Fashion inspires passion, which makes the subject great fodder for reality television.

Craig Blankenhorn, CBS Tommy Hilfiger hosts the new CBS-TV reality series, "The Cut," in which 16 style-savvy contestants will compete in a series of grueling style assignments that test their talent, business acumen, sales and marketing expertise, social skills, resourcefulness and style IQs. Click photo for larger image. "The Cut" When: 8 p.m. Thursday on CBS. Starring: Tommy Hilfiger.

With Bravo's "Project Runway" winning followers in its first season and UPN's "America's Next Top Model" continuing to draw large numbers of viewers after four seasons of catwalk cattiness and diva drama, CBS is joining the fray with its own version of high fashion meets hijinks.

"The Cut," starring popular fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, debuts Thursday from 8-9:30 p.m. Over 14 weeks, Hilfiger will winnow a field of 16 would-be employees down to the chosen one, who will design a collection under Hilfiger's label and receive a $250,000 salary.

"The Cut" sounds and feels a lot -- perhaps a little too much -- like "The Apprentice," right down to the background music and the filler footage of outdoor New York City.

But that's pretty much where comparisons end. If the first episode is any indication, the contestant group already is more interesting than in any of the three "Apprentice" seasons and, for that matter, "Top Model." Contestants also are more diverse, ranging in age from 22 to 42 with widely varied backgrounds: for starters, a Brooklyn street artist and father of five, a New Orleans socialite and clothing designer, a Chicago clothing sales rep, a Nashville restaurant owner and student, a St. Louis handbag designer, a professional skateboarder from Los Angeles and a former Miss Minnesota.

The broad range of backgrounds illustrates the universality of fashion and just how deeply passion for it cuts across demographic lines. The eight women and eight men seem to share that passion, along with a not-so-thinly veiled determination to win.

"It was way beyond what I ever anticipated," Hilfiger said in a recent conference call. "The contestants are incredibly talented, and their personalities are unbelievably diverse. Expect the unexpected. These people are serious contenders. They were back-stabbing in many cases, and they were very catty."

Hilfiger wouldn't name names but pledged guest appearances by a slew of celebrities. Next week, for example, teams will customize Lincoln Navigators for hiphop star Fabolous.

Teams will change with the task each week. There's also the twist of Hilfiger viewing camera monitors and behind-the-scenes footage in order to get as much accurate information as he can before he makes each weekly cut, rather than relying heavily on the opinions of contestants and hirelings as Donald Trump does.

"I wanted it to be clear in my mind about who ought to be worthy of staying," he said, adding that he met none of the contestants until he walked into the room to greet them in the first episode.

Hilfiger warned against expecting the program to be strictly about fashion design in the stitch-you-up-an-outfit sense.

"That's too narrow for the CBS audience," he said. "I'm more focused on fame: 'f'' for fashion, 'a' for art, 'm' for music, 'e' for entertainment. That spells pop culture, what is cool, hip and now and what really moves the needle of culture today."

The first week's challenge requires contestants to create Hilfiger billboards in Times Square. Both sides take risks, but Hilfiger is "underwhelmed" by both efforts before choosing the winning team and sending home someone from the losing team.

Hilfiger said he has spent the past 20 years building a $5 billion global lifestyle brand and will hire someone who can help build on that legacy. The winner, he said, will have the best combination of "business acumen, social skills, creativity, talent, perseverance, drive, urge to win."

Like most alpha-level American fashion designers, Hilfiger had lots of dues to pay on his journey to the top. But he said he has no problem fast-tracking a relative unknown who may not have the paper credentials that so many designers need in order to get a crack at a golden opportunity.

"There's a tremendous amount of talent out there that's untapped," he said. "At this point in my career, it's time to surround myself with even greater talent than in the past. And I can spot it. There is so much room for the next and the new. If Bill Gates could find the next computer genius out there, he would bring that person to the top of the heap."