Word: runway
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
They feel that way now. At the start of Runway, Cutforth admits, "we were nervous that we could make people sewing into interesting television." Not only did they, but they did it without dumbing down the creative process. There's a scene in the first season in which eventual winner Jay McCarroll, stuck trying to draw up a design that is classic and tasteful while reflecting his flamboyant style, looks out the window and sees the burnished Art Deco crown of Manhattan's Chrysler Building, which he reinterprets as a dress. It's a better, more succinct illustration of creative...
...except for the contestants in reality TV's unlikeliest but most satisfying genre: shows about people who actually know how to do something. This week the fashion showdown Project Runway (Bravo, Wednesdays, 10 p.m. E.T.) returns for its third season, having smashed Bravo's ratings records by proving that you can spin a good yarn from threads. Elsewhere, designers, chefs, moviemakers--even preachers--are turning to reality TV to show their stuff. Think of these series as American Idol goes to trade school competitions not for neophyte performers looking to get famous but for professionals to advance their careers long...
...godparents of this Geek Idol genre are Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, a producing duo operating under the name Magical Elves, who created Runway and its culinary spin-off, Top Chef, and also produced Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's movie-director search Project Greenlight. The Elves' projects share one philosophy: "We feel that the creative process is inherently dramatic and interesting to watch," says Cutforth...
...become decidedly mainstream. Designers, stylists, boutiques and fashion magazines make up a booming new industry serving the growing percentage of Egyptian women who choose to dress the Islamic way. Foreign brands have begun to cash in on the trend, as well; among the unlikely co-sponsors of the runway show were Guess Jeans and the local distributor for the French luxury house Chopard...
...even blame the filmmakers for mounting a seemingly ludicrous defense of Runway and its ilk. They have Miranda say that what her rag proposes as ultra chic one year eventually trickles down to Wal-Mart, where , in knock-off form, it makes everyone a little happier. This struck me as a pretty desperate rationalization. But then I glanced around the theater where I happened to be catching an early morning show of The Devil Wears Prada. It was full of large women in blue jeans who were not present to enjoy Andrea's moral triumph over the temptations...