If you watched NBC’s latest reality show last night, ‘Fashion Star’, it kinda felt like you were watching the awkward step child of “The Voice” meets “Project Runway” meets “Iron Chef”.
14 Designers compete each week creating designs that buyers from Saks, H&M and Macys offer to buy their stuff from them. Each designer is “mentored” by Nicole Richie, Jessica and John Varvatos who offer feedback but no say in the judging. The buyers bid on the competitors’ designs, with the winning clothes then available the day after an episode airs for people to purchase in stores or immediately the same evening via online. The ultimate winner gets a huge payday, $6 million in orders and show capsule collections at Macy’s, H&M and Saks Fifth Avenue stores. To say the least, it’s a lot and that’s just the competition. From acrobatic dancers trapezeing around the stage to even the confusing switch up of contestant Kara Laricks accessory filled collection (she didn’t show any clothes just neckties, which is kinda the premise of the show; to actually show clothes…). There were too many loopholes in the first episode that we can’t ignore. And we weren’t the only ones who noticed, David Hinckley of the NY Daily News thought the show’s logistics were too complex for its viewers and many people took to Twitter last night (including us) voicing our concerns from the cheesy setup to how exploitive the designers are on the show.
Yes, it’s fantabulous to show more of the buying/ branding side of the fashion industry, as the ‘Fashion Star’ demonstrates (which we do not get to see enough of on Lifetime’s ‘Project Runway’) but the designers’ look like they are pitted on NBC’s “The Voice” rather than a fashion competition. And again there are loopholes. The role of “mentors” such as Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos is confusing. Who is mentoring which designer? What are the mentors say in their collection? How are they used? It’s like NBC liked the thought of Tim Gunn and multiplied him by 3.
Although, we can’t knock the advantage ‘Fashion Star’ has on indie designers and their merge with mainstream retailers, the idea that you can purchase the winning designer’s new clothes either in store or online in mere hours of their win is sheer genius, what are the designers actually winning each week? A licensing fee? A cut from the sales? The actual amount the buyers are giving them? There is no clear definition on what the winner each week will win.
If we can give an A for effort, we will but the logistics are just too damn confusing and the setup up, part American Idol and part Ringling Brothers Circus, is just too much to comprise. We have a feeling this won’t be around long, but we digress.
Image via NBC
The post Review: Why NBC’s ‘Fashion Star’ Sucked appeared first on lowefactor.