Project Runway Gossip

Irina Shabayeva stood before Heidi Klum & Co. Thursday night, waiting to hear if she would be named the winner of Project Runway's much-delayed sixth season.

She was.

Besting Althea Harper and Carol Hannah Whitfield for the title, Irina stayed classy, polished and capable of crafting wearable couture at the NYC extravaganza.

All three were impressive last night, but there could only be one winner.

It seemed like anyone's game, but the panel ultimately decided that Irina Shabayeva, despite her aversion to color in her sporty-glam line, played it the best.

The new Project Runway champion, Irina Shabayeva.

"I can't believe it!" the newest Project Runway winner exclaimed, jumping into consultant Tim Gunn's arms as he walked out to congratulate her at the end.

"I'm definitely proud of myself," she said, giving props to her opponents. "I think this deserves a pat on the back, because I had some stiff competition."

In the end, it was Irina's surprisingly edgy, nearly all-black collection that won her the $100,000, a spread in Marie Claire and a Paris vacation.

What do you think? Should Irina Shabayeva have won?

Heidi Klum has time worry about having more kids. For now, the super model is focused on this season's edition of Project Runway. The breathtaking jude talked about it with EW.

"They're under a lot of pressure ... you can see week after week the bags under the eyes are getting darker and they're getting snippier," Klum said.Klum wouldn't know anything about that. It's not like her and Elle Macpherson are fighting over the use of a nickname.

While Klum and the designer Tim Gunn love seeing what happens when they're not around the Project Runway set, each truly wish to see at least one contestant make it big outside the realm of reality TV.

"I'm really looking forward to having one of our designers really have a breakthrough, that's really what I'm like praying for ... they have to use the opportunity and bring it to the next level ... we show the world who they are and now it's up to them," Klum added.

In the meantime, she'll continue to look beautiful and be charitable. Not a bad life.