10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

The 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows Till 2025: Shaping Style, Talent, and Culture

March 6, 2025 By Radhe Raaz

The 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows Till 2025: Shaping Style, Talent, and Culture

10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows, Today I am here to describe to you the 10 best fashion reality TV shows till 2025 which is a comprehensive essay, written in a continuous, flowing format with appropriate headings. It takes an in-depth and analytical look at the way fashion reality TV has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Fashion reality TV has become more than entertainment; it is now a force that shapes global style, influences design trends, and offers new pathways for talent to enter the industry.

From the early 2000s to 2025, the evolution of these shows has transformed from mere competitions into platforms that celebrate creativity, diversity, sustainability, and the fusion of fashion with technology and storytelling. Here, we take an in-depth look at the ten best fashion reality TV shows till 2025, exploring how they not only entertained millions but also redefined the very essence of fashion media. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

1. Project Runway: The Timeless Pioneer

No list of iconic fashion reality shows is complete without Project Runway. First launched in 2004, Project Runway remains a hallmark of fashion competitions even in 2025. Its basic premise — designers racing against time to create runway-ready garments — seems simple, but its brilliance lies in its ability to capture the raw creative process. Over the years, the show evolved to embrace sustainability challenges, technology-driven design, and global fashion perspectives, ensuring its relevance in every era.

By 2025, Project Runway’s cultural imprint is undeniable: it is a training ground for future industry legends and a reality TV classic that still holds emotional resonance for both contestants and viewers. Its mix of drama, talent, and high-stakes glamour ensures that it stands tall as one of the greatest fashion shows of all time. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

2. Next in Fashion: The Global Vanguard

Next in Fashion, first launched by Netflix in 2020, quickly became a game-changer. With its global cast of designers and hosts like Tan France, the show represented a cultural shift toward the democratization of fashion. What made it different was its genuine celebration of cross-cultural aesthetics. African textiles, Asian draping techniques, Latin American embroidery, and European tailoring all collided in a singular, high-energy competition. By 2025, Next in Fashion had firmly established itself as a global fashion incubator, providing a runway where both heritage techniques and cutting-edge innovation coexisted beautifully.

Designers were no longer competing for temporary fame; they were launching sustainable brands, collaborating with international artisans, and using fashion as a bridge between cultures. In the post-pandemic world, where digital commerce ruled, Next in Fashion embraced technology, allowing viewers to purchase winning designs directly from streaming platforms, further erasing the boundaries between reality TV and retail.

3. America’s Next Top Model: A Cultural Phoenix

Although America’s Next Top Model officially ended in 2018, it refused to stay buried. Its 2024 reboot reinvented the franchise for a new generation, embracing diversity in its truest sense. Contestants of all sizes, genders, and backgrounds walked the ANTM runway, reflecting the evolving standards of beauty itself. The new format blended modeling challenges with influencer-era marketing, teaching models not just how to pose but also how to build personal brands across digital platforms.

The reinvention turned ANTM into a hybrid competition where social media campaigns, viral runway moments, and online fashion activism were judged alongside photoshoots. By 2025, ANTM had once again become a cultural touchstone — not just a model search, but a platform for rewriting beauty norms and amplifying voices from marginalized communities.

4. Making the Cut: Fashion Meets Business

Launched in 2020, Amazon Prime’s Making the Cut revolutionized fashion reality TV by shifting the focus from pure design talent to entrepreneurial prowess. Unlike traditional competitions, where winning meant a cash prize or a magazine feature, Making the Cut offered designers direct access to Amazon’s massive global audience. Winning designs became instantly shoppable, blurring the line between reality TV and e-commerce. By 2025, the show evolved into a fashion startup accelerator, where contestants pitched entire brand visions — from aesthetics to sustainability plans to pricing strategies.

It became the ultimate test: could creative genius survive the brutal realities of global retail? Making the Cut’s emphasis on scalability, alongside its lavish globe-trotting shoots, ensured that it remained as much a travelogue as a fashion show, celebrating both craftsmanship and commerce.

5. The Hype: Streetwear Takes Center Stage

With its debut in 2021, The Hype brought streetwear — long marginalized in high fashion — into the spotlight. By 2025, streetwear was no longer just a subculture but a dominant force, and The Hype stood at the heart of that cultural shift. Contestants didn’t just design clothes; they told stories of identity, neighborhood pride, and cultural heritage through their garments. The show embraced collaborations with graffiti artists, sneaker designers, and musicians, making fashion inseparable from larger urban culture. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

The Hype proved that authenticity was the ultimate currency, turning streetwear designers into cultural historians, narrating stories through prints, silhouettes, and materials. As luxury brands increasingly embraced streetwear aesthetics, The Hype became the bridge between underground style and high fashion, shaping what the world wore and why.

6. Glow Up: Fashion’s Best Friend

Though technically focused on makeup artistry, Glow Up earned its place among fashion reality shows by making beauty an essential element of fashion storytelling. Makeup was no longer treated as an accessory; it became the primary visual language. By 2025, Glow Up had expanded its challenges to include full editorial styling, requiring makeup artists to collaborate with designers, hair stylists, and photographers to create cohesive narratives. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

This interdisciplinary approach made Glow Up essential viewing for anyone who understood that fashion is not just clothing but the total visual experience. Its focus on creativity, identity, and innovation aligned perfectly with fashion’s own evolution, and its commitment to inclusivity ensured that beauty itself was constantly redefined.

7. RuPaul’s Drag Race: Couture in a New Language

What began in 2009 as a drag competition evolved into one of the most influential fashion platforms by 2025. RuPaul’s Drag Race didn’t just showcase drag talent; it birthed avant-garde fashion moments that put even established designers to shame. By 2025, its runway challenges became global style spectacles, where contestants pushed the boundaries of gendered fashion, explored new materials, and blended cultural references in ways traditional designers often feared.

Fashion on Drag Race was political, emotional, and theatrical, making it one of the most watched fashion incubators of the era. Designers from the show went on to create collections not just for drag queens but for mainstream celebrities, proving that fashion’s future lies in bold, boundary-breaking visions. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

8. Blown Away: Fashion Edition

Inspired by the success of the original glass-blowing show, Blown Away: Fashion Edition launched in 2024, immediately earning a cult following. Its focus was fashion made from non-traditional materials, including glass textiles, metals, recycled plastics, and biodegradable compounds. Designers were forced to think beyond fabric, creating garments that were part art installation, part wearable sculpture.

This experimental spirit aligned perfectly with fashion’s growing obsession with sustainability and innovation. By 2025, the show had cemented itself as a laboratory for future fashion, where materials science, environmental activism, and aesthetic exploration converged in dazzling ways.

9. Savage X Fenty Show: Fashion as Performance

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show, first launched in 2019, evolved into something much larger than a lingerie show. By 2025, it had become part runway, part reality show, and part cultural movement. Each year’s show incorporated emerging designers, dancer-led choreography, and bold statements on body diversity, sexuality, and gender fluidity.

Behind the scenes, emerging designers competed to have their pieces included in the show, turning Savage X Fenty into both a performance and a competition. Its blending of commercial savvy with radical inclusivity made it the most relevant fashion show in the world by 2025. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

10. Style Up: Fashion for Real Life

Debuting in 2023, Style Up filled a gap long ignored by fashion TV — the power of personal styling. Contestants weren’t designing high-concept pieces; they were styling real people for real-life moments — job interviews, weddings, first dates, even gender transition celebrations. By focusing on fashion as self-expression, Style Up resonated deeply with audiences who saw themselves not as fashion models but as everyday people yearning for confidence and transformation.

This human-centered approach to fashion made it not just a show about clothes but a celebration of identity, proving that the most beautiful outfits are the ones that make people feel seen.

10 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the 10 best fashion reality TV shows till 2025, along with clear and informative answers:

1. What makes these 10 fashion reality TV shows stand out from others?
ANS: These shows stand out because they have significantly influenced both the fashion industry and popular culture. They combine creativity, competition, and storytelling while introducing new trends, showcasing diverse talents, and adapting to evolving fashion standards such as sustainability, inclusivity, and digital innovation. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

2. Are these shows only about designing clothes?
ANS: No, not all of them focus solely on designing clothes. Some, like America’s Next Top Model, focus on modeling and photography, while Glow Up highlights makeup artistry. Others, like Style Up, focus on personal styling, and Savage X Fenty blends fashion shows with performance art. Together, they represent every angle of the fashion ecosystem.

3. Which of these shows is considered the most prestigious for designers?
ANS: Project Runway remains the most iconic and prestigious for designers in terms of industry recognition. However, Making the Cut offers the biggest direct commercial platform, thanks to its connection with Amazon, where designers’ creations can be sold globally. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

4. How have these shows impacted global fashion trends?
ANS: These shows have influenced everything from streetwear and body positivity to sustainable fashion and gender-fluid design. They have made fashion more accessible to viewers, turning previously unknown designers into global trendsetters. In some cases, designs created on these shows have gone viral and directly shaped what people wear in everyday life.

5. Are these shows scripted or real?
ANS: While the competitions and creative processes are real, many of these shows are highly edited for dramatic effect. Certain reality TV conventions, like manufactured rivalries or heightened emotional moments, are often part of the format. However, the talent, craftsmanship, and creative decisions are authentic.

6. What are the eligibility criteria for contestants?
ANS: Each show has different criteria. Project Runway and Making the Cut focus on professional designers, often requiring a minimum level of experience or education. Next in Fashion is open to global talent, while Style Up and Glow Up welcome stylists and makeup artists, regardless of formal training. RuPaul’s Drag Race requires drag performance experience, and America’s Next Top Model focuses on aspiring models. Overall, talent and creativity are the common threads. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

7. How have these shows embraced diversity and inclusivity?
ANS: Diversity and inclusivity have become central themes by 2025. Modern seasons of ANTM feature models of all body types, races, genders, and abilities. RuPaul’s Drag Race has elevated LGBTQ+ fashion, and Savage X Fenty celebrates body positivity like no other show. Many of these shows also feature cultural fashion challenges, showcasing non-Western aesthetics and indigenous craftsmanship. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

8. Can viewers buy the designs seen on these shows?
ANS: Yes, especially in shows like Making the Cut, where winning designs are sold directly on Amazon. Similarly, Next in Fashion has experimented with instant e-commerce options. Other shows, like Savage X Fenty, merge runway looks with available collections, creating direct-to-consumer opportunities for fans to own pieces seen on screen.

9. Do contestants really benefit from appearing on these shows?
ANS: Absolutely! Many contestants go on to build successful fashion careers, launch their own brands, or become sought-after stylists and influencers. Even those who don’t win often gain exposure, connections, and mentorship that can change their careers forever. Contestants from Project Runway, Drag Race, and Next in Fashion have become household names in fashion circles. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

10. How can aspiring fashion creatives apply to these shows?
ANS: Most shows accept online applications directly from their official websites. Applicants usually submit portfolios, design samples, photoshoots, or styling examples, along with personal stories that highlight their creative vision. Many of these shows also scout talent directly from social media, making platforms like Instagram and TikTok valuable entry points for emerging designers, models, and stylists. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows

Conclusion: Fashion Reality TV’s Global Legacy

By 2025, fashion reality TV had evolved into something far bigger than televised competitions. It became a cultural archive, a talent incubator, and a storytelling platform that blended entertainment with industry change. From runways to real life, these ten shows shaped not just how we dress but how we understand fashion itself — as a language of self-expression, a tool for empowerment, and a canvas for creativity that knows no limits. 10 Best Fashion Reality TV Shows