Dmitry Sholokhov Wins Project Runway Season 10

by UInterviewOctober 19, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Lifetime’s fashion reality hit, Project Runway, concluded its tenth season in stellar fashion (get it?). Down to four contestants in Christopher Palu, Melissa Fleis, Dmitry Sholokhov and Fabio Costa, the competition was fierce and went right down to the wire. But first, the final four had to respond to their criticism from the previous week, and some reacted better than others.

Christopher faced the harshest criticism, in which he needed to upgrade practically everything. He became stressed out and directed more of his energy to being negative than being a fashion designer. Meanwhile, the other contestants, with less on their plates, honed in on a particular issue and made concerted efforts to update their samples — Fabio skewed dressier, Dmitry younger and Melissa louder.

During the final show, Christopher faced a bit of a snag, literally, when he had to cut off the end of a dress so that his model would not trip over it. And Melissa’s model also had difficulty walking in her dress due to its tightness. But all in all, the four contestants put together decent presentations in front of incumbent judges Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, as well as celebrity guest judge Jennifer Hudson.

The first to go were Christopher and Melissa. Fabio followed shortly thereafter, which made Dmitry the official champion of season ten of Project Runway.

A native of Russia, Dmitry Sholokhov, 33, was originally a ballroom dancer and moved to New York when he was 18. In order to compete in Project Runway, he quit his job, and he had no Plan B if he didn’t win. Luckily, he ran away with first prize and was rewarded handsomely: $100,000 to make his own line, a Marie Claire fashion spread, a new car (2013 Lexus GS 350), $50,000 of technology gadgets, and a shot at designing for Lord & Taylor.

Project Runway fans should stay tuned, because the competition returns in less than a week with Project Runway: All Stars (Season 2), which airs Thursday, October 25, at 9 p.m. est. on Lifetime. —Hal Sundt