Is “Making the Cut” the Future of Shopping?

Making the Cut may not have expected the world-wide shutdown that the coronavirus pandemic has brought, but the show is certainly benefiting from the crisis. As fashion shows and red-carpet events are canceled and shops are closed, Making the Cut is providing a snapshot of the fashion industry’s future. 

A Winning Partnership

Tim and Heidi are back. 

Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, from Project Runway, have teamed up with Amazon, to create a new television show that modernizes fashion competitions in hopes to find the “next global fashion brand.” 

The competition streams weekly on Amazon Prime. The structure is your standard fashion competition: 12 talented designers hand-picked to complete weekly challenges, with at least one designer eliminated after each challenge. The contestants are flown around the world, inspired by diverse cultures, in hopes to win a grand prize of 1 million dollars to help establish themselves as a global brand. 

The twist – each week the contestants are tasked with creating at least one ‘assessible’ look. Leveraging Amazon’s reach in both streaming television and e-commerce, one contestant is deemed the week’s winner and their look is made immediately available for purchase online in Amazon’s Making the Cut store.

Turning Heads 

As the world evolves and becomes more and more digital-first, Making the Cut has revolutionized the television fashion competition. This idea of instant shoppable content also goes hand-in-hand with livestream shopping, a trend that has become increasingly popular among younger generations. 

How could this idea be translated to other industries? Perhaps this innovative partnership and ‘see it – get it’ philosophy could be a new business model in many industries. I’d be surprised if we don’t see other brands attempt to mimic this idea.

More than Fashion

Another aspect of the show that makes it unique is its focus on the fashion business and branding. Tim and Heidi frequently reference the importance of not only being able to design but having the ability to create a successful global brand. This includes understanding marketing and business principles. 

In order to be successful, the designers must be able to create a consistent brand that tells a story and understand how to get that product to their customers. For example, in this digital-first world, online marketing is critical. In one episode, the contestants are partnered with photographers and told to create a digital marketing campaign for a two-look collection they designed.  

Plenty of Critics 

If you were to look up Making the Cut, you’d find that its IMDb rating is only a 6 out of 10, and its Rotten Tomatoes score a 57%. Having to compete with the original Project Runway and Netflix’s new Next in Fashionhas proved difficult for Making the Cut. But what can you say – with innovation comes critique. 

Of course, it doesn’t help that the brilliance of the show – being able to shop the assessible look – has hit a few snags. With many of the shoppable looks marked “out of stock” on Amazon, it’s not clear where the issue lies. Perhaps the show didn’t anticipate a large quarantined audience or perhaps Amazon’s commitment to providing essential products to customers during the coronavirus pandemic has slowed distribution. Regardless, the fact that everything’s sold out indicates that the interest is there.  

Made the Cut?

No one knows what the next month will look like, let alone the next few years. And while it’s too soon to tell whether Tim and Heidi will be back for another season, the innovative ideas and brand partnerships in Making the Cut will inspire and revolutionize the intersection between shopping and television for years to come.