Israeli designer Rinat Brodach raves about the realities of ‘Making the Cut’

Spoiler alert! Israeli designer Rinat Brodach made it through six tense episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s reality fashion design show “Making the Cut,” squeezing in Shabbat candle lighting and an outfit inspired by Hasidic dress before being told she wasn’t “making the cut.”

Still, she was happy with the entire experience.

“I remained the same authentic person that I am throughout the whole period of filming, and I am happy I was able to shine when people around the world watching got to see the light,” said Brodach.

Brodach, like the other 12 contestants in the reality show, was chosen from 7,000 applicants by creators and presenters Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn and the Amazon Studios staff, said Brodach.

“This is the kind of PR that no publicist can give you,” she said. “It gave me this global exposure. The fashion industry is super saturated, and reality TV is one of the only ways to cut through the noise.”

The original contestants on the first episode of Amazon Prime’s ‘Making the Cut’ fashion reality show, which featured Israeli designer Rinat Brodach, seated second from left (Courtesy ‘Making the Cut’)

Brodach, 35, who has had her own fashion label for years, wasn’t sure she wanted to participate, but the show’s premise won her over.

The reality show, which launched at the end of March, chooses a winning designer after each episode’s fashion show, with one outfit made immediately available for sale on Amazon’s “Making the Cut” fashion platform. The winner of the show receives $1 million and mentorship to create the next global fashion brand.

The designers are a global group, from Germany, Italy, Belgium, Malaysia, the US, — and Gan Yavne, Brodach’s Israeli hometown near Ashdod.

In reality, Brodach has lived in the US for most of the last 15 years.

“They wanted me to say I lived in Tel Aviv, but I never lived in Tel Aviv, I’m from Gan Yavne,” said Brodach, speaking from her home in New York. “I left Israel 15 years ago to live my dream.”

In “Making the Cut,” experienced designers vied to win each episode. Filmed in New York, Paris and Tokyo, they had to create nearly a dozen outfits each, most of them in the space of a day or two.

Brodach coasted under the judges’ radar for the first four episodes, when judge Nicole Richie commented, “I want to see the Israeli effortless girl within you.”

When Brodach finally won their approval in episode 5, it included having her accessible outfit being sold on Amazon and the chance to collaborate with the head of design for Puma in Tokyo, designing an entire look for the sneaker and casual clothing manufacturer.

Rinat Brodach’s winning designs for episode 5 of ‘Making the Cut,’ Amazon Prime’s fashion reality show that launched March 20, 2020 (Courtesy Rinat Brodach)

Brodach’s final, brutal cut happened in episode 6, after winning the previous episode’s design competition.

She failed to win the approval of judges Klum, fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni and designer Joseph Altuzarra, although supermodel and judge Naomi Campbell fought for her to be allowed to stay.

No matter, though, Brodach was told by Klum, “Rinat, you’re not making the cut.”

The two outfits that cut Brodach out of the competition were meant to channel Judaism and Buddhism.

It wasn’t the first hard knock that Brodach has experienced in her years of creating a fashion brand.

“Israel makes you tougher for life,” she told The Times of Israel. “I served in the army.”

Israeli-born Rinat Brodach, a New York fashion designer who made it through six episodes of fashion reality show ‘Making the Cut’ (Courtesy Rinat Brodach)

The San Francisco Academy of Art graduate apprenticed in Paris before heading to New York to start her own business. Recently she transitioned into gender-free clothing, aiming to create fashions that aren’t for”the skinny and rich,” said Brodach.

“Fashion is so judgmental and it can be a little racist, and yet it’s for everybody,” she said.

Now, the designer is back in New York, preparing a new collection based on her work during the show.

“There was so much more value from show that from winning a million,” she said. “I’ll make a million myself and I kept myself authentic and real. I’m happy that my real self was able to shine through.”