In late 2018, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn announced that they were leaving Project Runway after being on the show for 16 seasons. They were jumping ship to Amazon’s ‘Making the Cut’. The two stated that the idea to exit ‘Project Runway’ had been on their minds for quite some time and they felt it was the right time to move on. At the Television Critics Association press tour, the supermodel explained that she alongside Gunn and Sara Rea, the Project Runway’s executive producer, had been uncomfortable in the show for a while. This was due to the very many limitations they faced in the show such as extremely tight budgets and sponsors who always dictated the challenges that competitors would undertake. Klum further stated that their imaginations were much bigger than what they were actually allowed to do.
According to The Wrap, the lifelong collaborators said that they weren’t a show with a big budget and therefore they had to make do with what they had.In ‘Making the Cut’ they get to visit various destinations such as Tokyo and Paris and show designers different things that impact more creativity into their outfits. According to Gold Derby, Klum felt that she and her collaborators got their turning point when ‘Project Runway’ moved from Lifetime back to Bravo, which was its original network, for the 17th cycle. She told her partners that they had two choices: they could either go back to the same old routine or they could take that as an opportunity to jump ship.
She recalled calling Tim Gunn and informing him about her intention to move. She had then asked him whether he wanted to make a move with her and see where the tide would take them. Gunn had joked about them jumping ship together. He then added that Project Runway had gotten excessively regimented. While it was profitable and reliable, it had grown stale for them and even their audience. He quipped that when they were filming the show’s first season, they didn’t know it would be the massive success it is today and added that he thought of it as a cocktail party that was indeed good but had zero chances of happening again. It had come as a shock for Gunn and the rest when they were called back for a second season and informed that since the formula they had used for season one had worked out, they would use it again for the second season.
And true enough, they ended up using the same rigid formula for season two and all other seasons that came after it – that is until Gunn and Klum got fed up with it. The two said that they found themselves unable to break away from the same regimen due to the fear embedded in the production. The fear wasn’t from them as they were the ones who had been thinking creatively at the time about what they wanted to do. The production felt that if they left the formula the show had already been accustomed to, it would spell doom for all involved. The duo hopes to keep viewers hooked onto their new show with exciting and constant surprises. Gunn, however, acknowledged the fact that ‘Making the Cut’ is the brainchild of ‘Project Runway’ and wouldn’t be in existence were it not for ‘Project Runway’.
He referred to ‘Making the Cut’ as the undergrad program to ‘Project Runway’s’ Ph.D. program. The two returned to the fashion genre as hosts and executive producers of ‘Making the Cut’ which airs on Amazon for 10 episodes. The show focuses on globe-trotting and finding the best designers. Apart from them, Project Runway also features model Karlie Kloss, designers Brendan Maxwell, Christen Siriano and Editor Elaine Weltroth. The show premiered its 17th season on Bravo in 2019. It also premiered in Amazon prime on March 27th, 2019 with two weekly episodes for 5 weeks
What is the Show ‘Making the Cut’ All About?
It is an unscripted reality show that brings together a group of international designers and entrepreneurs who are on a race to make their brands the next big thing. The show revolves around a set of challenges that takes participants to various cities around the world including Paris, New York, and Tokyo. The contestants must prove to the judges that not only are their designing skills excellent, but they can also run every aspect of a fashion business, in order to walk away with the grand prize of $1 million dollars as an investment to their brand. Klum sent out the casting calls for interested designers via her Instagram in January 2019. The show’s executive producers include Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Jennifer Love, and Sara Rea. It hails from SKR Productions. It also features a team of fashion experts who join Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum as judges. These include former supermodel Naomi Campbell, Chiara Ferragni, Carine Roitfeld, Joseph Altuzarra, and Nicole Richie.
The great news is that viewers get to purchase every episode’s winning looks at the Making the Cut store on Amazon. Klum expressed her excitement over the fact that the designers get to actually win on all fronts as their designs will be made purchasable thus encouraging them to work even harder, a move which was never possible before. According to Variety, the winning designs will go for $100 or less and the clothing will be made in different sizes to cater for all body sizes and shapes. The sizing issue has long been a problem in the fashion industry and it seems ‘Making the Cut’ fixes this problem. Gunn noted that they needed to make the show fit into the real world since, in reality, everyone has a different size. A key difference between ‘Project Runway’ and ‘Making the Cut’ has to be the seamstress addition. Every designer is assigned a seamstress who provides the designer with the basics of cloth making.
Follow Us
