One day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. Heidi Klum is back (sans that phrase) being all “judgy” (pardon my pun) and Tim Gunn is back in a supporting role (the puns just continue, don’t they) in Amazon Prime’s new fashion reality show Making the Cut, a 10-episode series that drops two episodes every Friday for the next five weeks.
But how “new” is it? And how is it different from Project Runway?
The prize certainly is different: a million dollars! (Plus the typical “you appear in a fashion magazine and we’ll help launch your career”). But the major difference between Runway and Making the Cut is that this time Heidi and Tim are not only finding the next big fashion designer – they are helping to start the next fashion brand.
Instead of novice designers with fashion dreams, they’ve drafted a cast of 12 intermediate designers who already have had some semblance of success across the world and just need a larger platform and bigger opportunity to become the next fashion superstar.
In theory.
Watching the first week (two episodes) of the show, it’s clear there is already a winner. (And it’s not the winner who won the first two challenges). It’s Paris. After years of watching the streets of New York inspire the designers in Project Runway and seeing trips to Mood to get the correct fabrics for their outfits, it’s absolutely clear that it’s La Ville Lumiere (The City of Lights) that is the star.
The fashion show in the first episode was in the shadows (literally under) the Eiffel Tower at dusk and the second episode was in the Musee des Artistes at the Louvre.
In the first episode, designers were told to mingle in the streets and find inspiration. We see the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Metro. We see a couple getting married and shoppers entering world-class stores. It’s stunning and beautiful for designers and viewers alike. In the second episode, Tim and Heidi visit the Moulin Rouge and Heidi even gets to dance (although they show a rehearsal and not a real performance, of course. The magic of television).
But Paris can’t quite make up for the show itself. Strangely, there’s something a bit lacking when you already have professional, or semi-professional, designers. Part of what makes Project Runway work well is the suspense of whether the designers finish. The last minute designing and sewing and rushing to complete the task creates the suspense. People in the fashion industry say that’s not realistic–since real designers have seamstresses who work for them. So Making the Cut takes a lot of the sewing out of the competitions. Each evening, professional seamstresses complete all the sewing necessary for the contestants according to their instructions and how they’ve pinned the fabric.
Still, that takes a bit of the charm out of the show. It would be a bit like having a baker just explain how to mix and bake the gingerbread house recipe and have someone else do the mixing for them on The Great British Bake Off because professional pastry chefs have to invent a creative dish, but they don’t have to actually mix their ingredients.
Ironically, it still ended up being the downfall of a contestant. Even though Heidi told them at the beginning, “This is not a sewing competition. Building a professional brand…doesn’t involving sewing so we have professional seamstresses for you…”, a contestant was sent home precisely for not having sewing skills when the judges decided her work was thrown together at the last minute and a judge remarked, “You can’t really sew, can you so you’re in over your head.” Hmmmm…
But the show is about building a brand. These contestants (mostly) have vision and passion. Most have a sense of identity and more confidence. That works for them and against them. What remains to be seen is how they adapt when the challenges become more about tasks they are less familiar with and they are asked to step out of their comfort zones.
The show started with a challenge where they were tasked with making clothes that helped tell their story in Episode 1 and a challenge where they were asked to make something that fits the “haute couture” aesthetic in Episode 2, which is often defined as high-end clothing made from unusual fabrics that look and seem quite fancy.
For each week’s challenge, designers have to make two looks: a “runway” fashion look that is more experimental and one that is wearable and more for the everyday consumer. The “everyday” look will immediately be available on Amazon.com (of course, because it’s an Amazon Prime show! How convenient!)
Like in the original Project Runway, Tim Gunn serves as counselor and cheerleader. He walks around the design studio and encourages and gives early feedback. Sometimes this is in the form of fashion advice (“I don’t think you want pants with that outfit–why don’t you make it a dress?”) and sometimes it’s more emotional, like in the second episode when he literally had to chase down a contestant on the streets of Paris when she became so overwhelmed she practically gave up. This is the same Gunn we’ve watched for years–likeable, knowledgeable, and genuinely fond of the contestants. When he is standing with the designers as they are watching their own designs go down the runway, you truly believe he is excited for them.
Heidi Klum is the all-star host we know and love. While Project Runway has found a competent replacement (it’s now hosted by Karlie Kloss), no one is more in control of a fashion TV show than Klum.
And then there’s the judges. Is more better? Amazon has decided so. Besides Klum, there are four additional judges: fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra, former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, actress and fashion designer Nicole Richie, and fashion icon Naomi Campbell. This indeed is an all-star panel–and they have been tremendously insightful, but it does seem like overkill. We don’t really need this many voices.
What do we need? Better pacing. Better editing. For all the budget that is going into this (and there must be a grand budget–the beautiful shots of Paris, the shutting down of museums to shoot the runway scenes, the incredible work room with state-of-the-art supplies)–it’s actually a poorly constructed show. It appears the designers are “not” thrown together in one apartment (which is too bad–less drama). They have more time to complete their designs (which is too bad–less drama) and they are better at what they do (which is too bad–less drama). Yes, they are still designers and are subject to all the self-doubt and bad decisions we’d expect in a fashion show. Some are a bit more arrogant and refuse to change their aesthetic and others are more helpful and are trying to help their fellow designers. But it’s like the new American Idol. When you watch the fashion show at the end and it’s mostly just good and a little very good, what fun is that? It’s the disastrous appearance now and then that makes every reality show’s final few minutes fun. This will have less of that.
But for a show that promised to be about building a brand, as an audience we expect more Shark Tank. We expect more Apprentice. When the show was announced as a hybrid fashion-branding show, we assumed there would be more marketing and more business involvement. That would truly have made this an evolved show.
If the contestants would have to design looks–but then also create power points discussing who their target audience would be–and how they would reach their consumer–and what stars they’d reach out to–what a fantastic twist. Instead, it’s just another Project Runway steeped in product placement for Amazon.
Apparently “building a brand” means letting the show itself sell your stuff on Amazon. And by “your stuff” it really means the judges’ stuff. One would be surprised to find that it’s hard to actually spot the “winning” items on Amazon, as promised. In fact, when you go to the “Making the Cut” section of Amazon, you actually find hundreds of items inspired by Tim… inspired by Heidi… or from the judges’ fashion labels (no wonder they agreed to be on the show!). I randomly clicked on a “tote” that was only $995 (Altuzarra Coral Tote if any of you would like to gift me one) or clicked on a House of Harlow Vito Dress for just $248. But the more you look for the winning looks, the more you end up finding the judges’ collections. Interesting.
If you like fashion reality, it does make for entertaining TV. And it is absolutely worth watching for Paris. Because when we are stuck in our houses in coronavirus-infested America, we can all dream of being in romantic Paris. But instead of being fashion forward, this show actually feels like “Project Runway Paris….Now go buy things on Amazon.” And that’s very unfortunate.
Making the Cut airs on Amazon Prime TV. Two new episodes drop every Friday through April 24. You can watch it online here: https://www.amazon.com/Making-the-Cut/dp/B084ZHRMNN
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