We’ve prepared a rundown of all of the new female cast members for season 8 of Project Runway. After watching videos and looking over all sorts of assets, we have three very definite favorites! (Ivy Higa,Valerie Mayen and Gretchen Jones.)

Name: Ivy Higa
Age: 30
Where is she from: New York, NY
Profession: Fashion designer

Our quick observation: She seems like a perfectionist.  And in our world, that isn’t a bad thing. Would you look at how perfect her eyebrows are tweezed?! We love her confidence and like a lot of what she had to show.

Name: Peach Carr
Age: 50
Where is she from: Lake Forest, IL
Profession: Freelance designer

Our quick observation: She seems like the preppy Martha Stewart type who has some edge. You have to see the full cast picture and view her shoes to understand. Her name is funny, though. “Peach Car!” Funny and personable, we like her personality. Take a look at her mullet wear! She reminds us of Kate Spade.

Name: April Johnston
Age: 21
Where is she from: Savannah, GA
Profession: College graduate

Our quick observation: She has one of those faces that keeps morphing into making us think she’s different faces we know like Samaire Armstrong or Sophia Myles, etc. …She likes fur coats? ARE THEY FAUX OR NOT? She reminds us of Taylor from The Rachel Zoe Project – kind of jaded, but someone with great style choices. Oddly, not such great style designs.

Name: Valerie Mayen
Age: 29
Where is she from: Cleveland, OH
Profession: Fashion designer, educator, illustrator

Our quick observation: We think she might be a favorite of ours. She’s got our favorite outfit pick from the cast picture. Note her perfect cat eyeliner. She’s girly and swingdances! She’s even made a fanny pack that’s fashionable! She gets the “cutest casting call” moment in our book. Will she get along with Gretchen?

Name: McKell Maddox
Age: 29
Where is she from: Layton, UT
Profession: Fashion designer

Our quick observation: Why are so many awesome people from Utah, of all places? Anyway, her name is amazing – love that double M. That’s how they decided on Marilyn Monroe’s name (the Mmm, Mmm sound.) We’re not a fan of the hair, but she scores major points for that vintage-style owl necklace. She seems very nice and very happy. We should want to punch her, but we’d rather give her a hug. Honestly, she’s a little too eclectic and we’re not sure we understand her point of view.

Name: Gretchen Jones
Age: 28
Where is she from: Portland, OR
Profession: Designer/director of MothLove

Our quick observation: We love her style, minus her choice in shoes. When we watched her video we got a very cool 90’s vibe from her (Think: The Cranberries, My So-Called Life.) Her voice sounding so sweet was a total surprise. She reminds us of the actress from Point Pleasant and Harper’s Island… whatwashername… Ah, Cameron Richardson. Just like Zoe Glassner said, we’d wear everything she showed during her casting.

Name: Sarah Trost
Age: 27
Where is she from: Toluca Lake, CA
Profession: Costume designer

Our quick observation: She doesn’t have a style we love, but you never know. We might end up loving what she does. She seems smart (watch the video) but we can definitely feel the “costume” vibe beating its drum a little too hard. Because the judges all hated her, it seems like she was cast for the wrong reasons. Let’s see what she does with her spot on the show.

Name: Kristin Haskins Simms
Age: 39
Where is she from: Philadelphia, PA
Profession: Apparel designer, freelance graphic designer and adjunct professor in graphic design

Our quick observation: We dig boho style. She does lots of jackets and lots of water-resistant (looking) pieces. Seems a little too casual/multi-use to be as attractive as they are innovative. Still, we need someone who will be non-stress for the series!

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Project Runway Season 8 returns on Thursday, July 29 at 9 pm on Lifetime.

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