‘Making the Cut’ Week One Winners Dish on Their Big Amazon Debuts

Decider: What is the best piece of advice that you got from Tim Gunn in these first two episodes?

Esther Perbandt: He was reassuring. That helped me a lot, because I was struggling a lot in the first two episodes, just time-wise. I mean, I hadn’t been sewing for 15 years, I didn’t do any patterns, so I was pretty challenged, the first time, running around like wild. And Tim just gave me the feeling, that, “Hey, you’ll work it out. That’s okay.” And what I really liked was the one discussion we had the second day when my trousers didn’t come back finished from the seamstress. I really had to make all my plans to start over again, and I decided to make fake pockets. And he said, “No, that’s great! That’s a wonderful process because it makes it more commercial, maybe. It makes it less expensive.” It was just like this reassuring, and Tim is really perfect in that.

Coming back into the workroom and finding out your garment isn’t finished is probably the worst case scenario. What was your game plan to get that look finished in time for the runway?

The morning when I woke up, I somehow got the information already. Like, “Esther, be prepared that these fucking trousers will not be ready.” I knew I had to be super focused and super organized to make this happen. So I started [planning] in the morning, okay, where can I change? And lucky me, I made the right decisions. Turning the rear pockets into fake pockets saved me three hours.

‘Making the Cut’: How to Buy the Winning Looks on Amazon

I liked the challenge. I hate when people say, “Esther, we have a problem.” I prefer they approach me, say like, “Esther, we have something that we need a solution for.” It’s like, okay, now we’re talking. And this is the same way I worked through this first challenge. If something doesn’t work, always have in mind, what will be the options, what will be the alternative?

Your look also won in Episode 2, after you took the risk of working with sequins for the first time. What led you to take that big of a risk on such a huge stage? Are you just that much of a risk-taker?

Oh no, not at all! Or I don’t know, maybe people will call me [a risk-taker]. I get some feedback, like, “Wow, you’re so courageous, doing all these things!” But I wouldn’t call myself really courageous. Maybe because I won the first episode, I felt somehow safe, like, “Okay, you will definitely not win the second one right away. So maybe you can be a bit more dare-y? And just experiment! Do something you’ve never done before!” And I enjoyed it so much. Really, this second episode is my favorite. I felt like being sent back to the playground. It was wonderful. This was the biggest present someone could give to me. What could you do with 20 meters of tulle and sequins? Wow. I loved it.

The Louvre fashion show in Episode 2 felt so dramatic. Was it that intense in-person?

Yeah, for me it was. It was really a very special moment, because also the location where we had the fashion show, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. I did my masters in Paris, and I know Paris quite well. Since almost 20 years regularly, I’ve been going to see these huge fashion designer exhibitions over there. And whenever I’m there, usually I go there alone and I’m spending two hours there. I cannot remember one moment where I didn’t drop any tears while looking at these exhibitions there. Maybe because it was like, oh my god, they’re all so big! Will I have the same chance, one day, to present my work in this amazing location? And then it happened! All of a sudden, the world was upside down and I was able to show two pieces in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. I was so excited and when I saw the pieces on this woman, and they presented it so strongly and so powerful, these two ladies. When they walked down the runway and I watched it with Tim, he said, “Esther, this is breathtaking.” I was like, “Oh god, yeah.” And I really, I had to focus that I was not bursting into tears. But at the moment, I went out, luckily there was no camera, because I went into a corner and the stairway somewhere and I cried so heavily. Because I was so touched! And then when I won it. I cannot explain how much that meant to me. Especially with Carine Roitfeld giving me this extra prize of being featured in the CR Fashion Magazine. So wow, I could’ve gone [home] afterwards and I would have been totally fine.

Decider: What was the best piece of advice you got from Tim Gunn?

Ji Won Choi: The advice I’ve gotten from Tim consistently has always been about, like, “Keep yourself calm, Ji. Get through this.” I know you can’t really see in the episodes, but there was so much freaking out that I was going through, like consistently. I was always freaking out. I keep my cool very well, just on the outer shell, but I was always freaking out and telling Tim how much I was freaking out. He did a really good job of trying to calm me down, and trying to make sure I got the things I needed to do.

What was it like working in a room with 11 other designers?

Honesty, the creative energy in that room was insane. I never worked in a room with so many creative, passionate people, and honestly it was super inspiring. Super inspiring, and so much fun just being around other designers and giving each other advice, asking each other, “What do you think about this seam? What do you think about this detail?” So we were helping each other out, and it was just a really good process, actually.

Were there any designers that specifically impressed you, or made an impression on you?

Oh yeah. Oh my god, yes. Honestly, when I first met Sander, I was like, “You’re so annoying.” And I was like, “You’re 24?” But we’ve grown so close, and I’ve just been blown away by him since the first episode, because we sat right next to each other. So I’ve seen his whole process and I’ve been consistently so impressed, like episode by episode.

In Episode 2, did you know ahead of time that there were going to be Amazon scouts in the audience that could potentially make multiple people winners?

Oh, I had no idea. It was a complete shock. I mean, they say that at any time, anyone could go home. But I had no idea there could be buyers in the audience, so there’s opportunities, things like that. Everything’s a complete shock.

During Tim Gunn’s walk-around, we got to see your Haute Couture look on the dress form and—just to show our innate gender bias when watching these shows—I assumed it was for a woman. But on the runway, it was worn by a man. It was a smart twist on our expectations, watching reality shows like this one where 99% of the models are women. What is your approach to playing with gender?

With gender, I don’t think a dress has to be limited to a woman. I think it’s very much an open topic, and I think whatever looks good on a woman, it could still look good on a man. Honestly, whatever I make I would still put it on a man. I don’t think there are any restrictions regarding that.

Now you have a garment in the Amazon store. What is that like?

It’s pretty crazy. I’m super grateful that one of my looks can be bought by people in so many different countries around the world, and those people have access to it. It’s the first time when it’s my own name, it’s not a collab with Adidas or anything. So, yeah, I’m pretty happy to see it.

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