The Fashion Show

:

Season 1
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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Critic Reviews

  1. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Joanna Weiss
    80
    In order to fully enjoy The Fashion Show--and there is plenty to enjoy in Bravo's new reality contest--you have to resist the urge to keep comparing it to "Project Runway."
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    80
    Project Runway is a hard act to follow. Still, if you like watching people make (sometimes) beautiful clothes from nothing in no time--the first challenge is to make a little black dress from a little black T-shirt--The Fashion Show has that too.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    80
    As viewers, we're less interested in the destination than the ride, and this one starts out feeling like fun.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Paige Wiser
    75
    If you've been in runway withdrawal, The Fashion Show can provide you with all the bitchery, the language butchery and the stupefying silhouettes that you've been missing.
  6. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Anne Bratskeir
    75
    Overall, a meaner, harsher fashion competition, but compelling.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    75
    I can't help but get an enormous kick from Bravo's new series, The Fashion Show, which is, ironically enough, a line-for-line knockoff of "Project Runway," the hit show that was sold from under them to Lifetime.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Randee Dawn
    70
    For "Runway" fans thirsty for fashion fights and fits, Fashion is certainly worth a taste.
  9. Washington Post
    70
    When the designers are alone in the sewing room, trading catty insults, hemming until their fingers bleed, Fashion Show feels like great guilty pleasure TV. But when the sewing-room door opens, you can't help expecting--and wishing--that it'll be Tim Gunn.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Leah Greenblatt
    67
    Though PR has auf'ed off to Lifetime, its chic shadow looms large on Fashion--which, like its name, has a sad, generic chintziness.
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    60
    There is plenty to enjoy, but not much to applaud. At its best fashion celebrates originality; The Fashion Show feeds on imitation.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    50
    Alas, it may end up being addictive for hard-core fashionistas, but The Fashion Show needs work before it is truly ready for the runway.
  13. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    42
    As with any knockoff, the onus is on The Fashion Show to offer something different and better, and so far it does neither.
  14. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    40
    Tonight's extended episode--it runs until 11:15 p.m.--comes off as the trashier, less sophisticated cousin to "Project Runway." If that's the appeal of "Runway," then have at it. But if you're a design fan, The Fashion Show may prove to be an unfashionable disappointment.
  15. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    40
    There's just not that same level of drama when designing a standard blue blazer.

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Best TV Season of 2009
71
#71 Most Discussed TV Season of 2009

User Reviews

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User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 7 out of 13
  1. AL
    Jul 22, 2009
    2
    A few points for effort in putting a show together, but was it successful? No. I was surprised to find Kelly as one of the judges; I do not A few points for effort in putting a show together, but was it successful? No. I was surprised to find Kelly as one of the judges; I do not feel she has the background to judge, Beyonce's mother would of been a better candidate considering that she has designed costumes for Destiny's Child. I do respect Kelly as an artist just not as a judge. In Project Runway you can probably pick out half of the group as not-so-good designers, the fashion show is 100% not-so-good designers while the judges scramble to find the most bearable contestants for the top three.… Full Review »
  2. KayeC
    Jun 11, 2009
    2
    Sorry, I didn't like either isaac or his female sidekick. I thought the apogee came when they kicked off the gal who wasn't Sorry, I didn't like either isaac or his female sidekick. I thought the apogee came when they kicked off the gal who wasn't familiar with hip hop clothes. Hip hop is so over and done with and the way the two kingpins acted was like the designer had killed someone. Bad, very bad!… Full Review »
  3. chrisj
    May 22, 2009
    3
    Like a designer gown that looks fine from a distance and ends up on closer examination to have frayed hems and is held together with safety Like a designer gown that looks fine from a distance and ends up on closer examination to have frayed hems and is held together with safety pins. Mizrahi isn't his usual bubbly, personable self and the designers, save a handful, don't seem nearly as gifted as those seen on PR. Many can't even sew. Group projects, often the weakest aspect of PR, are the mainstay of this knockoff. Finally, looks like Bravo thought adding more big name designers as panelists and show viewers would hold the fabric of its hour together. It merely proves, as with PR, that less is truly more.… Full Review »
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