Hi! Whew, another reality, well, “reality” break needed after that painfully resolved Scottish drama, welcome back to Making the Cut with Heidi Klum and my adored Tim Gunn! We’ve lost all kinds of designers along the way, are you ready to see what’s available for sale right now on Amazon? Yeah you are, woooo! Rolling into Making The Cut S1:E03 Collaboration after the break.

One quick thing: I’m a moron. In the first episode, I was all “how can the winner’s commercial designs already be for sale on Amazon?? IS IT RIGGED???” when duh: shows are pre-taped. I’m a moron. Wait. Does that mean I can go on the Making the Cut store on Amazon right now and see who all the winners are? What am I doing watching the whole show??? But. Tim Gunn, see.

Onward! We lost American designer Martha Gottwald last week, much to the chagrin of my mother and other colour fans out there. Esther Perbandt of Germany racked up her second win with another two black numbers, I may see what my mom’s talking about there. But really, Martha literally wrapped one yard of fabric around a model and called it a day. I will miss the glitter but not the overwrought aspects of that design process.

Jonny Cota and his cape-y leather jacket barely made it through to fight another day, but in a surprise twist Ji Won Choi had her commercially accessible look also be placed on Amazon for sale next to Esther’s. So, kind of two winners? I keep wanting to ask about the financial aspects of that: do the designers get all the money from the online sales? Do they have to sign over their work to Amazon as intellectual property in order to compete on the show? The designers are all very happy and grateful when they win, I’m in the back counting pennies like Ava Lee.

Time to get this Collaboration episode on the road! Or on the River Seine, which is where the designers meet host Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn and where they’ll be holding their next fashion show. They’re all very excited.

Heidi and Tim explain the basis of the challenge, which is modeled after recent brand “collabs” between players like Vivienne Westwood and Burberry and many more.

(It’s a fancy way to say they’ll be pairing up shortly. This also reminds me super much of Next in Fashion from Netflix with Tan France and Alexa Chung (who I don’t know))

Jonny is skeptical.

Like Next in Fashion, the designers will be paired up with their opposite, I remember that poor Scottish lass who couldn’t push her design through until she insisted on it at exactly the wrong time and then she and her partner both went home. I kind of love that they’re embracing it on Making the Cut so people don’t have to pretend that they like the other designer’s esthetic at all.

They will be doing three looks together this time, only one has to be considered accessible.

Our first collab is Megan Smith and Jonny, they seem excited but Tim is openly skeptical. I don’t remember much of her work aside from the spiderweb dress last week, but he’s a man on a thin edge.

Awww, they give us a split screen and everything!

We’re breaking along age lines next, 12-year-old burger flipper Belgian Sander Bos will be working with our oldest contestant Sabato Russo. It’s not just age that is different between the two, Sander is arthouse and Sabato is all classic Italian design with flow-y silk.

They have a new name even: Bébé x Papi!

Next to pair are Will Riddle and Esther, two very different styles. Everything is black with Esther, Will is more of a showgirl.

Troy Arnold! I am so excited we getta see some of your work with Joshua Hupper! Erm, is it okay to point out that we’re on colour lines again, with Troy being black and Josh essentially being transparent? Thisclose to albino is what I’m saying and that’s not a pejorative! I also understand that none of that affects their design work, although maybe it informs it? We’ve seen very little of either designer’s work, I hope this breaks through.

Rinat Brodach and Ji Won are the last couple announced, Ji Won has been doing very well so far so I am excited to see what comes oot. They come up with a common idea immediately: jumpsuits!

Megan and Jonny agree on everything, which is surprising and exciting for them but worrisome for me. You know that’s when designers go home! But that’s usually when people feel as though they can’t speak up and don’t want to be rude. Okay, that’s usually women, but not always in the fashion world.

Troy and Josh find a common esthetic to work towards too, Troy’s suiting combined with Josh’s pops.

Troy! We finally meet Troy and my mind is blown. He’s a professor at Parsons!? He has a brand, Troy Arnold, which looks very menswear for women. He grew up poor in Brooklyn with three sisters and his mom, going with her when she was cleaning homes for wealthy people. Their hand-me-downs are what taught him about labels.

I’m looking forward to actually seeing some of his designs this time.

Fabric shopping time! Still not missing Mood and Swatch and the frantic running around clutching an envelope of money at all, thanks for asking!

Megan and Jonny do fine, but Sander and Sabato struggle a bit more. Sabato keeps pulling out only black material, what, does he think he’s Esther? I wonder how she’s doing with our sparkly Will. He talks her into a dark red, now that wasn’t so hard, was it? (It was very hard)

They show up bits of Paris as filler between scenes, I just have zero desire to go there, like ever. I know it’s history and culture and iconic and: zero desire. Hahahaha she says like traveling is even a thing right now.

More on Josh, who we haven’t really spent much time with yet. He and a business partner have a brand called Babyghost, which..okay. They are successful, he’s been in fashion a long time and this extra million from Amazon could help a lot. He’s from Columbus, OH, but he’s in Shanghai now and that’s Babyghost’s primary market: China.

Why are we crying talking about his tattoos?? I don’t even know what he’s talking about but his vulnerability is overwhelming. I hope he’s okay *gentle shoulder pat*.

Josh sings “nailed it, 100%” as he 100% nails his head getting in the cab and we’re back at our incredible design studio!

Now we getta meet Megan properly, wooooo! She’s been in the fashion industry for 12 years, using what could be perceived as disadvantages to fuel her fire. She’s a woman of colour and she’s here to win this competition.

Sander and Sabato are working through other differences, Sabato is a Designer, he doesn’t sew. Sander thanks him for visiting the sweatshop while everyone else laughs. Josh also doesn’t sew or patternmake, as a rule, so he’s here to help Troy with whatever he needs to do.

I am super happy to get to know more about Megan, Troy and Josh, but that can also be because they’re in trouble this episode and they want us to get emotionally attached before skidding them.

It’s two hours until seamstress pickup and I have to say I feel much more relaxed now that Martha isn’t there freaking out about cutting or her non-design. I have faith in what Martha was doing, it was fun and colourful but she was way out of her depth here and it seemed super stressful for her.

Sabato makes a mistake while cutting, he wanders away to stare at his phone with his feet up while Sander works hard to get things back on point. That’s bullshit.

Time for our Tim and Heidi vignette! They’re getting caricatures done, but with a twist: the artist can’t see them. He’s drawing based on how they describe each other. Its fun but the best part has to be when a random shiba inu walks in frame and takes a huge pee while we all watch. It was definitely my pug’s favourite bit.

Day 2! Sander worries that “Miss Sabotage” will sink them, but he won’t let it happen!

Back at the studio, Miss Sabotage has struck again, stuffing all their pieces into one bag instead of two so they only got half the sewing done by seamstresses. Sander runs to catch up.

We learn some background on Sabato, he was a model before he was a designer, which he’s been for 30 years. He has an adorable son named Julio and two brands: Sartorial Monk and Sabato Russo.

TimTiqueTime! Sabato and Sander are up first, there are two black outfits and one bright one in the middle, Tim’s worried about cohesion. Sabato’s off to buy more fabric.

Esther and Will are next, Tim tells them to take more risks and blend their looks so you can’t tell who did what. He leaves and they completely redesign their accessible look, which is definitely taking a risk, as this is Day 2 of Two Days.

Ji Won and Rinat are going for sportyxsexy but Tim calls their work technique Frankenstein.

Jonny and Megan are good, they’re good, yeah, they’re goooooodd. They’ve been waiting for Tim to help them decide the direction on a couple of things, which is never a good place for a couple of control freaks to be sitting. Tim walks over and says: this is all Megan, where’s Jonny? Much freaking out ensues, Tim leaves and they have the kind of polite fight you have in front of TV cameras when you don’t know someone well enough to try and snatch their wig.

Whether you’re from Chicago or not.

Jonny feels “bamboozled” AND “betrayed”, he hits Reality Show Bingo square one as he wonders in interview is this is what it feels like to be thrown under the bus. He just needs to say he’s not here to make friends and I will go make myself a very satisfied cup of tea.

Tim makes this face when he sees Troy and Josh’s work.

That is never a good face to see looking at your velvet print jumper.

Tim warns everyone to avoid the Frankenstein and heads out while the designers try to get their heads around sharing work but not piecing it out.

Model fittings go well for everyone, Jonny’s relented and decided his and Megan’s looks are gonna be *whisper* badass.

Everyone works late into the night and we get a peek at the caricatures of Heidi and Tim. They’re…not super close, of course, but Tim’s isn’t bad!

The designers check out the sweatshop work back to them the next morning, most are so out of time they’re gluing everything still outstanding.

Time for the runway!

Heidi and Tim are joined by judges Joseph Altuzarra (he looks so much like Darren Criss that I stop and stare each time), Naomi Campbell, Corine Roitfeld and Nicole Richie.

We start with Jonny and Megan, the judges totally dig their collab. I think all of it looks accessible is all.

I don’t see the cohesion in Rinat and Ji Won’s look, but I like their stuff.

Wow. Will and Esther are completely panned by the judges, but I like the middle look, sorta.

Troy and Josh, yikes.

It’s. It’s all bad.

On the other hand, the judges and I cannot get enough of Sander and Sabato’s looks.

Just lovely, the way they move! They looked so much more beautiful and DESIGNED than anyone else’s work.

We’re in judging now, who’s on the hot seat? Jonny and Megan are first up, but we know they did well. They both make the cut, course.

Sabato and Sander are up next for a chat, so gorgeous and elegant. They won! Woooo! You can buy that third look on Amazon right now!

Will and Esther are called up for a much less exciting talk, they’re willing to give Esther a pass for this awful collection so Will needs to defend himself well. I don’t know if he does that, exactly, when Heidi polls the judges about changing their minds, they say no. Esther is staying, Will barely makes it over the line. Whew.

Awww Josh and Troy, who will go home from there? You know they’re both at risk. Troy starts to explain the collection, Naomi rudely cuts him off and asks if Josh could speak now.

Josh throws himself under the bus for the prints, then drives the bus over himself a few times, offering to go home instead of Troy, who he thinks is a genius.

Josh just seems so vulnerable, I hope he was in a good place when he made this decision. Some people can’t take criticism at all, I’m thinking of a deckhand on Below Deck Sailing Yacht that just did the same thing. But Josh seems so much sadder than that.

He tells us very clearly after that he’s NOT unhappy, he feels good about his decision and he hopes desperately that Troy gets another chance.

The judges were planning to send both Troy and Josh home, but talking with Troy has changed at least Naomi’s mind. We don’t know if Troy gets to stay or not, because just then we get a To Be Continued….

This is the Binge Era, people! To Be Continued is like a Victoria’s Secret model wearing a bra: unnecessary and it chafes! Okay fine, until next time. Cheers!