Project Runway 3 will debut this summer; final three may show at fall Fashion Week

Breaking tradition, the third season of Project Runway is scheduled to debut this summer, reality blurred has confirmed with Bravo.

With the early start, that means the final three will probably show their collections at Olympus Fashion Week this fall, not next spring. The previous two seasons have debuted in December, concluding shortly after Fashion Week in February.

The show will debut July 12, according to TVShowsOnDVD.com, which notes that it “begins airing on Bravo just a couple of weeks after the Season 2 DVD release.” That’s according to an ad in the April 24 edition of Video Business magazine, which says the season two DVD will be released “just in time for the TV premiere of season 3, airing July 12 on Bravo.”

A Bravo spokesperson just confirmed to me that the show will return this summer, but could not confirm the specific date nor the finalists’ participation in fall Fashion Week. A July start, however, would give the show about two months until Olympus Fashion Week in the fall, about the same lead time given for the past two seasons.

Casting for the third season did begin earlier than it did last year, with open calls held immediately after the second season concluded.