Stream It or Skip It: ‘Making the Cut’ Season 3 on Prime Video Takes the Show Out of Its Pandemic Bubble

Prime Video’s primo fashion show Making the Cut is back for Season 3. Hosts Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn prove that their chemistry is always in style with another season of designers, looks, winners, and — of course — cuts. But how does the latest offering from this now veteran design competition compare with previous collections? 

MAKING THE CUT: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: LA, baby! The sights, the sun, the sign (Hollywood, that is). And of course, there’s Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn walking arm in arm down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Tim talks about Los Angeles’ storied fashion history, and Heidi Klum literally stops traffic with her outfit.

The Gist: You know the score: 10 designers are plucked from across the globe and challenged to come up with innovative and singular takes on wardrobe staples (the first two episodes focus on evening wear and activewear). The best design of the week gets reproduced and sold in the Making the Cut store on Amazon, and the losing design sends someone home. The designer that wins it all gets a mentorship with Amazon Fashion, the chance to sell a collection on Amazon, and $1,000,000.

Making the Cut has a few tweaks to the format, though. As in previous seasons, there’s always the possibility that more than one designer could win or be cut after every challenge. The designers also get to hand off their designs to seamstresses who execute most of the sewing overnight (although this once novel idea has become less a part of the show’s narrative). This season introduces a new tweak: every week, the winning designers can create companion pieces and accessories for their winning garment to be sold on Amazon. That gives fans of the show more options and, more importantly, more price points with which to engage with the show and its designers.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Format alterations aside, Making the Cut is still cut from the same cloth as RuPaul’s Drag Race, Top Chef, and Project Runway. However, with Bravo’s Project Runway on hiatus and no word on when Netflix’s revamped Next in Fashion will return, Making the Cut is the fashion competition show of this moment.

Our Take: Making the Cut grows more confident and sure of itself with every season while retaining the lux quality that made Season 1 so striking. Season 3 really feels like a synthesis of what worked from the first two dramatically different seasons. The show literally went from a global tour of the world’s fashion capitals in Season 1 to being isolated in a bubble during a pandemic in Season 2.

With Season 3, Making the Cut is out in the world again — but the show seems to have learned a lot about how to focus its storytelling after the more intimate (but no less entertaining) Season 2. The combination is evident on the judges’ panel, which includes Season 2 judge Jeremy Scott and the return of Season 1 judge Nicole Richie. They bring a welcome balance to the panel, with Richie’s cool pairing well with Scott’s fiery side (which we see a bit of in the preview of what’s to come later).

Now that we’re sorta/quasi/I guess/maybe/post-COVID, the flashy destination runway locales from Season 1 are back (the premiere drops its runway on Rodeo Drive). Still, the majority of the show is focused on one LA-based work room. That means we’re not devoting time to Heidi and Tim seeing the international sights, as charming as those segments were. Instead, the episode is focused where it should be: on the designers.

This pack of designers are, of course, immensely talented and run the gamut of specialities and aesthetics. Yannik designs only in white whereas Rafael is all about color. Markantoine works in skatewear and Sienna’s designs are high-end. Watching each of them craft not one, but two looks for each category ensures that every runway show is filled with surprises (hopefully the good kind, but sometimes the bad kind). Even if you’ve watched every season of every fashion competition show, you’re still going to be surprised by what Jeanette uses to give her evening gown a cracked look.

And y’know, it’s just great to get to spend time with Heidi and Tim. It is clear that not only do they genuinely enjoy making this show, they also clearly care a great deal about the show’s mission to find the next great global brand. These two have been doing this for almost 20 seasons. They could be phoning it in right now, they’ve been at this for so long and seen so many designs, but they’re as invested as ever.

Parting Shot: The designers that did make the cut applaud their continuation in the competition, and then a preview of the rest of the season plays out. It promises conflict (Yannik yelling at Markantoine about sewing machines!), fashion (do I spy a Burning Man challenge?), and drama (Jeremy Scott took zero notes and he is taking out his frustration on his notebook).

Sleeper Star: You gotta love Rafael, who the show sets up as a kind of underdog/frontrunner from the jump. He’s never left Brazil before and just started to learn English two months ago! All that, and he turns out two of the best looks of the night. Rafael is precious and Jeremy Scott better not be directing that anger at Rafael!

Our Call: STREAM IT. Making the Cut is still very much in style.