What we can learn from Project Runway (I).
I’m generally not a fan of “reality” television, with the exception of programs in which the objective is to create something (as opposed to embarrass someone). Project Runway is one of these exceptional shows, and I confess that at least part of my interest stems from nostalgia for my many years in design school, “charretting” late into the night, getting punchy with my fellow students.
One of the classic wrenches thrown into the weekly design challenge presented on the show is when the competitors are told that they will be paired with one of their colleagues to complete that week’s project. As observers of the cringe-inducing verbal barbs and eye-rolls that result as the comrades-turned-rivals try to produce something fabulous together, we recognize the difficulty of forcing two egos to work as one. We may even feel sorry for them, asking ourselves why a program that is about discovering individual artistic expression is smothering all that talent for the sake of a plot twist.
The truth is, design – indeed, any creative endeavor – that achieves commercial success is almost always the result of some kind of collaborative effort. It may not always be a collaboration between design minds (although that is how many fashion houses actually operate). Collaboration across multiple disciplines and functions – design, business strategy, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, etc, etc - is critical to “making it work” (to paraphrase the program’s mentor, Tim Gunn). So we see that during the program’s final critique, the Project Runway judges’ commentary inevitably addresses the designers’ team dynamics in addition to the fashions that were produced for the runway.
Lest anyone think that pairing up designers in a design competition is just another way to stir up conflict in the workroom in order to create compelling entertainment, it’s important to remember that collaboration among peers – even between rivals – is an important element in the management of a creative enterprise. And it’s probably one of the few times that “reality” is constructively introduced into reality television.
Well, this seems to have the makings of a book.
or a movie…… who gets the lead?
PB