Netflix’s Next In Fashion: Top 10 Contestants Ranked By Competitiveness

A design competition from Netflix, Next in Fashion, challenged 18 fashion designers to consistently create quality clothing in a race to win $250,000. The prize was impressive, and so were the high levels of competitive spirit emanating from the contestants. Everyone on the show came to present what they could do, what they have already done, and qualities that they possess as a designer that would help them win.

Although everyone wanted the grand prize, some that were more obvious in their approach. There aren’t any major spoilers, so let’s take a look at the top 10 most competitive contestants on Next in Fashion.

10 Minju Kim

Minju was a relatively mild competitor on the show. Even compared to her teammate Angel, her level of competitiveness was miles behind other people in the competition, which proves interesting as the show goes on. Her focus seemed to be more about winning the battles (the challenges) as opposed to winning the war. She displayed a lot of anxious and chaotic energy in almost every episode and had a strong desire to finish her work well. Minju’s behavior was that of a determined competitor, but it was obvious that she had something to prove to herself more than anyone else.

9 Julian Woodhouse

Ex-army model and designer Julian Woodhouse had the posture of a fierce competitor down to the last second. His experience in leadership was evident as he struggled to maintain an equal balance with his team partner Hayley. Julian seemed to be competing mainly against Hayley in trying to get his ideas and designs executed to his standards. As the challenges progressed, his ability to be a team player became more noticeable, and so did his desire to beat the other teams. He barely broke a sweat and kept on a mask of strength during the competition.

8 Kianga “Kiki” Milele

Kianga, known as Kiki on the show,  had a lot of experience and achievements to back up her high level of confidence. She was sure of herself, sometimes to a fault. Kiki’s heavy reliance on her past accomplishments hindered her present work on the show. This affected how she and her teammate Farai worked together to complete the challenges.

She seemed resistant to constructive criticism and unwilling to compromise some of her ideas to allow Farai to contribute to the designs as well. Kiki is a great designer, and a pioneer in fashion, but her rigidity on the show worked against her.

7 Daniel Fletcher

Daniel was the less competitive half of his team. Although he wasn’t as visibly intense as his teammate Carli, his desire to win was still obvious. His diligence and experience shined in every challenge, which marked him as a steady competitor. He seemed to spend most of his time assuring Carli, and some of her extreme competitiveness transferred to him during the process. If there were no teams or if he were paired with a different designer he would probably be amongst the milder contestants, but he developed chameleon qualities and closely matched his partner.

6 Carli Pearson

Self-proclaimed perfectionist Carli Pearson presented herself as a solid competitor on the show. During her introduction, she expressed her ideas and thoughts with quotes like, “Not a thread or stitch out of place,” and “I don’t think I’ll ever be in a place where I will be content.” She was very organized and appeared as if she wanted to make sure she wasn’t ever out of her comfort zone for too long. When the teams all separated and the contestants began competing individually, she had a hard time working on things that she didn’t normally design. More than anything, it seemed like she was in strict competition with herself.

5 Angel Chen

From the first episode, it was clear that Angel’s main goal was to represent her country well. She mentioned several times that she wanted to showcase both her talent and the talent of people like her in China. During each challenge, she focused equally on making something that the judges had possibly never seen before and winning against the other teams.

She was more vocal about her desire to win and showed her determination throughout the competition. Angel seemed to have a level of competitiveness that didn’t overpower her ability to perform well in each challenge.

4 Claire Davis

Claire Davis made edgy clothes and she wanted people to know it. No sparkly princess gowns in her big book of designs. No chance of ballroom dresses or simple garbs from period dramas like Downton Abbey. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having a design aesthetic, especially as a fashion designer. However, in her endeavor to establish herself as a very particular designer, she also managed to consistently walk the fine line between confidence and arrogance multiple times during the competition. In an episode about streetwear, Claire’s team was up for elimination. She was visibly indignant that the judges couldn’t decide which team to send home. Later she said that there shouldn’t have been a dilemma in the first place, implying that her design was easily superior despite being in the bottom.

3 Charles Lu

Charles was the executive half of his design team. It seemed that he was carrying his team throughout the entire show when it came to actually exciting designs. He spent most of his time attempting to reign in his teammate Angelo, who often was busy being a phantom contestant on America’s Next Top Model and doing a pretty good catwalk. Unsurprisingly, he was the more competitive contestant between the two, and he was extremely focused on showing other people his capabilities. Unlike some of the other designers on the show, he didn’t seem to compete much with his teammate, but that may have been because he didn’t view Angelo as a threat.

2 Marco Morante

On the show, Marco made sure to present the distinct style that he was known for in the world of fashion. He was able to display his strong suits while still adhering to the guidelines of every challenge. Any possibly negative competitive traits were mostly covered by the fact that he and his teammate Ashton were close friends for many years, and they seemed to have a playfully combative relationship. Marco’s defining moment as a competitor was when he was hit in the face with a beam inside of a fabric roll and ended up having to go to the hospital to get stitches. Instead of going home afterward, he came back to the competition to help his teammate.

1 Ashton Hirota

Ashton displayed the most competitiveness through his actions and his words. He began the competition with strong statements like, “I think a huge portion of me wanting to win this is not for the money or fame. It is to be surrounded by amazing designers and know that I was better than all of them.” Additionally, instead of calling foul or asking for a substitute teammate when his design partner was injured, he finished most of the challenge by himself with minimal complaints. He worked well with his partner, while simultaneously ensuring that he was able to present his ideas to the judges.

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