'Making The Cut': Jonny Cota's outfits are inspired by his 'loud, freaky gay past' and religious upbringing
The design assignments on Amazon-backed 'Making The Cut' are getting tougher with each episode. The contestants are now pushed out of their comfort zones and made to create garments that are a real test of their patience and skill.
In Episode 6, Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum task the designers with a unique challenge. They will have to create a two-look mini-collection inspired by the dichotomy of Tokyo (where the episode was shot). Their outfits should represent the concept of opposing forces and the interpretation of those forces could vary from person to person - past-present, good and evil, and such.
"Tokyo has a lot of ancient elements and traditions. Yet, it is also a very modern city. It's a leading force in technology," Heidi pointed out, to which Tim gently added as a reminder that one of the looks should be accessible.
Los Angeles-based Jonny Cota, who is now openly gay, struggled to embrace his real self even though he realized about it at an early age. He shared how it has always been very complicated and difficult for him to be a "loud, freak gay man" who comes from a religious place. He took that aspect of his life and was ready to create something magical out of it.
"I was raised in a super Catholic family with really loving, supporting parents. But, at an early age, I realized I was gay raised in a Catholic family. And that was when I first started wearing like all-black representing like this deep depression I didn't realize I had. It took years to crawl out of that. Now, I am a totally well-adjusted adult. I have a loving family. I am proud to be gay," Jonny added.
He won a challenge earlier and was on the judges' radar. Therefore, the pressure was on him to do better than before. And he did. However, he didn't come out on top but Joseph Altuzarra and Naomi Campbell thought his works were extremely elegant, chic and creative.
"There's such an interesting kind of softening of your vocabulary. And I think it's actually bringing such a unique perspective on this very like rock and roll world that you have created. That is so key for your brand and I think you can really build into something far greater," Joseph commented.
The episode concluded with Sander Bos winning the challenge and Rinat Brodach taking the exit door.