Tim Gunn knows how to make it work. The silver-haired Chief Creative Officer for Liz Claiborne and supermodel Heidi Klum have led Lifetime’s hit reality series “Project Runway” for seven seasons, quickly rising as 2010’s number one most watched competitive show. Ever since it first premiered in 2004, many aspiring designers have traveled to New York City in hopes of becoming America’s next trendsetter. As audiences hold their breath, each contestant cuts and sews away under the watchful eyes of their witty mentor, who isn’t afraid to be brutally honest while cheering for America’s picks among judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. On Thursday, July 29th, season eight of “Project Runway” will make its grand debut, introducing 17 designers as they compete for $100,000 to start their own line. Just days before the premiere of “Project Runway,” we participated in a teleconference with Gunn, who shares some tidbits on what to expect this season, whether the ‘80s are making a comeback in fashion, and if he really “makes it work” off camera.

What can we expect to see more of in the new hour-and-a-half format?

Tim Gunn: Everyone's going to be very frustrated with me.  I don't know.  I haven't seen a cut of the show yet. I will say this though, based on seven seasons of experience, we have so much content that never reaches the air. It shouldn’t be an issue for the editors and the producers to fill that time. When I reflect upon season seven, we barely see the Q&A between the judges and the designers. You get a sound bite, when in fact the Q&A and the deliberation goes from four to six hours. If you just want to be a fly on the wall, it's very easy to fill in that time. I feel the same way about my critiques in the work room.  You would think that I check in with four designers, sometimes only three, when, in fact, I'm giving equal time to everybody.  So there's a lot of material that never reaches the air that now our 90 minute format conceivably can.

It sounds like it will be the same for you.

Tim Gunn: Taping season eight for me was no different than taping any previous season.  There's an additional beat in the season and that is a one-on-one camera interview with me about things that are happening and the outcomes.  I'm my candid, honest, truth-telling self and that means I don't know how much of that they're actually going to put in the show.

It gets frustrating when people don’t take your advice, but you always seem to remain cool. How do you do that?

Tim Gunn: Well, it comes through 29 years of teaching and knowing that with some degree of frequency, I'll leave the classroom just to give the students a little bit of breathing space. I figure that they're probably trash talking me. There's a designer this season who takes it upon him or herself, I don't want to reveal a gender, to walk around to the designers after I've done my critique to add comments of whether I gave each individual good or bad advice. I became frustrated by it because I didn’t want this person to be undermining what I say. When I'm leaving the work room, I declare, ‘Listen to your own voice.  You may have someone coming up to you suggesting that the individual knows what you should be doing with your work, but that individual's not responsible for your presentation on the runway. If you're recalibrating your thinking based on what this person's telling you, I would advise against it.’

Which has been your favorite season of 'Project Runway' so far?

Tim Gunn: I look at each season the way that I look at each semester of students I've had.  I grow very attached to them, and there are different emotions that I associate with each season just as I do with these semesters of students. I will say, though, I loved season three and the opportunity of going to Paris.  I thought that was wonderful for everyone, though Vincent Libretti was driving everyone crazy. It's interesting to have time to reflect upon the seasons and go back and look at them again because I do have the DVDs. I don't want you to think I'm totally obsessed and sitting in my apartment all day and night watching reruns of 'Project Runway,' but I do enjoy going back and reliving it.  What constantly blows me away is the level and quality of the work that they execute, especially after we are at season three.  Seasons one and two, there was a lot of dubious work that was poorly made, and that meant the runway deliberation was in some ways rather easy.  When the work is really all well made, it gets much harder.  You'll see that in season eight.  

If you could just use three different words to describe this season, what would you use?

Tim Gunn: ‘Hot’ because New York has never been hotter, and we've spent a lot of time outdoors.  ‘Emotional.’ I'm probably more emotional this season than I've ever been.  It has to do with how hard everyone's working and how - I'm welling up right now - lovely everyone is. ‘Frustrating’ and it goes back to the judging.

How do you feel this season's group compares to the previous ones?

Tim Gunn: It's a very interesting group and in terms of the chemistry among them, one that I've never really experienced in a prior season.  It's for this reason, they're very fragile.  They're fragile in terms of their emotional well being and ego. I always felt as though I was tiptoeing around glass that I didn't want to break while still delivering what I'm responsible for and what's good for them. I don't know of a prior season when I have felt such profound fondness for everyone, even one designer with whom I have a serious antipathy at the beginning of the season.  It dissipates, and we become pals later. We just wrapped this week, and it was very hard to say goodbye to them.

How would you describe the season eight cast dynamic and how they relate to each other?

Tim Gunn: They are very respectful and willing to help each other.  We have a couple of speed demons who are sewing prodigies and offer up their services to other designers. I kept thinking, 'Well, this dynamic's going to change.'  I mean the fewer designers there are, the more competitive they're going to feel with each other, and in fact, they've become closer. From where I sit as the mentor, it's very sweet and touching.  I hope our audience doesn't want a lot of blood spill because with a couple of exceptions, they're not going to see very much of that.  Though here is someone who reveals him- or herself - again, I don't want to give away gender, as being this big bossy boots. It will be interesting to see how people respond to that.

The season now has 17 designers, which is the most in the series' history.  Have you seen a significant difference in working with more contestants?  Are there certain challenges that come along with this increase?

Tim Gunn: For me, yes. Making the rounds of the work room takes forever. I end up being exhausted physically and mentally because it's a lot of work for me to really understand what each designer is attempting to achieve.  It requires a lot of brain searching and conjuring up former experiences. I can't make it around to all of them.  There isn't enough time.

Do you use your catch phrase ‘make it work’ in everyday life?

Tim Gunn: You know I do, but I've become very self-conscious about it.  I fear that people so expect it that I end up being just this predictable catch-phrase person.  I'm happy to say that this season of the show I only invoked the phrase when it was really necessary, and I was grateful that the producers weren't on top of me saying, "Go in there and say 'make it work.' I did it when it was appropriate, and there are moments that are truly 'make it work' moments.

Where did that phrase come from?  Is that something that you started saying while teaching?

Tim Gunn: Absolutely.  It came from my classrooms. I even remember the first time I used it.  This was the senior year class and the course I was teaching was Concept Development, and it works in tandem with a class in which the students actually execute their collection.  I had a student who was going to throw her entire collection away, literally and metaphorically, and start a new one.  I said, ‘We are presenting these collections in four weeks.  You're looking at five months of work, and you're saying you're going to get rid of it and start all over again? You're not. You're going to look at the situation at hand, offer up a diagnosis for what's wrong, and then a prescription for how to make it work.  You've got to make this work.  You're not going to start all over again.  Period.’ It's a very useful lesson.

We're seeing the return of big glasses from the ‘80s.  How will those affect the styles we see over the next year?

Tim Gunn: My issue with the ‘80s styling in general is you have to have some contemporary elements or it's going to look completely ‘80s retro, which for me isn't a good look.  I didn't enjoy the ‘80s fashion when we were going through it, let alone do I want to reflect upon it. Those glasses can look costumey, so you shouldn't do a head-to-toe ‘80s look.  You've got to bring in some current items, either through the apparel or accessories. I like the glasses, providing they're not too oversized and bug-eye-like.

Do you still keep in touch with past designers from previous seasons?

Tim Gunn: I do, as much as they want to keep in touch with me.  I'm very careful not to force myself upon anyone, but the designers do get back in touch with me either about professional advice or they just want to have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and I'm thrilled to see them.

Are you excited about Santino and Austin's new show?

Tim Gunn: I am excited about it.  I thought it was one of the oddest pairings I could ever imagine.  It's like Oscar Madison and Felix Unger, which probably will make for great television.  Santino and Austin are such different individuals with different work habits and different views of the world.  It should be fascinating to see.

Are there any breakout personalities in this season like Austin and Santino?

Tim Gunn: Oh yes.  Well, there's only one Santino, and I say the same about each individual designer. There are some people about whom the audience will think, 'Oh, they just put them on there for television.' Even I at the very beginning was a little jaded and like, ‘Oh come on.’  However, their talent is undisputable.

Tune into the season eight premiere of Project Runway on Thursday, July 29th at 9PM EST on Lifetime.