Executive Producer James Deutch Gets You Excited for the Fashion Star Party!
The success of Fashion Star isn’t just going to be based on its ratings but also on the sales of original collections bought from the designers on the show on a weekly basis. All of the collections that receive bids will be available online and in stores immediately after airing, taking the world of fashion and reality competitions to a whole other level. Snakkle caught up with show producer James Deutch to get the 411 on his new series. By Danielle TurchianoSnakkle: Right out of the gate, Fashion Star feels like a party. The music is loud; the lights are bright; the energy is up on that runway. How important was it for you to differentiate between other fashion shows with the style, tone, and imagery of the show?
James Deutch: They’re spectacles! You know, fashion shows are big, and you don’t get that on television really, other than if I was watching a clip of a real fashion show. When E.J. [Johnston] and I were putting this whole thing together, we wanted the show to be entertainment. It’s really happening in that world; we just wanted to bring it to television.
Snakkle: Fashion Star also sets itself apart by not only having celebrity mentors like Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie, but it also has actual buyers from Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, and H&M who will be bidding on the collections they see. How did you go about selecting those you got involved?
Deutch: We really thought it would be interesting for the viewers to see how both sides of the process came together. We didn’t want it to be about making clothes, specifically. We wanted it to be building your brand and these over-the-top runway shows and fashion shows. It’s kind of like American Idol [in that] you see a little bit of the preparation… how they rehearse. But on the stage is where all the action takes place. We really wanted people who had developed brands. All four of the celebrities on the show have done that, so they had the experience that they could tell someone what their journey was all about and how they built a brand [too].
Snakkle: And why did you feel it important to select such a range of buyers?
Deutch: We spoke to a lot of people; we had so much interest. What was important to us was that they were the great pillars of the fashion industry. I mean, you see what H&M does with Versace and Marni, and that’s really what’s happening in fashion. Across the board, design can be at any price. If you want to be a big fashion designer today, you have to be able to work in all of those areas.
Snakkle: The clothing that is purchased on the runway will be available online and in stores the very next day after the show airs. What extra challenges did that add to producing the show? To us, it seems kind of technically impossible!
Deutch: That’s what we do! We make the impossible happen! You come up with an idea, and people say “That’s impossible; that can never happen,” and the fun of it is making it happen. I know enough about the fashion world to know it could be possible, but it took a lot of hard work basically selling and explaining to the stores that this would be a huge opportunity. And then it was figuring out the logistics: “Okay, we need to film the show with enough lead time” and make sure the stores are set up to do it. It was very hard, but it was something that I really believed in.
Snakkle: Talk a little bit about the designers. How did you find them? And are there any you think will really surprise the audience in terms of their style or ability to work well (or not) under pressure?
Deutch: When we were doing the casting, it was really important for us to find people who were already making clothes, who might have their own store; they might be selling clothes locally to their friends and family; they really had the talent for making clothes. What’s cool, and you [see] it in the first show, we give them sewers and patternmakers and set up a workshop so they have everything they need—they have all of the resources that a real designer has.… We really wanted them to be a designer, a boss. A lot of people are great at sketching or one-off couture, but can they manage a team? And that’s what you do if you’re a fashion designer. Calvin Klein wasn’t in a factory sewing jackets; he was being a leader.
Snakkle: How specific do you get with these designers week to week about the challenges?
Deutch: The runway show is a chance to sell your look of the week, so we gave everyone a general parameter they had to work with. It wasn’t so specific as “You must design something out of wool,” but it was “Design something you think would be good for spring” or “Tell us your signature piece.” It was broad enough that we had a range of creative fashion.
Snakkle: NBC is making a name for itself with positive, uplifting reality competitions today, namely The Voice. How are you feeling about being in such company?
Deutch: We’re excited; we’re so honored to be on NBC—it’s a huge thing to be there—so in a way it’s starting by feeling like we’ve [already] won. But clearly we want the audience to be excited [too]. We want the clothes to sell! We really want people to be excited about double the things. If we were just launching a clothing line, we’d be excited, but we want people to watch and want to buy the clothes.
Fashion Star premieres on NBC on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.