Rating: 
November 13, 2007
PROJECT Runway" is a lot like "The Flintstones" - with both shows, you're guaranteed a gay old time.
Who will be the king of queens this time around? I couldn't get a read on that from watching a preview DVD of the premiere episode of Season Four, which starts tomorrow.
NYPOST VIDEO: Live From 'Project Runway' Preview Fashion Show
Click here for photos from the fashion show.
But there are plenty of contenders - colorful, flamboyant characters such as Christian Siriano of Annapolis, Md., a waif-like 21-year-old who sounds so much like an Olsen twin that if you close your eyes, you'll swear he's one of them; or Ricky Lizalde, 35, a lingerie designer hailing from Escondido, Calif., and Marion Lee, 39, a Dallas florist - both of whom favor jaunty little hats that will remind you of Damon Wayans in those old "Men in Films" sketches on his old show, "In Living Color."
They're just three of the 14 contestants - ranging in age from 21 to 46 - who are on hand this season to compete for a chance to make it big in the fashion industry, including a coveted opportunity to strut their stuff at this winter's fashion shows in Bryant Park.
What's the big difference between this year's group and the contestants from previous seasons? Judging by their current jobs and career history so far - as revealed in tomorrow's premiere - this year's participants all seem to have made a start in the fashion business already, an indication that "Project Runway" is no longer a competition for amateurs.
Professional or not, this new group shares at least one key characteristic with past contenders - acute egomania.
As usual, each of them believes he or she can out-design and out-sew everyone else, setting the stage for weeks and weeks of cat-fighting, back-stabbing and eye-rolling.
They're a camera-ready bunch, with nicknames a-plenty, including one woman named "Pistol" and another named "Sweet P." - the latter of whom sports more tattoos than a convict in an MSNBC prison documentary.
In the season opener, the contestants are challenged to create dresses from random pieces of fabric that the show's producers have displayed for them in small tents pitched in Bryant Park.
Square-jawed school marm Tim Gunn is on hand to coach the designers during the creation process.
And when they're finished, they endure the usual withering criticism from prune-faced judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, who have never looked more bored.
And yada yada yada, one of the contestants is sent packing for committing the unforgivable sin of poor stitching.
Oh well, you know what they say in the garment district - that's sew biz!
"Project Runway"
Season Four Premiere
Tomorrow night at 10 on Bravo
HBO's Tailgate Party
Ellen DeGeneres Comes To NYC
Glenn Close Does More 'Damage'
CBS News Writers Could Be Next To Strike
