"Project Runway" returns tonight, but will it return to its former glory?

I don't mean to sound like a doubter, but "Project Runway" better make it work this season or I may have to say Auf Wiedersehen to the hit fashion reality show.

Last season -- which featured a move from Bravo to Lifetime, a transcontinental location change to L.A. and an overload of celebrity guest judges -- just didn't cut it. To paraphrase Papa Gunn, it greatly worried me.

But Season 7 returns to familiar grounds in New York and promises regular appearances from judges extraordinaire Michael Kors and Nee-nah Gah-cia, who were MIA for much of last season to the show's detriment. In fact, Garcia told TV Guide that the show is "back to normal" and has the best crop of aspiring designers in the show's history. Even Bluefly.com returns as a sponsor (YAY!).

I'm not ready to call it quits, but if tonight's premiere hints at being a repeat of last season's hot mess, then I'm out!

But ease your "Runway" fears with this clip of Tim Gunn's recent appearance on the 100th episode of "How I Met Your Mother" as Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) personal tailor:



Season 7 of "Project Runway" premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.

-- Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com