All posts in: Lisa Vian Hunter

17 Mar 2012

The Fashion Star

photo cred | US Weekly

Since I missed the premiere of The Fashion Star earlier this week, I decided to spend my St. Patrick’s Day night in watching the rerun. I generally don’t like to adopt new shows in the middle of a season especially since I’ve got a full lineup already, but c’mon, it’s Nicole Richie! I also wasn’t sure if NBC could bring back another fashion series to their network after parting with Project Runway, but The Fashion Star definitely has a fighting chance.

How the show works:

Aspiring fashion designers compete weekly to produce one featured item in three different looks. They are mentored by Jessica Simpson, John Varvatos, and Nicole Richie, but at the end of the day it is up to the three buyers from Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and H&M to decide what is wearable for consumers. If the buyers decide to make an offer on a designer’s item, they will then make it available for sale that same night after the show airs. It’s actually a pretty cool concept and interesting to hear the insight from the buyers on trying to make an item marketable. When contestants don’t receive an offer, they are at risk of being eliminated and out of the running for the grand prize.

Every season, I love seeing the different runway looks, but I understand that what’s on the runway for the most part is a trend and will be filtered down to become more wearable for retailers. *Remember that scene from The Devil Wears Prada when Miranda schools Andy on her ordinary blue sweater? It’s incredibly refreshing to see a look that is bypassing all of the bells and whistles and being much more straight to the point. I think I’m also becoming a fast fan of the show because it is very business-minded and hello! we’ve got two Seattle contestants!

Lisa Vian Hunter and Lizzie Parker – we’re rooting for you!