Heidi Klum Says Amazon Agreed to Every ‘Making the Cut’ Idea Except One

Making the Cut is the next big idea from Project Runway veterans Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. 12 designers compete in fashion challenges around the world, and Amazon sells many of their items online. Klum says she came to Amazon with big ideas, and they agreed to all but one of them.

Klum was on a Television Critics Association panel for Making the Cut on Jan. 14. Even she couldn’t believe what Amazon agreed to, so the one “nay” didn’t really bother her. Making the Cut is now streaming on Amazon Prime with new episodes streaming Fridays.

‘Making the Cut’ is bigger than Heidi Klum’s last show

Project Runway was filmed for Bravo and Lifetime. Amazon produces shows on a much grander scale than those cable networks. 

“When you have a bigger budget — thank you Amazon — you get to go to Paris, and you get to go to Tokyo,” Klum said. “Because also, real designers, that’s what they do. They travel the world and they go to amazing places and they see things and then they come back. They honed all that in and then it changes in what they create and spit out.”

Amazon was the only network that offered ‘Making the Cut’ virtual storefronts

Klum said she, Gunn and the producers shopped Making the Cut around to all the majors. Amazon is the only streaming service that comes with a sales infrastructure. The chance to sell the clothing featured on the show was another big plus.

“For the first time, finally our audience can shop,” Klum said. “It’s a win/win situation I feel like for everyone. That was very important for me that we’re gonna go with a company, such as Amazon, versus other companies, in order to have that component for these designers, because that was never possible before. You see something, you want it, but you can’t have it.  So here, you have a winning look every week and people can buy it around the world.”

‘Making the Cut’ designers don’t only design for Amazon

Amazon gives Making the Cut a platform to sell some of their designs, but they’re not working for Amazon. The contests will give them a chance to think outside the box, and do something relatively mainstream.

“For each fashion show we do an unconventional kind of free-for-all, design whatever you want and also like a look that can be sold on Amazon,” Klum said. “We have a store there. It’s called Making the Cut Store. So each designer for every fashion show had to create two looks, one where they could really go for it and the other one that is actually really wearable. We’re also trying to price it $100 or less for each winning look.”

The one idea Heidi Klum had that was too big for Amazon

Amazon agreed to film around the world and sell the clothes Making the Cut contestants designed. There was only one idea they nixed, so Klum let it go.

“They said, ‘Think big,’ and we’re like, ‘Okay airplane’ and they were like, ‘No, not that big,’” Klum said. “Because then you think like, ‘Oh we could design on the airplane when we’re flying from country to country.  Instead of them sleeping on the plane, why are they not designing things?’”

Making the Cut doesn’t have a mile high design club, but Amazon did agree to a grand prize for the winner.

“I was like, “Million dollars for our winner?’ ‘Yeah, we can do that.’” Klum said.