‘Making the Cut’s’ Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn Reflect on the “Rollercoaster” Season Ahead of Finale

After a whirlwind worldwide tour, Amazon’s Making the Cut is closing in on its final destination: a breathtaking runway showdown in New York City. We’ve seen a lot go down in just the month since the show’s flashy debut. The designers have traveled from New York to Paris and Tokyo, turning out edgy yet accessible looks along the way. And, in a history-making move, those winning looks have all been available to purchase immediately on Amazon. Making the Cut isn’t just a show you watch. It’s also an experience you can wear.

All season long, we’ve chatted with the competition’s weekly winners. Now with the final showdown dropping this week, Decider got the chance to check back in with Making the Cut’s superstar creators: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Below, Klum and Gunn assess the success of their new creation, make tentative plans for a tie-breaking international interstitial duel, and tease what’s coming next for the three designers left standing going into the final stretch.

Decider: Now that we’re approaching the end of the season, how did the big Making the Cut experiment work out? How are you pleased with it?

Tim Gunn: Well, I loved it. [Laughs]

Heidi Klum: I loved it, too. I loved it too. I was so proud, you know, like finally our baby came out for the world to see and it was smiling, it was looking good, it was interesting, I loved it.

Gunn: I did too.

Klum: It’s one thing when you have it all on paper or when it’s in your brain and when you think about all the things you wanna do, and then all of a sudden you see it and then you get great responses, or when, on social media, people give you feedback. It’s just beautiful. It just makes you feel great. So hopefully we get to do this another time around at some point, because obviously like in any business right now we’re all trying to figure out the next step. So we’re hopeful that we get to do this again because it was a beautiful, unforgettable time, a rollercoaster ride of emotions for us, for the team, for the designers. So we hope we get to do this again.

Gunn: I couldn’t say it better, Heidi.

What has it been like seeing the winning looks pop up on social media each week, after people purchased them on Amazon?

Gunn: Oh, it’s been thrilling.

Klum: Yeah, it’s amazing. I think that’s what any designer wants at the end, you know? You make something for people to wear and then when you actually see people responding positively to what you’ve just made, and people actually get their wallet out to buy—and the numbers show people did buy. And I couldn’t be happier for the designers that they got people around the world walking around in their clothes. Or being at home in their clothes right now.

Gunn: I feel like we’re building a Making the Cut community.

Were there any unforeseen challenges that filming in three different cities in three different countries posed? I know you couldn’t plan for all the rain in Tokyo.

Gunn: Nor the heat in Paris.

Klum: Yeah, we had drastic weather things but, I don’t know, I never mind any of it. I just always think you just gotta roll with it, you know? It’s reality and we’re doing a reality TV show. This is not—these are not actors. This is the real world. We’re in real fashion capitals of the world, and weather happens and people happen and things happen and you just gotta roll with it. Which is fun because it’s real, it’s life. Yeah, it was very hot in Paris and yeah it rained a lot in Tokyo.

Gunn: There was never a dull moment.

Klum: But we made it work!

Gunn: We sure did.

And Tim, I just have to single out one look that you really made work that was against type: your streetwear, pinstripe jumpsuit from the Tokyo stint.

Gunn: Well I had that boilersuit made a year before we shot the show and I kept wondering, where can I wear this? Is this for Halloween? And then when I heard about the streetwear challenge, I thought this is perfect. If the boilersuit can’t work for this, nothing can. And Suitsupply made it for me.

It was fun getting to see your dynamic play out, too, in those interstitial bits. Did ya’ll have a favorite one? Heidi won the fencing challenge and Tim won the virtual reality showdown. Is there a tiebreaker coming?

Gunn: I think Heidi and I both loved the food pieces where we were making croissants in Paris and sushi in Japan.

Klum: But we definitely need a rematch.

Gunn: [Laughs] I’m all for it, Heidi. Season 2.

We’re getting ready for the final two episodes, including the grand finale. After seeing them work all season long, how have you seen Sander, Jonny, and Esther evolve?

Gunn: What was moving for me was hearing from the three of them—hearing the three of them express to us how they’d grown. Especially in the case of Jonny and Esther because they have such well-established brands. You’d think, “Well it’s more status quo,” but no, they said that Making the Cut has allowed me to tackle things I would never have done on my own, and it’s expanded my reach and, consequently, it’s bound to expand my customer base. It’s really offered me growth that even I wasn’t expecting. So that was quite thrilling. And for Sander and his Belgian fashion forward mania, confronting ready-to-wear was a profound experience for him and just look at that t-shirt he designed that won! Phenomenal, phenomenal growth. We’re very proud.

Klum: I agree. I love all of them. I loved watching them grow, think, listen to what we have to say, and then use what we said to them in their next design. And some didn’t. Some always stay true to who they are because I think that’s also important. You can listen but, at the end of the day, you have to do your path and what you think is your right path. I think that they’re all incredible and it was amazing to watch them.

The Making the Cut finale arrives on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, April 24

Stream Making the Cut on Prime Video