Names and faces

Designer Tim Gunn said he was apprehensive about participating in a bite- size version of Project Runway fea-turing teen designers as young as 13. “I thought,” he recalled, “will I have to soft- pedal my critiques? Is it all going to be watered down? Are they going to be emotional wrecks and very fragile?” Gunn, 62, was pleasantly surprised by the freshman class on Project Runway Junior, which premieres this week on Lifetime. And yes, Gunn does employ his signature catchphrase: “Make it work!” The mentor, a former educator at the Parsons School of Design and current adult wrangler on the long- running Project Runway, called the new show’s young contestants lovable, sweet to one another and respectful of the process swirling around them. That’s saying a lot, considering the age range — 13 to 17 — of the 12 contestants from around the country. Gunn saw bits of his younger self in them all, as did his co- host, model Hannah Davis, and two of the three judges, Christian Siriano and Kelly Osbourne. Aya Kanai, the executive fashion editor at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines, rounds out the judges’ crew. Gunn said those on the show represent loners in their peer group. “For the boys on the show, you know they were the picked upon, bullied, odd people out in their schools, and yeah, I was that kid,” he said. Gunn said he wasn’t able to came to terms with being responsible until his late teens. He saw none of that in the kids on the show. “Compared to the designers on a regular season of Runway, these teens … accept responsibility for their actions,” Gunn said. “There’s never any factor that comes into their interaction with the judges or with me about why this isn’t going as well as they had wanted it to go, versus regular Runway when there’s nothing but excuses.”

Comedian- actor Kevin Hart will host a Rihanna chari ty eve n t next month, where Lionel Richie will perform. The pop singer announced Monday that her second- annual Diamond Ball will be held Dec. 10 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. The black- tie event benefits Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, which promotes education and arts globally. The singer began the foundation in 2012. It is named after her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. Live Nation Chief Executive Officer Michael Rapino will receive the Diamond Honors Award at the event. Jimmy Kimmel hosted last year’s Diamond Ball, which raised more than $ 2 million. Guests included Brad Pitt, Kim Kardashian and Ne- Yo. Rihanna said in a statement that she “can’t wait to celebrate with the iconic Lionel Richie and incredibly talented Kevin Hart at this year’s Diamond Ball.”