Project Runway Season 8 Cast : Photos & Bios of 17 Designers

Lifetime has revealed the identities of the 17 contestants who will star in the eighth season of the fashion design reality series 'Project Runway.'

The aspiring designers will be competing for an editorial feature in an upcoming issue of Marie Claire magazine, a $50,000 HP and Intel technology suite to help them run a business and a cash prize of $100,000 to launch their own fashion line.

Project Runway host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia will all return for the season 8, which will premiere Thursday, July 29 at 9PM ET/PT.

Project Runway Season 8 Designers (photos below):

- A.J. Thouvenot, a 26-year-old from St. Louis, MO who currently resides in Charles, MO

- Andy South, a 23-year-old from Waipahu, HI, who currently resides in Honolulu, HI

- April Johnston, a 21-year-old from Mooresville, NC, who currently resides in Savannah, GA

- Casanova, a 33-year-old from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, who currently resides in Astoria, NY

- Christopher Collins, a 30-year-old from Encinitas, CA, who currently resides in San Francisco, CA

- Gretchen Jones, a 28-year-old from Fairplay, CO, who currently resides in Portland, OR

- Ivy Higa, a 30-year-old from Seoul, South Korea/Kaihula-Kona, HI, who currently resides in New York, NY

- Jason Troisi, a 33-year-old from Greenwich, CT, who currently resides in Greenwich, CT

- Kristin Haskins-Simms, a 38-year-old from Philadelphia, PA, who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA

- McKell Maddox, a 29-year-old from Brigham City, UT, who currently resides in Layton, UT

- Michael Costello, a 27-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, who currently resides in Palm Desert, CA

- Michael Drummond, a 31-year-old from St. Louis, MO, who currently resides in St. Louis, MO

- Mondo Guerra, a 32-year-old from Denver, CO, who currently resides in Denver, CO

- Nicholas D'Aurizio, a 31-year-old from Palisades Park, NJ, who currently resides in New York, NY

- Peach Carr, a 50-year-old from Winfield, IL, who currently resides in Lake Forest, IL

- Sarah Trost, a 27-year-old from Frazier Park, CA, who currently resides in Toluca Lake, CA

- Valerie Mayen, a 28-year-old from Corpus Christi, TX, who currently resides in Cleveland, OH