ITV M&S Dress the Nation viewers were left upset and annoyed with the broadcaster as they claimed the latest fashion show was a “rip off” from the beloved BBC series – Great British Sewing Bee.
Hosts AJ Odudu and Vernon Kay welcomed 10 amateur designers to go head-to-head in a competition to win a highly-coveted dream job as a junior fashion designer for high street giant M&S.
Over six episodes, the designers will be tested on their problem-solving, commerciality and collaboration skills, whilst being judged by a panel of senior leaders at the company alongside a rotation of celebrity guests and designers.
In their first challenge, the contestants are tasked with creating womenswear clothing under the watchful eye of guest judge Mel B.
However, within minutes of the show airing, many were left complaining and comparing the show to the BBC’s Sewing Bee, with one X user slamming: “#dressthenation is a Sewing Bee rip off without the heart of Bee but too many presenters.”
“Like the idea of #Dressthenation but not sure about the choice of presenters – it’s a bit random!” another expressed before a third said: “So #DressTheNation seems to be Sewing Bee with added celebs and plugs for M&S.”
“Wait. So. Is this just a sewing bee but with a proper prize? #DressTheNation” someone else asked before a fifth penned: “Do we think they took inspo from Sewing Bee? Complete rip off and I will not be swayed!”
For the first challenge, the contestants were asked to design a simple chic summer dress, followed by the second challenge of teaming up to create a “mini collection for a summer weekend away”.
However, Women’s Wear Week was a disaster for one particular contestant, with Julie Watson ending up with a dress she didn’t like, branding it a “nurse uniform”.
She attempted to make a second one, but despite her efforts, she ended up in last place and faced the crushing blow of being sent home.
Odudu recently opened up about her reason for taking the job and said: “I love fashion and I just know how difficult it is to get into the industry that I am in, and I know that fashion is no different, so I was really drawn to the prize.
“It is a life-changing prize and it is amazing! I was also really excited to work with Vernon and love that it is sponsored by M&S. I literally used to work in M&S on the high street of Blackburn town centre, so I am having a real full circle moment with all of those things combined.”
Odudu added that most of her clothes were hand-me-downs growing up, as she was one child out of eight and explained: “My big brothers and sisters would always take photos of me because I was such a little show-off.
“Everything was a hand-me-down, as I am the sixth child out of eight so everything I ever wore was always someone else’s. I had this oversized tracksuit on with my Dad’s flat cap on and my big sister’s sunglasses.
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“Everything was massive and I just loved the outfit. I’d also get a new dress at Christmas and there was one Christmas that my Mum brought me this dress and it felt like velvet and it was silver and I wore that dress until my Mum had to tell me, ‘Come on, it’s too small now!'”
Each brief will be reflective of M&S’ design and product development process – from gathering insights to identifying key product trends to designing and developing original products.
