Fashion as popcult:'Project Runway'

Over the past year, Bravo's "Project Runway" has built from mild success to
top-five cable hit, defying logic by hitting its highest ratings in its
third season, just when most reality shows are starting to decline.
What's driving this growth seems to be an internet subculture that has

Obveeus...

Was it really the internet that grew the ratings or was it the airing of the
show on network television so that people learned it existed and followed it
back to Bravo? I think the latter had greater effect.

blossomed around "Runway," something Bravo has encouraged with extensive new
media support of the show, from blogs to text message updates from
contestants to web-exclusive video.

The result has been that "Runway" has become not just a TV show but a pop
culture phenomenon, its deep internet roots working to build the momentum
that's now driving viewership to record levels.

For the third straight week, "Runway" scored its best-ever ratings among
adults 25-54, averaging 2.47 million viewers and placing fourth on basic
cable for the week ended Sept. 10 in the demographic.

It also became the most-watched show among households in Bravo history,
averaging 2.88 million and ranking No. 7 on basic cable, according to
Nielsen ratings analyzed by Disney Networks. "Runway" airs at 10 p.m.
Wednesdays.

The show has been rising ever since its July premiere and has now surpassed
other Bravo hits like "Top Chef" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" as the
network's No. 1 show.

Why is it doing so well? Unusually passionate fans seem to be the main
reason. On the internet there are dozens of fan forums devoted to the show,
with different niches among them: Canadian fans, fans who participate in
designing challenges, and fans fiercely devoted to each contestant.

Bravo says that it has served more than 29 million page views and recorded
more than 2 million unique visitors for "Runway" areas on BravoTV.com since
July. Fashionista Tim Gunn writes a blog that's especially popular, and fans
often dissect it right alongside the latest outfits on the show.

Certainly too some of the show's build is also timing. Fashion Week takes
place in New York this week, and some "Project" contestants and former
contestants are participating. Messageboards are flooded with speculation on
and sightings of these "Project" alumni in a rare merging of real and TV
life.

Too, "Project" may have benefited from the relatively light broadcast
competition this summer. It airs in the same timeslot where ABC's ill-fated
"The One" was supposed to run, and it skews older than its toughest cable
competition, MTV's "Laguna Beach."