"Launch My Line" Review: The Next "Runway"?

You guys know how hurt I was when The Weinstein Company took “Project Runway” away from my beloved Bravo.

And even though Bravo has ended up the victor in that little skirmish, I would still love for them to find a good replacement.

“The Fashion Show” was definitely not it. And unfortunately, I’m not sure “Launch My Line” is either…

The fashion competition is turned on its ear a little bit as instead of 10 designers, “Launch” gives us 10 people from other professions who dream of being designers—an architect, a music mogul, a CEO, a DJ, a fashion critic, an event designer, a choreographer, a fashion writer, a stylist, and a jewelry designer. They all have ideas but no real experience, so they are teamed with a design expert to help them complete their ideas.

The concept is a sound one since it is an instant drama creator. The experts are forced to create a garment designed by someone with no experience and no knowledge of design. Some combos clash automatically—especially the CEO and her expert—but most get along okay…

Which makes the first episode a little boring. Fortunately the wise people at Bravo provided two episodes to preview and the second one is much better with much more drama.

The show is hosted by the DSQUARED2 design team of Dean and Dan Caten. They’re twins who usually finish each other’s sentences. Their back and forth banter is clever at first, but as the first episode continues, it starts to get a little annoying. Their banter is worked out much better for the second episode as they actually come off pretty charming…

The judges are fashion experts Stefani Greenfield and Lisa Kline. They’re sufficient but they could use a little more clever snark…

As I said, the concept is sound and the second episode was better than the first. So it’s quite possible that the show can build on that momentum and become a really good one.

For Bravo’s sake, I certainly hope so…

“Launch My Line” premieres Wednesday, December 2nd at 11 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Pete Tangen/Bravo