K1KA container garden can keep you occupied while
also offering health benefits. Page 7BKeep your green thumb in
practice even while indoors
“Born to Sing” gets a digital re-release as group
plans an eventual tour and podcast. Page 8BEn Vogue is still in vogue
30 years after their debut
USA TODAY | MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020 | SECTION BLIFE
LIFELINE
App Store Official Charts for the
week ending March 29:1. Minecraft, Mojang
2. Monopoly, Marmalade
3. TouchRetouch, ADVA
4. Procreate Pocket, Savage
5. Game of Life, Marmalade
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Top paid iPhone apps
USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©The secret to the success of “Project
Runway,” as it turns out, was never
about Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn.
Don’t get me wrong, the supermod-
el and fashion instructor were a huge
part of what made “Runway,” a reality
show in which designers compete for a
cash prize, a success in the first place.
Klum, the series’ host from 2004 to
2017, brought her star power, her per-
sonal fashion and her clipped delivery
of “auf wiedersehen” to departing con-
testants. Gunn, a longtime fashion
professor and “Runway” mentor dur-
ing that same period, had warmth,
know-how and the series’ most dura-
ble quote: “Make it work.”
When the pair announced they
were leaving “Runway” for a new fash-
ion series on Amazon, it appeared to
mark the death of the aging series. But
instead, a refresh, with model Karlie
Kloss stepping in as host and “Run-
way” winner Christian Siriano as men-
tor, has revitalized the series, which
returned to its original network, Bravo.
As for Klum and Gunn’s new series?
“Making the Cut,” released on Amazon
March 27, doesn’t make it work.
“Cut” made its debut just two
months after Netflix tried its hand at
clothing design-inspired reality TV in
the form of “Next in Fashion,” hosted
by “Queer Eye” stylist Tan France and
designer/writer Alexa Chung. Both se-
ries might as well be hawked alongside
“Jucci” and “Fendy” bags in Times
Square as blatant (and unsuccessful)
knockoffs of “Runway.”
What has become quite clear, after
sitting through the dull episodes of“Cut” and the excruciatingly terrible
episodes of “Fashion,” is that unlike,
say, food or dating series, there aren’t
that many ways to make fashion reali-
ty TV. Each new series tries its very
best to differentiate itself from “Run-
way,” but the basic model (pun intend-
ed) remains: Designers are challenged
to make garments, they put on a run-
way show, are judged and one goes
home. Roll credits.
The two new series tout the experi-
ence and credentials of their contes-
tants – who are further along in their
careers than the usual newbies on
“Runway” – and their highly produced
runway shows. But the established de-
signers name-dropping of Jay-Z and
other celebrities is tiresome, as is their
disdain for the menial labor of sewing
their own designs.
“Fashion” also starts by putting its
designers in teams, making it impos-
sible to tell where one aesthetic ends
and another begins. An emotional
connection with contestants is key to
building audience loyalty in any reality
show (producers of “Survivor,” “The
Bachelor” and “Top Chef ” all keenly
understand this). Both shows have a
piecemeal judging process – “Cut” de-
tails the work of a few designers each
week without their designs next to
them. “Fashion” judges, in small
groups, awkwardly offer criticism
backstage to a handful of good and bad
teams. Both strategies make it hard to
keep track of who made what look in
each episode.
Gunn and Klum are their usual
sweet selves on “Cut,” but “Fashion”
has little in the way of charm. FranceTELEVISION NEWS & VIEWS
‘Project
Runway’
copycats
can’t make
it work
Kelly Lawler
USA TODAYSee RUNWAY, Page 7BTan France and Alexa Chung consult
with a “Next in Fashion” contestant.
ADAM ROSE/NETFLIXThe stay-at-home coronavirus orders are unprecedented inAmerica, but the speculation about what may ensue nine monthshence is not: Prepare for a baby boom! ❚At the least, prepare forjokes about a baby boom. ❚Or maybe not. Perhaps it’s all an ur-ban myth propagated (no pun intended) mostly by baby boomers,that giant cohort of Americans born in the years after World WarII when everyone came home and got busy again.Nevertheless, it’s fun for people
to speculate about a boom in the
midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
After all, what else do they have to
do, stuck at home and bored?
Speculate, that is. Not the other
thing. Because think about it: Even a
mild version of coronavirus could
make one sick enough to take to bed,
and not with baby-making in mind.
But this question comes up, along
with jokes, every time Americans
are under pressure and telling them-
selves, “We’re in this together!” Even
when we’re not.
The interest is such that people
on Twitter are suggesting new
names for this supposed coronavi-
rus cohort: Coronials. Quaranteens.
Baby Zoomers.
“Are we all agreed that babies
born 9 months after COVID-19 are
going to be call coronials? And in
2033/2034 they’ll all become qua-
ranteens? #dadjoke,” tweeted Keith
Smith.
“There’s so much video calling
going on that the babies conceived
during the coronavirus pandemic
should be called “Baby Zoomers,”
posted Brian Sharon.
This jovial attitude is why there
were tabloid stories about a possible
global shortage of condoms as fac-
tories shut down. Under this think-
ing, no condoms = more babies.
Planned Parenthood Federation
of America, a top provider of birth
control services, has made the link
between contraception and a possi-
ble baby boom, too: It’s encouraging
patients to make use of PPDirect, an
app that connects them to a doctor
via video so they can get birth con-
trol without leaving the house.
“Only time will tell if a baby
boomlet will be a potential outcomeof the COVID-19 response,” says
June Gupta, Planned Parenthood’s
director of medical standards.
“These (social distancing) rec-
ommendations mean people are
spending a lot of time together and
may have more time than usual to
have sex. This could result in more
pregnancies if, hypothetically
speaking, people are unable to ac-CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HEALTH
Alea Bowman, certified nursing assistant at Winchester Medical Center in
Virginia, holds a newborn in 2011. GINGER PERRY/WINCHESTER STAR VIA APWill home
orders mean
a baby boom?
Maria Puente USA TODAYExperts say it might be more of a
coronavirus baby boomlet.
MICHELLE GIBSON/GETTY IMAGES“On the whole, it’s
unlikely that America will
see a coronavirus baby
boom – but we could see a
baby blip.”
Richard Evans, University of ChicagoSee BABY BOOM, Page 7BQueen Elizabeth delivered a historic
address Sunday, acknowledging the
daunting challenges brought upon by
the COVID-19 crisis, seeking to lift
spirits and offer hope to her country
in its hour of need. Aside from her
annual Christmas speeches, it was
only the fourth time since her reign
began in 1952 that she gave such an
address: She also spoke in the wake
of the Gulf War in 1991, the death of
Princess Diana in 1997 and the death
of her mother in 2002. “I hope in the
years to come everyone will be able
to take pride in how they responded
to this challenge,” the queen said.
“And those who come after us will say
that the Britons of this generation
were as strong as any.”
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AP
ROYALS REPORT
CORONAVIRUS ADDRESS
The singer tweeted over the weekend
she had tested positive for coro-
navirus two weeks ago after she and
her son had shown symptoms of
COVID-19. “Just a few days ago we
were re-tested and are now thankful-
ly negative,” she said. The artist, 40,
went on to blame the government for
not making tests more readily avail-
able “to protect our children, our
families, our friends and our commu-
nities.” Pink announced she is making
two donations: $500,000 to Temple
University Hospital Emergency Fund
in Philadelphia to honor her mother,
who worked there; and $500,000 to
the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Emer-
gency COVID-10 Crisis Fund.
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
MAKING WAVES
PINK DONATES $1 MILLION
Candace Cameron Bure is 44. Paul
Rudd is 51. Billy Dee Williams is 83.
IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY