Season 1: Jay McCarroll
We'll never forget Jay McCarroll's incredible finale show, with each autumn-themed look color-coordinated to match a pair of headphones. Despite having never won a challenge, he was still a worthy winner.
He started a blog and stayed in the press for a while with a documentary, a feature film and a line sponsored by the Humane Society.
Season 2: Chloe Dao
Chloe Dao won an iconic season of Project Runway, up against Santino Rice and Daniel Vosovic, and while a lot of people were rooting for Daniel, you can't argue that Dao didn't deserve the win.
Now, she's still active, with a website and a boutique in Houston (and a line we're kind of dying over).
Season 3: Jeffrey Sebelia
Not a lot of fans were thrilled when Jeffrey took home the win after spending the whole season as the villain, making moms cry and making us question his decision-making skills every single time we saw his neck tattoo.
After a couple of failed lines and companies and a stint on Project Runway: All Stars, he now seems to be doing pretty well designing clothes for kids.
Season 4: Christian Siriano
The fiercest of them all. Christian was the obvious winner of season four, and has gone on to have the most success by far. His label is especially popular with celebrities (he dresses stars from Taylor Swift to Leslie Jones to Michelle Obama) and he also serves as a judge on Project Runway Junior and as a mentor for Season 17 of Project Runway.
Chances are even if you don't know Project Runway, you know the name Christian Siriano.
Season 5: Leanne Marshall
Leanne Marshall was known for the feminine waves she loved to incorporate into looks, and her finale show was that to a T.
Now, she puts that signature feminine stamp on all her clothes, but she's mostly known for her gorgeous wedding dresses.
Season 6: Irina Shabayeva
Irina Shabayeva's armor-inspired finale collection was truly badass, though she wasn't all that pleasant to watch during her season.
Since then, she competed on Project Runway: All Stars twice, and now she's doing lots of collections to benefit charities and is known for her bridal designs, too.
Season 7: Seth Aaron Henderson
Henderson not only won his season of Project Runway but also went on to win season three of Project Runway: All Stars, becoming the first designer to win both. He returned to compete on season 7 of All Stars in 2019 but was the second designer eliminated.
The reality star has become known for his sustainable designs as well as creating shoes with 3D printers!
Season 8: Gretchen Jones
No joke, we have still not forgiven Project Runway for crowning the boring bully Gretchen over Mondo Guerra in season 8. Mondo did go on to win the first season of All Stars, but we're still mad.
As of 2016, Gretchen had taken a step back from designing and decided to go back to school to get her MBA.
Season 9: Anya Ayoung-Chee
Regardless of her (serious) lack of sewing skills, beauty queen Anya was a fan favorite from the beginning, so it wasn't much of a shock when she took home the win. Maybe not the most fair of decisions by the judges when you compare her work to Viktor, Joshua or Kimberly, but the argument kind of comes down to whether you consider Project Runway to be a sewing competition or design competition.
Anyway, Anya is still designing. She has an online store and a lingerie line, and designs for Trinidad's carnival event. In 2019, she competed in Season 7 of Project Runway: All Stars.
Season 10: Dmitry Sholokhov
Dmitry Sholokhov won both season 10 of Project Runway and season 4 of All Stars but, to be honest, we mostly just remember his accent, and not his designs.
Now, he's clearly doing some very cool stuff, because we want almost every design he posts on Instagram. Also, in 2019, he competed on Project Runway: All Stars and was named the Fashion Designer Of The Year by Metropolitan Fashion Awards in Los Angeles.
Season 11: Michelle Lesniak Franklin
Franklin has strangely escaped our memory. Her season and her looks just weren't all that memorable to us...which is probably because that was the first "teams" edition of the series, making it hard for designers to stand out, or to be pleasant to watch.
Now, Michelle is still designing, and her clothes can be found on her website!
Season 12: Dom Streater
Streater's prints were just to die for, and her final collection was certainly worthy of that win.
Now, she's selling prints of her prints and appears to still be designing. You can buy those prints on her website.
Season 13: Sean Kelly
Possibly nothing has made us as happy as that time Sean created that rainbow dress for the rain runway, which changed from white to full of color as the water hit it. We would have given him the win for that look alone. Tim Gunn has even called Sean his favorite contestant, and we get it.
You can find his more recent stuff on his website.
Season 14: Ashley Nell Tipton
Tipton's win was notable because all her models were plus size, and she used the show as a platform to make totally cute, fashionable, wearable clothes for plus size women. JCPenney now sells her clothes and she created a wide-fit jewelry line as well.
Season 15: Erin Robertson
We cannot tell a lie: Erin should not have won season 15. She shouldn't have even made it to Fashion Week, but it was as if the judges decided she was going to win from the beginning, regardless of how her looks declined throughout the season.
However, based on her Instagram, Erin has been designing some incredibly cool things that make us a little more OK with her win.
Season 16: Kentaro Kameyama
In a season that celebrated body diversity like never before, Kameyama was crowned the Project Runway winner for the "unexpected emotion" that his collection showed during New York Fashion Week.
Since then, the 39-year-old was named the Fashion Design Chair at FCI Fashion School. He showed his work at New York Fashion Week 2019. He also launched The Brothers Project, a line featuring branded street wear. In addition to being a designer, the season 16 winner is also a classical pianist and composer.
Season 17: Jhoan "Sebastian" Grey
After Grey was named the winner of Project Runway, Nina Garcia called him "the personification of the American dream." Less than a year later, the Colombian-born designer already created a women's wear line that be found on his website.