'Devil's Runway' seems more like entertainment show

Model Soo Joo, left, and Han Hye-jin pose at the press conference of OnStyle’s new fashion survival show “Devil’s Runway” at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of OnStyle

By Kim Jae-heun

“Devil’s Runway,” cable channel OnStyle’s new fashion survival show, aims to become the next “Korea’s Next Top Model” series, but it looks like the show needs more development, judging by the 17 preview videos released online.

The show’s preview clips, so far, have only reached 65 subscribers and have only gotten 85 “likes,” on Naver, the country’s no. 1 portal.

The strong electronic beat at the start of the preview videos gives the impression that the episodes will depict scenes of fierce competition, but soon, it gives way to nothing more than a lame talent show for fashion models. They sing, they dance and they stage comedy acts, but nothing is related to fashion. The performances seem contrived and awkward.

The four judges of “Devil’s Runway” lack experience. By contrast, “Korea’s Next Top Model” casts fashion-related experts such as professional photographers, editors of renowned fashion magazines and veteran fashion models. However, “Devil’s Runway” features one fashion designer -- who is better known for his performance as a TV entertainer, one comedian as a judge and two models as the main emcees.

The list of models cast in the show are from only one agency, Esteem, which makes the show subject to the criticism that it is merely a “show” for one of the country’s top modeling agencies to propel its models to stardom.

“Korea’s Next Top Model,” sharing the same format of the successful American TV show “America’s Next Top Model,” was criticized for driving models into fierce competition and editing videos provocatively. However, it featured models from various agencies and invited judges from diverse industries and agencies. Each episode focused on models battling for the right photogenic poses, where each model would make it to the next round or fail. “Devil’s Runway” is nothing at all like that.

“We focus on fostering new faces in Devil’s Runway,” said Kim Young-won, the producer and director of the show, who also made the previous “Korea’s Next Top Model” series. “The rookies learn fast and improve.”

Kim said it would be a spoiler to reveal what will be shown in the upcoming episodes, but he promises there will be more than singing and dancing. “Devil’s Runway” premiers on Jan. 9.