First rule of getting your own reality TV show: don’t sign on if you aren’t ready to see your ego slowly dissected, held up under a blinding spotlight and slyly ridiculed by millions. The Sundance Channel has taken the plunge into reality television by taking on Bravo’s “Project Runway” with their new behind-the-scenes fashion offering, “House of Boateng” (Thursdays, 9 p.m.). Viewers go along for the ride as Ozwald Boateng, the 39-year-old, U.K.-born creative director of Givenchy, attempts to bring his own fashion line into the U.S. The eight-episode series starts out optimistically enough with Boateng in his native Britain, collecting accolades (he was awarded the Order of the British Empire), showing off that famous British hubris and putting on a successful runway show for his latest designs. But the sweet reality show pain hits once Boateng arrives in America a few episodes later.
Deciding that he needs to open a retail shop (and soon a full franchise across the nation) in order to succeed stateside, Boateng and his hapless business manager Guiseppe go on a series of meetings, attempting to land $1 million in investment capital for a Manhattan store. In each case, buyers and investors seemed alternately disinterested and fascinated by Boateng’s U.S. market naiveté. Later, in a meeting with streetwear designer Marc Ecko, Boateng gets a New York-style reality check. Afterwards, Ecko stares directly into the camera and says, “[Boateng] is too knee-deep in his own shit…” Adding insult to injury, “Project Runway” winner (season one) Jay McCarroll gets to take an on-camera poke at Boateng saying, “He’s delusional!” The irony here is that Ecko’s clothes are currently at the bottom of the barrel in the U.S., and McCarroll has yet to even launch a line. Overall, the series plays out less like a lesson in fashion, and more like a study in market research.
In a rare moment of humility, Boateng recently said, “You can’t choose America, America has to choose you.” Unfortunately, he fails to realize that here, more often than not, the reverse is true—America (and more specifically, New York) surrenders to those who don’t quit. Watching the slow motion humbling of a U.K. fashion star is deliciously cruel, addictive and absolutely worth 30 minutes of boob tube commitment.
