Financial Times Europe - 04.04.2020 - 05.04.2020

4 April/5 April 2020 ★ FT Weekend 5

widelyfollowed episode, a streetwear

challenge, Chung came under fire for

telling black designers that their work

was “not her cup of tea”. Guest judge

Kerby Jean-Raymond, of Pyer Moss,

walks offset as France and Chung

pushed for the elimination of Kiki Kitty

and Farai Simoyi, two black women who

have designed streetwearfor decades.

Amazon’sMaking theCut,which

debuted on March 27, strikes a more

similartonetoProjectRunway—albeit

witha muchbiggerbudget. When

ProjectRunway,which Gunn and Klum

hostedfor 16 seasons, changed cable

networks in 2018, the two starsdecided

to jump ship, choosing Amazon as their

new home, where they were offered

morefreedom — and money.

Amazon’s deep pockets are evident in

every aspect of the show. The prize pot

of $1m is quadruple that of its rivals’.

The veryfirst episodefeatures a lavish

runway show for contestants, set

against the Eiffel Tower in Paris’s night

sky—alevelofextravagance thatProject

Runwaycould not have managed.

Both Amazon and Netflix are trying to

catapultthesedesigners into realcom-

mercial success — a feat thatProjectRun-

way, apartfrom Siriano, hasfailed to

achieve. As part of Netflix’s prize, the

winner, designer Minju Kim, is selling

her clothes on Net-a-Porter.

Amazon has taken this a step further.

As with most things JeffBezos,Making

theCutgoes beyond simply a TV show —

itlookstoenvelopusfurther into the

Amazonmachine.Primememberscan

watch the show on Amazon.com, and

thenbuy the winning pieces andhave

them shipped home for free.

But behind the glamour, all this begs

the question: does it make sensefor

AmazonandNetflixtomakethese

shows at all? There is almost definitely

not enough demand to justify threen

near-identical series; such is then

nature of the current streaming wars.n

But it ultimatelydoes not matter as

much how many people watch thesem

programmes; streaming companiesp

are not beholden to the same busi-a

ness model of selling advertisingn

based on ratings. Rather, they careb

about giving their subscribers fresha

content.c

In the current environment“every-

body is just throwing stuff against theb

wall, hoping to see how it will work,”w

saays Cyma Zarghami, the former head

of Nickelodeon.o

Netflix has barrelledintoreal-

itty TV in recent months, with dat-

inng shows such asTheCircleand

LoveisBlindL .Fashionwas another

loogical step, and unscripted TV is

much cheaper to produce.m

For Amazon, which makes

most of its $280bn in annualm

revenues from online retail, there

laavish push into reality TV may

help buy its way into the properh

faashion business. Luxury fash-

ioon has much higher margins

thhan the plain socks and

underwear that Amazonu

hawks through its online store.h

We don’t know yet if either of theseWedo

newshowswillachievewhatProject

Runwayhasfailed to do consistently:

launch the nextgreatfashion label. And

wemayneverknowhow many people

even watched these programmes,

because streamingcompanies rarely

revealviewershipdata.

Nonetheless ithelpedme pass the

timeduringabizarre moment inhis-

tory. The same can be saidfor millions

ofother people, who are beingtethered

evenmoretothe companies serving

bingeableprogramming.

For Amazon and Netflix, that is prob-

ably enough.

Elizabeth, 70, has been getting her grey roots

coloured at a local salonfor the past 20 years.

“It really makes a difference to how Ifeel, it’s

alift,” she says. But when she began self-

isolating two weeks ago, she was faced with

going grey or braving the world of home hair

dye. With hairdressers and barbershops among

the “non-essentialbusinesses” the government

has ordered to close,she is now one of

thousands who will be learning to touch up

their hair at homeforthefirst time.

While a bad hair day might not top the list of

critical concerns right now, an inch or two of

glaring grey roots can be demoralising. “I don’t

want to trivialise in a time ofcrisis,” says

hairdresser Josh Wood. “But often peoplefeel

that ifthey can keep themselves together,

everything stays together.”

Wood,founder ofthe Josh Wood Colour

Atelier in west London, launched his own range

of hair colour in 2018. He’s seen a spike in sales

since the UKgovernment emphasised the

importance ofsocial distancing on March 16:

demandfor the brand’s hair-colour products

were six times higher than the previous week.

Dyeing your own hair is not without its risks,

and tales ofmisfortune abound. However,I

have many friends who successfully colour

their own greys. “The first thing you need to do

is identify whether you can actually get the

result you are lookingfor,” Wood advises.

“Highlights or balayage [whereby dye is

painted onfreehand rather than usingfoils, to

create a subtle blendingeffect] are very

difficult because they are technique-driven.”

Covering orblending greyhair on theother

hand, is “fairly standard and somethingyou

would be able to manage”, he says.

Dyeing one’s own hair has become much

easier over the past decade. Today’s at-home

products are gentler to hair, and deposit colour

more naturallyfor a less wig-like look.

The explosion ofdigital tutorials also makes

social-distance styling easier. Wood’s website

has easy-to-follow demonstration videos, and

customers can chat with a stylist to help

choose the right shade. In the US, personalised

colour start-up Color & Co offers video

consultations with stylists, while eSalon invites

customers to send in a photo to createa

customised colour.

If you’re still nervous about permanent

colour, there’s a smorgasbord oftemporary

solutions, from instant root touch-ups (try

Color Wow Root Cover Up) tofull-head dye

such as Christophe Robin’s TemporaryColor

Gel,which lastsfive to seven washes and isa

good option for men who have never

attempted dyeing before.

Dyeing isn’t the only option for boosting

hair’s appearance. Tired-looking shades can be

extended and refreshed with glosses (such as

Josh Wood’s Shade Shot Gloss,

joshwoodcolour.com) and hydrating

treatments. “I’m sure mostpeople have a hair

mask at the back of the bathroom cabinet that

they’ve never used,” adds Wood.

Still feeling trepidatious? Remember, you can

always wear a hat on Zoom.

Carola Long

Style

C

hristian Siriano, the Ameri-

can designer whose career

waslaunchedbyreality

showProject Runway,and

who now serves as the

show’s on-screen mentor, is currently

sewing surgical face masks in bulk for

the governor ofNew York.

This sentence would havebeen

unthinkable just a few weeks ago. But as

Covid-19 has swept the world, the

unthinkablehasbecome adailyreality.

WhileSirianohas divertedhis atten-

tionfrom red carpet gowns to masks,

fans ofthe show that kick-started his

career will find themselves with plenty

oftelevision to while away their hours at

home.ProjectRunwayyy, the 15-year-old,

mass-market showinwhichfashion

moguls such as Michael Kors and Zac

Posen judge the work ofaspiring design-

ers through a series of contests, has now

spawned two streaming service copy-

cats — including a new series on Ama-

zon that Entertainment Weekly

described as“first rate quarantine TV”.

EvenasHollywoodproductionshave

halted, streaming services such as

Netflix and Disney+ have enoughfeel-

good content to dole outfor months.

The amount of time people spend

streaming surged 20 per cent globally

from March 9-23, with daytime watch-

ingup nearly 40 per cent, accordingto

analytics company Conviva.

Amongour quarantinedtelevision

options is the 18th season ofProjectRun-

wayyy, this time anchored by supermodel

Karlie Kloss;NextinFashion,aNetflix

reimaginingofit starringQueer Eye’s

Tan France andmodelAlexa Chung;

andfinally Amazon’s version,Making

theCut,which is led byformerProject

RunwaystarsHeidiKlumandTim

Gunn.

I asked the original creator ofProject

Runwaywhyfashion is havinga televi-

Report|Netflix and Amazon

compete for the ultimate in

‘quarantine TV’ with rival

series, writesAnna Nicolaou

From top: Alexa

Chung and Tan

France from

‘Next in

Fashion’;

Heidi Klum and

Naomi Campbell

in New York for

‘Making the

Cut’; Christian

Siriano and

Karlie Kloss

present ‘Project

Runway’— Getty

A

nobvious question tobe

askedin any crisis: what

can we do? Manyfashion

companieshave responded

by funnelling much-

neededfunds towards theglobalfight

against Covid-19.

In the heavily affected regions of

northern Italy, the heart ofthe country’s

fashion and textile manufacturing

industries,brands suchas Prada, Gucci

andGiorgio Armanihavedonatedmil-

lions ofeuros to support the creation of

respirators andhospitalwings.

Others are mobilisingtheir sizeable

workforces to produce masks and per-

sonal protective equipmentfor medical

professionals. This has happened at

bothvast corporations andat smaller,

independentdesign companies.

In London, a trio ofyoungdesigners—

PhoebeEnglish,HollyFulton andBeth-

any Williams —joinedforces to co-ordi-

nate production startingin mid-March.

English herselfvisited the Chinese city

ofWuhan, where Covid-19 wasfirst

recorded,inOctober. The tripgaveher

first-hand experience ofthe city’s sheer

size — Wuhan’s population is 11m, two

millionmore thanLondon—andhence

how extreme theproblem could be.

Then she started tofeel the impact on

herbusiness.

“Things were slowingdown, projects

werebeingcancelled, our sales were

slowing.And we justhad these

machines sittingin the studio, notbeing

used,”English recalls.

Anumberof cold-callemailsto

DowningStreet, the London mayor’s

office and various health bodies offering

help went unanswered,soEnglish

posted a message on her company’s

Instagram account on March17, asking:

“Can we make masksfor you?”

English wasflooded with responses:

“Advice, conflictingideas, tutorials,

peoplethat neededquantities in the

millions, andsisters,brothers,hus-

bands, relatives ofpeople in the medical

profession who are desperatefor this

key equipment,”she recalls.

TheBritishFashionCouncilfollowed

witha post on its Instagram account

callingtheindustry to arms, sharingthe

specificgovernment and NHS require-

ments formaskmanufactureandmate-

rials withthebrandswho responded.

Producingmasks is more difficult

than printingout a pattern andsitting

down infront ofa sewingmachine.“I

haven’t actually been sewingmasks

yet,”says English.“The task has been to

educate ourselvesinthe processes.

Masks need to be certified, they need to

beproducedin sterile environments.

Thematerialsneed to be treated.”

Englishnotes thatlocallymade masks

may soon be needed.“All the masks

used within the UK are imported,”she

says — secretary ofstatefor health and

social care Matt Hancock’s recent pur-

chase of amillionmasksincluded.

“Ifthis continues, there will be big

problems withsupplychains. What

we’ve been tryingto do is set up net-

works so ifthere is a problem with sup-

ply chains, we can manufacture these

itemshere.”

English,Fulton andWilliams are

aimingto create what Englishterms an

“emergency designer network... so ifa

need arises, we have the skills”.

Other smallerdesigners are also

pitchingin. The FrenchlabelCoperni,

ledbythedesigners Sébastien Meyer

andArnaudVaillant, uploadeda paper

pattern for a face mask top

their website on March 19,th

which has been downloadedw

thousands of times. “Myth

father is a surgeon in Toulon,”fa

writes Vaillant, from Paris.w

“My brother is a surgeon in“

Marseille, my sister is aM

physiotherapist in Marseille,p

my sister-in-law is a radi-m

ologist in Marseille, myo

stepmother is a nursing assist-st

ant in Béziers. They don’t have masks.”

TheCoperni patternisintended for

usebyhome sewers andthe maskspro-

ducedfrom it are not medical-grade.

Coperni’s intention is to to stop consum-

ersbuyingmedical-grade masksthat

could bebetter utilisedinhospitals.

“Sometimes little details make big

impacts,”says Vaillant.“Now bighouses

suchas BalenciagaandSaint Laurent

are producingprofessional masks — we

obviously don’t have enough people at

Coperni to produce professional masks,

but theidea was to shake peopleandlet

them know about the emergency.”

Asimilarsituationhas evolvedinthe

US, where theNewYorkdesigner Chris-

tianSirianoandhis staff of 1 0 seam-

stresses are nowfocused on creatingcot-

ton masks. In California, the company

Los Angeles Apparel,founded by

former American Apparel head Dov

Charney, has turned overfactory pro-

duction to medicalsupplies, aimingto

create 300,000 masksand50,000

gowns eachweek.

Grassroots effortsfrom independent

designershavebeen mirroredbylarger

brands. On March18, Prada turned

over production capacity at its own

facilities and at its external Italian sup-

pliers so that masks could be madefor

healthcare personnel.Twohundred

workers are producing10,000 masks

and10,000 medicaloveralls eachday,

all madefrom a non-woven propylene

that ishydrophobic andbreathable.

Asimilartask has beenundertaken

by Gucci, whichwillworkwithits sup-

plychain to produce 1.1m surgical

masksand55,000 overallsinthe com-

ingweeks. Giorgio Armani’s Italian

manufacturingfacilities have switched

production to medical overalls, andfast-

fashion behemoths H&M and Zara par-

ent company Inditexhave converted

theirfactories to mask production — the

latterhasdonatedmore than 300,000.

English thinks being“agile”is essen-

tial at this time, with designersfreeing

up manufacturingpossibilities, and not

relyingon import ofmedical supplies

from other countries — especiallyfrom

regions where the needfor said

supplies isjust asdire. And,sheadds,

“there are a huge number ofpeople who

want to help.”

Designers roll up their sleeves

Coronavirus response| Fashion labels large and small are finding creative ways to help in the fight against Covid-19, writesAlexander Fury

sion moment now, nearly two decades

after his idea debuted on US cable chan-

nel Bravo and became a cultfavourite.

Eli Holzmanrecallsthat demandfor

his initial concept—areality show in

which aspiringfashion designers com-

pete — was not met with enthusiasm.

“When we were bookingProjectRun-

wayinitially, mostdesigners turnedus

down. Reality TV was a bad word and

they didn’t want to be associated with

it,”says Holzman.

But now, as we are at the all-time peak

oftelevision production, that dynamic

has changed.Project Runway isa

“provenfranchise” Holzman points

out, making it a safer betfor streaming

companies as they splash out billions of

dollars on programming in a frenetic

industry-wide battlefor subscribers.

The new generation offashion TV is

looking to revive an ailing format as

Project Runway’s ratings have deterio-

rated.This season’sMarch finaledrew

1.4m viewers, rankingit the 12thmost

watchedUS cabletelecast thatday —

trailingFox News’Sean Hannity and

TuckerCarlson.

ProjectRunwayhas a mostly refreshed

cast.But eventhenewcomersare

beholden to a surprisingly rigidformat.

Kloss studiously recites the same script

thather predecessor Klumdid16 years

ago.“Infashion, you are in, or you are

out,”she pronounces in thefirst min-

utes ofevery episode.

The repetition canbe stale. But ata

time like this, thefamiliarity is also

oddly comforting, like curl-

ing up in a wornblanket with

a time capsule to the 2000s.

In contrast, Netflix’sNext

inFashionmightbeabit too

modern.Fromthefirstfew

minutes ofepisode one, there

is a premium placedon any-

thing to do with fame or social

media.

Netflix’s competition is

morecheerfulthanProject

Runway, which is often laced

with dramatic infighting and tearfultearful

breakdowns.ProducerYasminShackle-

ton has said hergoal wasfor the show to

be“accessible and relatable”, and

indeed,NextInFashionismorelike aTV

version ofthe“positive vibes”posts that

still proliferate across Instagram.

Designers aregiven professional

seamstresses, andthe contestants are

more experiencedthan theirProject

Runwaycounterparts, withseveralhav-

ingalready worked on high-profile lines

such as Stella McCartney and Jay-Z’s

Rocawear. The designers often prove

more capablethan thehosts. In the most

Amazon and Netflix are

trying to catapult these

designers into real

commercial success

BEAUTY

DIY HAIR DYE

Gucci will work with its

supply chain to produce

1.1m surgical masks and

55,000 overalls

Fashion TV

goes head

to head

Above: a masked

municipal worker

sprays disinfectant

in India

Right: Sébastien

Meyer from Coperni

EPA-EFE