Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn spent years as the power couple of the fashion world on Project Runway. When it was announced they were leaving the series everyone wondered what would happen to them, and it became even crazier when they said they would launch a new show on Amazon. That show has finally arrived, and it’s time to see if Making the Cut can capture the magic of the original series.
From almost the moment Making the Cut debuts, it is abundantly clear that Amazon has poured an insane amount of money into this new venture. The first episode opens in New York City, but within moments everyone is headed to Paris, France. One designer even comments on the insanity of this as he is from Belgium and it normally takes him only three hours to get to the French capital, but instead he had to go through New York.
Other signs the budget is now way higher? Other than the mass move to Tokyo, Japan a few episodes later, the ultimate winner of the season will walk away with $1 million dollars and a fashion deal with Amazon. Additionally, the winner of each episode will have an item up for sale on the e-commerce juggernaut the same day the episode airs.
The basic structure of a competition fashion series has been changed slightly in a few key areas, and we have to say all of them work. First and foremost the contestants are already established in some form or another and have more than likely had a show at a fashion week around the world. Additionally, it is made very clear this is a design challenge this time, and that means that each night the designers leave their creations for seamstresses to work on. While you see the designers sewing at times, that is a lot less frustration about construction.
And possibly our favorite change of them all is that you get to hear the judges discussing the creations as they’re on the walkway. No more flipping back to it, you get to hear Naomi Campbell – one of the judges this season – being pretty blunt about a lot of designs as they walk the runway.
Things that are gone that we don’t miss? Clunky product placements. Amazon paid for this series, and you hear the name of the site a lot, but it flows a lot better than trying to squeeze in the name of an accessory wall or saying HP will be printing something for the designers.
If you’ve missed Klum and Gunn on Project Runway, never fear, you can now get your fix of the dynamic duo again. You even get to see them go on some little adventures in each episode – which we admit are a bit cringey here or there – but overall they haven’t missed a step and the new show just works.
Making the Cut debuts on March 27, and two new episodes will debut each Friday.
