Just when I thought quarantine had gotten the best of me, and I’d exhausted every possible show I could stream, Netflix added a new series perfect for binging. “Next in Fashion” is a Project Runway-esque fashion competition where 18 designers around the world compete for $250,000 and a debut collection with a fashion retailer.
I knew immediately that I would enjoy the show when I saw that Tan France was a co-host with Alexa Chung. If you’re like me and have already seen every episode of “Queer Eye,” you’ll love to see Tan judge avant-garde fashion rather than giving a middle-aged man styling tips.
The first few rounds the designers worked in pairs — this was the first flaw I saw. At the end of each runway one pair would go home, which I thought was an unfair advantage given that some designer pairs already knew each other and some had never met in their lives.
Some designers got overpowered by their partners and didn’t get a say in the look and some partners fought for the whole 36 hours leaving them with looks that would put them at the bottom of the rankings.
Maybe I’m too used to watching “Project Runway,” but I was confused when a team would win a challenge and get no advantage or reward for winning. All they received was a few claps and then their moment was over. I wished they would’ve given them some sort of advantage to add some drama and incentive to the competition.
However, I loved how some designers became friends and would go out of their way to help each other, whether they had known each other before or not. Seeing them support each other by offering up their fabrics to competitors or offering a second set of eyes put a smile on my face — it was very different from cases on “Project Runway,” where the work room atmosphere seemed miserable.
Each runway show ended with Tan and Alexa judging with a few special guests and talking one-on-one with the designers. They did a really good job with bringing in judges that directly correlated to the challenge — for athletic wear they brought in a designer from Adidas and for the denim challenge they brought in Tommy Hilfiger. This gave designers a chance to learn from the critiques of an expert, whether they were skilled in that area or not.
Overall I thought the show was really well put together and perfect for a quarantine binge-watch. I will be awaiting the new season to further live out my fashion-envy.