The posters for the 12th season of American Project Runway are controversial but for all the wrong reasons. The ads, which depict host Heidi Klum as a smirking 18th century monarch (and Tim Gunn as some sort of Royal Vizier, clutching an oversized sewing needle like fraternity paddle) have been banned by the city of Los Angeles due to the oily nudity of the cowering subjects at Klum’s feet. Evidently, this was too much for the birthplace of Botox and bikinis, so clothing will be digitally added to the models’ bodies. No word yet on whether the producers will hold a competition to see which designer hopeful will sketch the Photoshopped underwear.
Americans are funny about nudity. In France, where magazine ads and beaches alike are rift with exposed breasts, the poster would most likely cause more offense for mocking their cultural heritage than exposing models’ flesh. To be fair, New Yorkers, who have seen everything, will get the unedited version.
What’s confusing to me is who the nude models are supposed to represent? They’re not the designer wannabes who the 12th season will be about. If it was a poster for America’s Next Top Model you easily picture Tyra Banks as the resplendent queen and the 17-year-old models pressured into posing nude before her. (If it was on the TV show, the innocent girl from Oklahoma would break down crying, and be sent home for not taking her career seriously.)
If the models are meant to represent the designer contestants, perhaps their nudity is meant to symbolize professional desire (naked ambition?). But their poses are passive and focused entirely on Klum. Makes sense, as Klum is who the show is actually about.
Reality TV shows that feature competing professionals, be they designers, models, or stressed out chefs, are not actually about the contestants. Sure, the odd one breaks out as a star, but there will be a batch of new faces next season. The host and the judges are the figures the producers have to build up, transforming unknowns or has-beens into ‘experts’ who dole out advice slash verbal abuse to the meek beginners. Like kings and queens, the hosts’ power is completely man-made, which is why they freak out when a contestant dares to question it. Tyra Banks screaming at an eye-rolling model is a perfect example. If the people on the show don’t take her authority seriously, why would the millions of viewers at home?
While a poster with so much nudity may have been a publicity stunt (being banned from LA billboards created more press for the season than if they’d gone up), the show’s producers correctly portrayed the spirit of the show. The nudity of the models contrasted with Klum’s opulent dressing is all about power. The contestants don’t have any, which is why they grovel to the queen, awaiting her to crown them or scream, ‘Off with your head!’
Of course, it’s all bullshit. I’m just an observer of the fashion industry but I know that’s not how it works. There’s not just one gatekeeper for emerging designers to impress. There’s a ton. They must work hard all the time and network with as many people as possible. And, similar to what I learned for my post about modeling reality TV shows, designers are rarely in direct competition with each other for opportunities and clients. As with most creative people, they’re in competition with themselves.
Programs like Project Runway are not bad for giving young designers publicity and helping them get their names out there, but the anti-monarchist in me wishes we could do that without crowning an expert to lord over all. Like the king in ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ Heidi Klum only has the prestige we bestow on her. In dressing up like Marie Antoinette she ended up showing that she too is naked.
____
Max Mosher writes about style for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @max_mosher_.
For more, follow us on Twitter @TorontoStandard or subscribe to our newsletter.
