0
Making The Cut is an instantly polarising experience. Your mind wants to allow itself the chance to enjoy the show.
Upon first viewing, you have a hope that it will be The Apprentice for the fashion world and you might gain some insight into improving your wardrobe choices. These hopes are quickly dashed.
With news emerging this week, that Amazon has become an undisputed online shopping monolith during the various UK lockdowns; they now earn revenues of £36,000 per minute or a mind-blowing £290 per man, woman and child living in Britain.
This is Amazon’s first foray into reality TV… what’s next a space programme? Oh wait, Jeff, you haven’t. Elon Musk’s Tesla tapping toes must be trembling.
Is Amazon Making The Cut?.. most definitely. Championing independent designers, artists and business, certainly not. All the talk is about ‘finding the next global brand’ and being able to create a brand with the competitors. It has a highly corporate feel.
Also, for some unknown reason the show features travel segments with the presenters Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, which have nothing to do with the competition at hand. Why God, why!?
Pre-pandemic, when the fashion world would prefer to have us all aspire to globe trotting and popping up in different cities, with the sole purpose of adding likes to influencers accounts, this would seem innocuous enough.
But did nobody on Amazon’s PR team think to question the validity of this when the show was released in March 2020 – in the face of a global health crisis?
Or were they too busy rubbing their hands at the prospect of the world being forced to shop online for the foreseeable future.
Let’s turn to the show’s merits. The production values are solid, visually it’s stunning, with beautiful photography and settings like Paris, New York and Tokyo. Naomi Campbell and Nicole Richie are judges, so they have definitely splashed the cash.
But as a competition, it doesn’t seem to add up. There doesn’t seem to be a points based way of attributing victory.
The judges just seem to make their minds up as they go along, with the contestants asked to plead to be spared dismissal, which creates some ‘totes awks’ moments and unnecessary grimacing from Heidi. Naomi’s face does not move.
Among the contestants, there is indubitably some talent. Most notably being the uber focussed Esther Perbandt, from Berlin, Germany and the highly versatile Sander Bos, who hails from Hasselt, Belgium.
The weekly prize on the show is for the designer’s creations to be featured on sale on the Making The Cut Amazon store, which the contestants always appear delighted about.
Viewers… If that wasn’t enough to jolt you from wondering where host Tim gets his suits dry cleaned… then surely the vapid musings of Heidi Klum will. In the jet to Tokyo episode, the new addition to the judging panel – hailed as one of fashion’s leading influencers Chiara Ferragni.
As if her credentials weren’t enough to excite the gathered throng in the Japanese capital, Heidi Klum whipped up the crowd further: “She’s got like 15 Million followers! Oh. My. God!”
Yes, it’s a numbers game with Amazon alright… Making The Cut was designed to sell Amazon Prime memberships and clothing. Those are their goals. That’s where they’re going.
Are you a fan of Amazon?.. Or feel there’s more to add to this article – please leave your comments below.
You can also find us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/purple_revolver
https://www.facebook.com/PurpleRevolver
Tweets by PurpleRevolver