‘Making the Cut’: Is it the next best design show?

Ever since the early 2010s when “fashion” meant wearing chokers and low-rise jeans, shows like “Project Runway” took over the television, putting forth an artistic vision of what fashion means. After leaving the show due to ties with the infamous Harvey Weinstein, the iconic former hosts Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum recently made their comeback in their newest Amazon prime exclusive creation, “Making the Cut.” And I’m here for it. 

Watching 20-somethings buzz around sketch pads, yards of tulle and plush mannequins, I remembered why I worshipped Project Runway designers at nine years old. Every episode makes me want to go to a fabric store and start creating my own look. 

Similar to Project Runway, Making the Cut brings together designers from across the globe to show their creations in front of established judges like Carie Rotfield and Naomi Campbell. Each week, designers are given assignments to show off their design aesthetic and prove they are worthy of creating a collection sold on Amazon as well as receiving a one million dollar prize. 

Besides having some of the most influential fashion hosts and judges in the industry, the show presents many elements that have not been seen before. From the funny skits in between designing, the magnitude of the runway shows and the suspense of who Heidi will tell at the end of each episode “you are not making the cut,” this show is definitely worth watching.  

The designers are each assigned a seamstress to complete the sewing on their pieces — something that wasn’t provided in “Project Runway.” This way, the designer can focus solely on the creativity and layout of their looks rather than the actual construction. This was one of my favorite parts of the show — it put the focus on imagination and silhouette instead of technical skills.

The fast pace of the competition, along with the heightened grand prize this season, gave a sense of importance to each individual piece the designers created that showcased their creativity. 

The sheer talent of the artists forced me to take this show seriously. Designs like Sander’s week four form-fitting pencil dress and Ji’s week two sporty white mini dress brought a new level of creativity to my screen that Project Runway lacked. 

Each episode, the designers are given a challenge to create a look based on certain regulations and style of clothing set in place by Klum and Gunn — from a showstopping haute couture look to an everyday casual outfit. 

The vast variety of ages and backgrounds of the contestants extended into the work itself. I found that the more masculine designers produced simpler, dark pieces that resembled what I might see at a black tie event. While the younger, spunkier crowd offered what you would see in society today going along with more of the trends. This variance in styles allows for more diverse looks to be created, which can make for a difficult elimination decision — given that the designs are all so different from each other. 

After the introduction of the designers in the first episode, I’d already decided the grand prize had to go to either Megan Smith — a Kansas City local with a feminine and flowy aesthetic — or Sander Bos — the humorous designer with clear artistry and inventiveness. 

And of course, I’d already decided that Esther Perbandt needed to go, because of her black unisex designs that, in my opinion, weren’t at the same level of creativity compared to the other designers. The judges left me shocked when they picked her black-on-black looks as the winners for the first two challenges. Ji’s on-the-go casual outfit and Sander’s avant-garde jumpsuit should have taken her top rank in weeks one and two.  

Each new task given to the contestants and the overall ridiculously short time limit to make their looks provides a fast-paced, competitive feel. This way, the designers are forced to think completely out of the box. 

The stress of piecing together a runway-ready fit in under 7 hours brings out the crazy in the strung out designers. Under duress to finish his caped dress, Troy stole Sabato’s sewing machine. When she realized the brown and hot pink fabric wouldn’t fit together, Martha broke into a complete nervous breakdown. While I do feel bad that the designers can feel stressed in this environment, it adds a factor of entertainment to the viewer.

The drama and suspense was to die for. The couture clothing made me want to grab my laptop and online shop. And while Making the Cut met my expectations, I don’t see myself staying up to binge it all night or counting down the days for a reboot. The similar formatting to the classic “Project Runway” with fresh perspective on today’s fashion designing was exactly what I needed — and I mean, I didn’t have anything else to do.

Whether you’re just looking to pass time or have run out of quarantine projects and need some inspiration, this show will definitely make the cut for you.