Who Are the Season 21 Designers Returning in Project Runway Season 22 Episode 7?

Project Runway Season 22 is bringing previous contestants back for Episode 7, but there is one important catch for anyone searching for the returning names before the broadcast: Freeform has not officially revealed them yet. The network’s synopsis for “Battle of the Seasons” confirms that the current designers will join forces to take on returning competitors from Season 21 in the show’s classic unconventional materials challenge. It deliberately stops at “returning competitors” without identifying who those designers are. Episode 7 airs on Freeform on August 20 and becomes available on Hulu and Disney+ the following day. Until the episode or an official last-minute preview identifies the alumni, any supposed complete returnee list should be treated cautiously.

What has Freeform confirmed about the Season 21 returnees?

The crossover between seasons is completely confirmed. Freeform calls Episode 7 “Battle of the Seasons” and says the Season 22 designers will work together to take on returning Season 21 competitors. It will also use the unconventional materials format, one of Project Runway’s longest-running challenge traditions. The official synopsis promises “familiar faces,” but the episode page does not name a single returning designer.

That wording is useful because it confirms more than a one-person cameo. “Competitors” is plural, and the challenge is framed as Season 22 designers facing people from Season 21 rather than simply having an alumnus appear as a guest. What it does not tell us is the size of the returning group, how the teams will be structured or whether all of the alumni will actually be eligible for a competitive result. Those details should come from the episode itself rather than inference.

Who competed on Project Runway Season 21?

Season 21 had 12 contestants, creating a clear pool of designers from which Episode 7’s returning competitors can come. The cast consisted of Antonio Estrada, Jesus Estrada, Yuchen Han, Belania Daley, Caycee Black, Angelo Rosa, Joan Madison, Alex Foxworth, Madeline Malenfant, Ethan Mundt, Veejay Floresca and Joseph McRae. Good Morning America published that full lineup ahead of the 2025 season.

Veejay Floresca eventually won Season 21, while Ethan Mundt and Jesus Estrada reached the final alongside her. Other memorable contestants exited at different points throughout the season, including Joseph, whose original run ended considerably earlier. The group also contained prior Project Runway experience even before Season 21, including returning franchise competitors Jesus Estrada and Caycee Black.

That does not mean all 12 are returning in Episode 7. It is simply the complete Season 21 cast from which the episode’s alumni must come unless Project Runway uses the term more broadly than its synopsis indicates.

Related: Project Runway Gave Bryan a Huge Power in Episode 6, and His Jude Pick Wasn’t Random

Joseph McRae is already in Season 22

Joseph creates an unusual wrinkle in the “Battle of the Seasons” premise because he is technically a Season 21 designer who is already competing full-time in Season 22. Freeform specifically promoted him as the returning Season 21 designer when announcing this year’s 22-person cast. He therefore does not need Episode 7 to make his comeback.

Joseph’s presence could make the team structure especially interesting. He has direct experience competing alongside the Season 21 alumni while simultaneously being part of the current Season 22 field. That gives the challenge a natural personal connection even before any other names are revealed. Whether the episode explicitly uses that history as part of its format remains unknown until it airs.

Is Season 21 winner Veejay Floresca returning in Episode 7?

Veejay Floresca is not currently confirmed as one of the Episode 7 competitors. This distinction is particularly important because Freeform has separately confirmed that the Season 21 winner will appear during Season 22. The network’s general Season 22 press material says Veejay appears in an episode alongside talent from Hulu’s “Get Real” programming.

That announcement cannot safely be converted into proof that Veejay competes in “Battle of the Seasons.” A season-long cameo notice and an Episode 7 competition appearance are two different things, and Freeform’s Episode 7 synopsis still omits the actual returnee names. Veejay would obviously be a notable choice because she won the previous season, but that is reasoning, not confirmation. A publication should not put her name in the headline as a confirmed returnee until the episode or the network does so.

Why is Episode 7 using an unconventional materials challenge?

The format makes sense for a season-versus-season confrontation because unconventional materials remove some of the advantages designers might have when working inside their usual specialties. Tailoring, eveningwear or bridal experience can still help, but everyone has to solve the same fundamental problem: turning something that is not traditional fabric into fashion. Season 21 itself used an unconventional materials challenge involving school-related materials, making the returning contestants particularly familiar with this type of assignment.

Season 22 has already experimented with unconventional construction as well. Episode 5 required the designers to transform paper towels into runway looks, although some fabric was available within that challenge. Episode 7 therefore is not simply testing whether the current cast can sew strange materials. It is setting that skill against designers who survived the same kind of pressure during the previous season.

When will the returning Project Runway designers be revealed?

Unless Freeform releases another preview beforehand, the definitive lineup should become clear when “Battle of the Seasons” airs on August 20. Episodes after the Season 22 premiere air Thursdays on Freeform, with next-day streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

For now, the returning Season 21 designers have not been officially named, and that uncertainty is part of the Episode 7 promotion rather than missing information that can reliably be filled with guesses. The confirmed story is already substantial: Season 22’s remaining competitors will face alumni from last year in an unconventional materials showdown, while Joseph McRae occupies the unusual position of belonging to both seasons. Once the actual alumni walk into the workroom, their identities can replace the speculation immediately. Publishing the distinction now keeps the article accurate while positioning it to be updated as soon as the reveal happens.