The third season of the Sundance Channel show follows ELLE creative director Joe Zee as he helps flailing fashion brands turn around their business and, for his third go-around, the New York-based Zee expands his purview to include the LA fashion scene and designers. Among the brands you’ll see in upcoming episodes are: Prajje, Electric Love Light, Korto Momolu (of Project Runway fame), Brooke Rodd, Domino Dollhouse, and Ina Soltani.
I had the chance to preview some of the new season and it continues to deliver engaging, albeit often predictable, one-hour episodes. While the show just scratches the surface of how truly difficult it is to make it in the fashion industry, it brings to light the many challenges that designers face including quality control, fit, and material costs. You find yourself rooting for many of the struggling designers — even those who don’t come across as particularly likeable — because for the most part, they are very talented (every man should own one of Unruly Heir’s seersucker hoodies).
This season, celebrity guests include Mary J. Blige, Octavia Spencer, Zoe Kazan, and Mario Lopez and each of the designers featured meets with buyers from the likes of Scoop, QVC, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Zappos, and Shopbop. Episodes will air every Monday starting September 10 at 9:00 PM ET/PT through October 22.
