Indulging in Sewing and Fashion Design TV

I live to watch obnoxious people create exquisite fashion; and currently I’m wallowing in a slew of fashion-design and sewing reality shows on TV. I am in hog heaven. Here are the shows, in no particular order:

Project Runway, Season 18 on Bravo every Thursday at 8pm Central time.

PR

The original!  I’ve been watching PR since Season 1, Episode 1.  There have been 17 winners, the 18th to be announced shortly after I upload this post.  Project Runway is the show that made millions of young people take to sewing!  Project RUnway wrote the book on this format. The premise has been to encourage and lift designers who can’t quite get that boost otherwise.  Well, Christian Siriano, PR winner of Season 4 is the only one who seems to have played his cards right and made it into the big leagues. In addition to creative director of his own design house, Christian is now the mentor for PR contestants, a position formerly occupied by Tim Gunn in Seasons 1 through 16. The final prize is tons of money, as well as mentorship by the CFDA.

Next In Fashion Season 1 is a Netflix original. 

Next in Fashion

This show a dead ringer for Project Runway.  The hosts are Alexa Chung and Tan France, and the prizes are huge – cash and otherwise; don’t want to be a spoiler here but so there.  Some critics sing praises of Next In Fashion while panning Project Runway.  Puh-lease….

Great British Sewing Bee, Seasons 1 – 5 on YouTube

GBSB

This show is like a soothing cup of tea. It is the only one of the genre where the drama is in the sewing.  Contestants are all amateur sewers, which makes people like me identify with each one of them. They genuinely support each other and actually seem to show guilt when one gets eliminated. (What??)  Like I said, the drama is in the making of successfully sewn clothing or watching the path to disastrous sewing projects.  A very kind YouTube channel owner called HappyCat has uploaded all GBSB episodes so far. I hear Season 6 is airing now on BBC2. Someone needs to confirm that, but what difference does it make when we can’t watch it.  Bah.

Making the Cut, Season 1 on Amazon Prime

Making the Cut

New show with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn on Amazon Prime. Judging from the preview this is also a dead ringer for Project Runway (well, Tim and Heidi…..) but the premise is larger, more luxurious and more global; the final prize is waaaay larger: one million dollars, anyone?  Season 1 drops on March 27 and I can hardly wait.

When this post goes live, I will be on my way to vote on Super Tuesday.  #Vote

Samina

6 thoughts on “Indulging in Sewing and Fashion Design TV”

  1. Hi Samina, wish we had easier access to some of those shows here in the UK! Although they were recruiting for the Sewing Bee last year there seems to be no news of series 6, and the BBC site doesn’t have any episodes scheduled as yet. Su

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  2. Samina, I am a huge fan of GBSB because it’s the antithesis of PR. Too much sniping and backstabbing on PR for me.

    Recently I discovered that several series of “It’s Sew Easy” are available on Amazon Prime.

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    1. Oooh! That’s great for “It’s Sew Easy” !! My local PBS channel airs it every Saturday here, but I’m glad its available on Amazon Prime so others can watch it. Its instructional sewing. The shows I’ve listed above are competitions — maybe the hidden competitor in me finds it exciting. LOL!

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  3. Thank you for this post! I missed season 5 of GBSB, looking forward to watching it. I didn’t know about Making the Cut; plan on watching! I have watched Project Runway for years, and will be seeing it tonight. I don’t get Netflix, so that ones’s out.. I also love the photo of the old tv.

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  4. GBSB series 6 is at the semi-finals stage next week here in the UK! I do love Joe Lycett as the presenter, he has good rapport with both the sewers and judges and I feel this season has been a step up in the challenges in some ways. An interesting and diverse bunch of sewers but a great atmosphere of friendly support as always.
    Don’t be too jealous, I’ve been unable to get Project Runway for a number of years now but I’ve enjoyed all the others through the magic of the firestick during lockdown!

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