contender, faces the panel of judges telling him in a first-impression challenge that his elaborate and impeccable looks are too runway for the streetwear world. I know the path that I’m on is the right one for me.” Now she’s a business owner on a reality show-about as American Dream-y as it comes these days.
“I don’t even know how my life would’ve been if I stayed. “It was very unsafe in Colombia,” she says. She and her friend Marina started their line, Deadblud, with only their savings and sketches as launching pads. “My street is festivals, music, being able to express myself freely at these events that everyone is showing off their insane creations,” she says. Camila, a 26-year-old DACA dreamer who immigrated to the United States from Colombia when she was eight years old, started her first fashion line after attending Burning Man in 2020. Formidable opponent Kai has been releasing collections inspired by motorcycles and anime for over six years. Hand-holding/hosting duties fall to the empathetic Speedy Morman, an anchor with Complex media.Ī post shared by Camila Romero handful of the contestants hail from Los Angeles, each representing a different aspect of the city. With only ten contestants, the intensity of the competition is palpable, and the judges, who must “co-sign” each designer’s look or send them home, can be brutal. Joining them throughout the season are a stream of famous creatives like Khalifa, A$AP Ferg, and Cardi herself, to whom the designers must appeal with each challenge. The Hype’s contestants are judged by a panel of three streetwear experts: creative director Bephie Birkett, stylist Marni Senofonte, and Offset, rapper, mogul, and on-again, off-again husband to Cardi B. Each episode offers a glimpse into the history and culture of streetwear, which values self-expression, functionality, and comfort above the crazy constructions and unrealistic silhouettes of high-fashion and couture. Streetwear, an ever-evolving fashion phenomenon born of skating, surfing, and hip-hop scenes in the ’80s, has become a massive influence on the mainstream industry. In other words, it’s good TV.īut it’s not just the novelty of The Hype that makes it a fascinating watch. The main difference between this show and its predecessors is that you’ll see Wiz Khalifa smoking multiple joints on camera, a white girl from Kentucky arguing with judges about why it’s OK to mix blue and red gang colors on a street jacket (“I bring people together with my work”), and the cast driving up in low-rider cars to deliver their finished outfits. Following the now-ubiquitous format that Project Runway popularized almost two decades ago, the show features a posse of budding streetwear designers, all decked out in their own creations, competing in timed challenges in which they create original looks. Picture Making the Cut meets Hip-Hop Evolution, and you’ve got something close to The Hype, a new competition reality show premiering on HBO Max on August 12.