rowland brings a celebrity element, and Mallis probably has had her share of front-row catwalk seats.

And there is, of course, the weekly challenge.

There's room for multiple fashion-themed reality shows because it's an industry that average Joes and Janes are mesmerized by and understand, says Mizrahi.

"As a judge, I am looking first for integrity. I can't tell yet about niches that people will fit into, but we have to train them to think properly and then think about the marketplace aspect. The difference with our show from other shows is that we have an audience that votes every week and they say some brutal things," Mizrahi says.