The Cut: Designs on the Prize

The Cut Designs on the Prize
About 65 people with a wide range of experience and aspirations gathered at the Kansas City Art Institute on a chilly Sunday morning.

They were there for a casting call for contestants for a coming TV reality show, this one based on the fashion world. It's to be called the The Cut and Tommy Hilfiger will be the host.

Producers are looking at thousands of hopeful competitors through auditions in 12 cities as well as mail applications. Sixteen finalists will be chosen by the first of the year. They will work together, on camera in New York, for six or seven weeks on fashion projects. The show is expected to air sometime in the spring on CBS. The prize is formidable. The winner will work with Hilfiger for a year and produce a signature clothing line.

It's fashion's answer to Donald Trump's The Apprentice.

Paul Bailey designs basic polo shirts for the St. Louis-based May Co. but came to Kansas City to show samples of the menswear line he dreams of launching. He was quick to hold up a black mesh shirt.

Meredith Woodside, a student at the Art Institute from Norman, Okla., brought hand-woven fabrics. "I'm trying to convince people I know what I'm doing," she said. "I did this from scratch. I went to the farm and got the wool, dyed it and wove it," she said about a fuzzy scarf.

Camille Howard, a veteran fashion