Lifetime has high expectations for its newest contestant-based, unscripted program. Titled 24 Hour Catwalk, the show will be yet another fashion-based program a-la Project Runway that will need to distinguish itself from the other fashion programs already cemented into time slots on television. That in itself should certainly prove a challenge; however, achieving the seemingly unachievable is really what takes the cake.
Lifetime has also set the bar high for contestants on 24 Hour Catwalk. Each week, the show will pit four designers against one another to create a collection in one day. After a first-cut challenge, two contestants will be dismissed, leaving the final two to create a full collection for a runway show that will then be judged and admired. If you’ve seen how difficult it is for Project Runway players to create one outfit in a day, you can understand the stress that will ensue from creating a whole collection. According to Deadline, Cynthia Rowley, New York Times fashion editor Derek Blasberg and publicist James LaForce are set to judge, and British TV personality Alex Chung is set to host.
Apparently Lifetime is completely behind this premise, because they have ordered 10 episodes. Without knowing some of the basics it’s hard to tell how purposeful this program will be. Will this be more of a design challenge? You would think to create a whole collection, however small, designers would need sewing help. Even with sewing help, I can just see hack job after hack job heading down the runway. It took Missoni over a year to create wearable fashion for Target. I can’t imagine the caliber of contestants willing to boil that down to a day. I guess we will just have and see, though.
