Last night saw the debut of Bravo's "The Fashion Show," the unimaginatively titled replacement for "Project Runway," which has fled the network for Lifetime in one of the stupidest moves in recent memory. Bravo has a lot riding on this show, since its last few reality competitions - "Top Design," "Step it Up and Dance," even "Make Me a Supermodel" - haven't exactly been big hits. After watching "Fashion"'s first episode, I'm optimistic. It's not perfect, and I have concerns with the tone of the show and the personalities attached to it. But I found it entertaining and, if nothing else, a worthy fill-in until "PR" comes back this summer.

"Fashion Show" differs only marginally from "Project Runway," which is entirely intentional. It's actually a cross between "PR" and "Top Chef." Fifteen aspiring fashion designers compete, first in a short Harper's Bazaar-branded challenge, then in a final elimination challenge. The looks from the elim challenge are presented in an actual fashion show in front of the judges (co-hosts Kelly Rowland and Isaac Mizrahi, plus former Fashion Week head Fern Mallis and a weekly guest) and a live audience comprised of fashion luminaries and insiders. A version of the week's winning fashion will retail on Bravo's website, and rather than competing for a shot to show a collection at Fashion Week, the four finalists will each be allowed to create a complete collection, which will then also be available for sale. The winner also gets a sizable cash prize.

Those tweaks are smart for two reasons: 1) removing the Fashion Week element means that the show isn't tied to any third-party production schedule; and 2) one of the problems previous "PR" winners have had is that while they make their big splash on the show, it can sometimes be difficult for them to translate that into actual industry success and sales. Season 1 winner Jay McCarroll, for example, is hugely talented, but has struggled to capitalize on the exposure from the show.

I found both challenges last night to be interesting and practical. As much as I enjoy "PR"'s more out-there competitions (create a garment using only items from a supermarket!), in recent years they've become increasingly inane (create a garment using materials salvaged from a product-placed Saturn car -- gross). Last night's short challenge tasked the designers with creating their version of the little black dress out of a plain black t-shirt. The three challenge winners - Merlin, Johnny, and Keith - had to then choose teams, and each team had to create five separate looks based around one "must-have" item. The results were pretty dreadful all around, with just a couple interesting outfits out of the whole bunch. But I appreciated that the challenges were much more realistic.

It was difficult to get a read on most of the contestants in the premiere episode, but a few personalities stood out, for better or worse. Former stripper designer Reco (no, seriously - he paid his way through school by designing high-end costumes for strippers) annoyed me instantly, but he seems to have the goods to back up his braggadocio, and it appears he can sew like the wind. I just wish he'd shut up a little bit. Daniella is a 20something recent fashion school grad, and so of course thinks she knows everything, even though her design looked cheap and shitty. She still somehow managed to look sympathetic when compared to her team captain Merlin, who at various times in the premiere looked like a gay Asian pimp or a Technicolor nomad. He is insane, a gigantic asshole, and a liar, and thus a great reality-TV villain in the making. Haven is apparently incapable of sewing (...probably not a great show to go on, then), James-Paul seems like a real contender (he won the challenge with his avant-garde dress allegedly inspired by a Rubik's Cube), and despite being really cute, menswear designer Jonny could not get it together enough to construct what seemed to be a fairly simple women's design. So he got cut.

Although most of the designers failed miserably in the first big challenge, I'm not all that concerned about the talent level. After sitting through the trash pile that was most of the contestants on "Runway" Season 5, I'm fairly sure things can't get any worse. (However, how hilarious was Team Keith's must-have item, a quadruple-layered stretch tube dress that was so tight they could barely squeeze their models into them? Some of those girls looked like sausages awkwardly meandering about the runway. HA!) My concern for the show is that it takes itself a little too seriously. If the first episode is any indication, this series is all business - whether or not the designers can succeed in the fashion world. "Project Runway," on the other hand, was about fulfilling the dreams of great undiscovered American designers. There's nothing wrong with "Fashion Show"'s brass-tacks approach, but I will miss the whimsy and humor. These people seem pretty ruthless. The darker tone will take some getting used to.

I'm also mildly concerned about the hosting situation. Isaac Mizrahi is great. Seriously, he was made for a competition like this. He's a seasoned veteran, and smart and funny, and while he can nurturing, he can also be blunt, as he was with most of the designers this episode. He is gold. But co-host Kelly Rowland made almost no impact in the premiere. She's a gorgeous woman and you can tell she loves fashion, but she took a backseat to Mizrahi throughout the proceedings. Why is she here? What is she bringing to the table? She seemed to hold back her opinions until she checked with Isaac first. Her confidence may grow in time, but right now, she just seems completely useless. With "Project Runway," there's no question that Heidi Klum is running the show. With "Fashion Show," I think it's Mizrahi, but I don't think that was the intention. We'll have to see how she develops as a host in the coming weeks.