Nina Garcia | The New York Observer

What Does Lifetime Mean For the Fate of Project Runway?

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:19:19 -0400

So, great news! After a year of what has seemed like needlessly complicated lawsuits and negotiations, Project Runway has finally untangled itself enough to get an airdate on Lifetime this summer for its already-completed sixth season. We don’t really care so much about the details of the whos and whys and hows this all-popular show ended up in court (but if you’re interested, here’s a pretty good explanation). What we’re worried about is, will...

Nina Garcia to Write Economy-Conscious Fashion Manual

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:22:04 -0500

Marie Claire editor, Project Runway judge, and author Nina Garcia is currently at work on her third fashion book for HarperCollins, according to Publishers Marketplace. (The Collins Living imprint also published The Little Black Book of Style in 2007 and The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own in 2008. The designer and illustrator Ruben Toledo, who illustrated Ms. Garcia's first book, will also pen the illustrations for her...

Fashion Roundup: Vogue Doc Will Address Anna Wintour Retirement Rumors; Designing Dresses for Hillary Clinton; Saks Slashes Jobs

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:20:30 -0500

Many American fashion editors, including Nina Garcia, will not be heading to Paris for haute couture shows this season due to significant budget cuts. [FWD]

Alexander McQueen has teamed up with Puma to design a sports-inspired clothing and accessories line for men and women. [WWD]

According to director R.J. Cutler, his new documentary The September Issue, about Anna Wintour and Vogue, includes "a moment in the film where, what might lead to the end...

Running in Heels Premiere To Include Over-Styled Editors, Three Frightened Interns, and a Newly Arrived Nina Garcia

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:33:47 -0500

The last time we spotted the cameras filming Running in Heels, the Style network's new reality show about Marie Claire magazine, the crews were imposing on guests at the October opening of the Comptoir des Cotonniers store in Soho.

The whole thing was rather confusing. The cameras were following Marie Claire editor-at-large Joyce Corrigan, who was covering the event with a tragically overdressed intern in tow. The editor and her intern interviewed Susan Sarandon,...

Anne Slowey is Still Not Over That Whole Nina Garcia Thing

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:13:33 -0400

After months of watching those over-done ads for the CW's Stylista in which Anne Slowey's well-outfitted feet exit the elevator at Elle to deliver chilling insults to her "junior editor" hopefuls about their outfits, we're looking forward to finally watching the premiere this Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Until recently, Ms. Slowey's name was rarely heard outside of intimate fashion circles. But now that former Elle staffer Nina Garcia took her Project Runway fame over to...

Fashion Roundup: Gilles Bensimon to Marie Claire?; Rochas Revived; Mischa Barton Disses Victoria Beckham

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:13:29 -0400

Gilles Bensimon, the longtime international creative director of Elle, is reportedly being wooed by Marie Claire, the new home of his former colleague Nina Garcia. [FWD]

Narciso Rodriguez and Liz Clairborne Inc. have confirmed that they are ending their 18-month partnership. [Vogue UK]

Marco Zanini, the designer who most recently helped revive Halston, will reportedly design a new collection for Rochas. [FWD]

Actress Mischa Barton on Victoria Beckham's style: "Posh doesn't strike me as...

Fashion Roundup: Sofia Coppola to Design for Louis Vuitton; Marie Claire Snubbed at Givenchy

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:26:04 -0400

Sofia Coppola will design a line of handbags and shoes for Louis Vuitton. [WWD]

Model Irina Lazareanu has been tapped to be the face of Tiffany & Co. And Nylon darling Cory Kennedy is reportedly working out a deal with Dr. Martens. [WWD]

Marie Claire got only two seats at the Givenchy show--reserved for Joanna Coles and Nina Garcia--while Harper's Bazaar editors took up a large chunk of the front row. [FWD]

At the...

InStyle Puts Its Own Spin on Reality Television: Makeup!

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:36:50 -0400

The CW’s premiere of Stylista on October 22 featuring Elle magazine’s Anne Slowey is only a few weeks away. Meanwhile, Marie Claire--the new home of former Elle staffer, Nina Garcia—is hard at work on their own reality show about magazine editors, Running in Heels on the Style network. And Project Runway’s television fate is still undecided as Harvey Weinstein continues to battle with Bravo in court about moving the show to Lifetime. ...

Fashion Roundup: Project Runway in Limbo; Nina Garcia Steps on Some Toes; Charlotte Ronson's Biggest Fashion Mistake

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:15:12 -0400

Project Runway is being blocked from moving to Lifetime; Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn do a celebratory chest bump. [NY Times]

"This is insane. I just stepped on someone," Nina Garcia said to Tinsley Mortimer as the two exited the Dior show in Paris. [FWD]

Charlotte Ronson's biggest fashion mistake was cutting her hair short like her sister, Samantha, when she was 13 years old; Kirsten Dunst said that since she's young, she's supposed...

Reality Stars Feel at Home at Michael Kors, But What About the Clothes? "I Loved It," Says His Mama

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:48:30 -0400

At Michael Kors' 10 a.m. fashion show Wednesday, Blake Lively was the obligatory Gossip Girl representative on hand, looking maddeningly fresh. Several seats down, Heidi Klum, Rachel Zoe and actress Joy Bryant chummed it up, snapping pictures and covered their mouths when they spoke to each other (the better to avoid their comments being printed in stories like this one?).

This being a Michael Kors show, almost everyone in the fashion industry who...

Marie Claire Jumps on the Reality Show Train

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:00:37 -0400

Marie Claire, the new home of former Elle fashion director Nina Garcia, has just announced that it will launch a reality show in March on the Style network called Running in Heels that will give an inside look into the personal and professional lives of its editors.

"This is the first docu-series in the history of the magazine and we're excited to work with The Style Network to offer unprecedented behind-the-scenes...

Fashion Week Hangers-On Make Birthday Wishes at Calvin's 40th

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:30:39 -0400

Last night’s Calvin Klein 40th Anniversary party was held in a John Pawson-designed, temporary structure on 10th Avenue and 30th Street built specifically for the event.

Adjacent to the space—fittingly, it seemed to be constructed from the same building material used to turn Manhattan living rooms into second bedrooms—was the new Highline Park, which guests were invited to tour during the party (the park is not yet open to the public).

Once inside,...

Nina Garcia on Her Feud With Elle's Anne Slowey: "It is What It is"

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:15:47 -0400

On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 27, the Daily Transom headed to Saks Fifth Avenue to get some face time with Project Runway judge and soon-to-be Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia, who was there to promote her new book, The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own.

The detailed instructions—take the elevator to the fifth floor, walk the path between Theory and Diane von Furstenberg, get to an...

Fashion Roundup: Garcia vs. Slowey; Siriano Gets Maternal; D'Loren Out At NexCen

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:15:49 -0400

The Battle of Elle: An examination of Nina Garcia and Anne Slowey's reality TV rivalry. [NYMag]

Project Runway winner and catchphrase machine Christian Siriano is designing a collection for maternity wear line Moody Mamas. It will be called—you guessed it!—Fierce.[The Cut]

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall’s 16-year-old daughter, Georgia May Jagger, has entered the modeling world. [Vogue UK]

Katherine Fleming, the woman behind accessory lines for Club Monaco, Gap, and Tory Burch, is launching her own line....

Nina Garcia Already Settling In at Marie Claire

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:23:16 -0400

Nina Garcia, who's still technically employed by Elle through the fifth season of Project Runway, has reportedly moved into her Marie Claire office and has begun working on projects, reports Women's Wear Daily.

But Ms. Garcia's co-workers at the magazine are already apparently displeased with her demands as she began organizing for fashion shoots in the January issue. According to WWD, "sources said Garcia’s requests for high-end designer wares to be featured in fashion...

Nina Garcia Is In at Marie Claire

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:50:39 -0400

Fashion Week Daily has confirmed that Nina Garcia has accepted an offer from Hearst Corporation and will be joining Marie Claire as its new fashion director in the fall. Meanwhile rumors about Marie Claire replacing Elle as Project Runway's sponsor still have not been confirmed, but a source tells FWD that "negotiations are just starting, if even that," and that Ms. Garcia's hire at the magazine is "completely separate from Marie Claire's possible interest...

Morning Memo: Liv and Royston Split; Jeff Zucker's Secret; Paul Giamatti to Play Dick Cheney?

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:40:21 -0400

Page Six meant to report that Katie Couric might be returning to NBC when Jeff Zucker was spotted visiting her Upper East Side apartment, but instead totally outed Mr. Zucker to his wife! The NBC Universal CEO was simply picking up a gift that he asked Katie to buy for his wife for mother's day. [P6]

Nina Garcia might be following the cameras and going over to Marie Claire just as Project Runway chucks...

Morning Memo: With 'Friends' Like This, You Need Lawyers!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:13:06 -0400

President of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker, will file a defamation suit against Harvey Weinstein if he calls him his friend again in public. [P6]

Not-yet-fired Elle fashion director, Nina Garcia, has been asked to take a lesser title at the magazine, but was also told that if she leaves all together, she will no longer be a judge on Project Runway. [P6]

JFK's former aide tells of the president's promiscuous ways in a new memoir and...

Morning Memo: Elle 'Aufs' Nina Garcia; Elton John Gets a Big Whiff of Tom Ford

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:54:10 -0400

Nina Garcia, You. Are. Out. The Project Runway judge reportedly got fired from her post as fashion director at Elle magazine last week. [US Weekly]

Barry Diller who's recently triumphed in court over Liberty Media chairman, John Malone, has a brand new discrimination lawsuit on his hands. [P6]

Salman Rushdie is so over Padma Lakshmi. [P6]

Elton John really likes the way Tom Ford smells. [P6]

Donald Trump Jr. threatened Ivana Trump's new husband, Rossano Rubicondi,...

At Project Runway Show, Victoria Beckham Nearly Releases Cat From Bag

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:21:55 -0500

Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice) had chosen a clear winner by the time all five of Project Runway’s finalists—Chris March, Christian Siriano, Rami Kashou, Sweet P and Jillian Lewis—finished showing their collections in the Tent at Bryant Park this morning. But while speaking to the Daily Transom, the singer and Marc Jacobs muse revealed a bit too much.

“Well, for me personally, there is one designer who is a very clear...

At Elle's Holiday Hoedown, Staffers Get Wacky, Roitfeld-Envy

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:53:21 -0500

Elle’s holiday party was held last night at former Bungalow bouncer Armin Amiri’s Hudson-hugging hotspot Socialista. And guess what? Craziness ensued! At one point, the fashion mag’s creative director Joe Zee teamed up with design director Paul Ritter to perform a wicked rendition of the head-bobbing dance from the SNL spin-off flick Night at the Roxbury. That movie is so hot right now.

And though it’s no West...

Project Runway Alum Daniel Vosovic Makes Cute Bags, Chronicles Design Process

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:43:51 -0500

Remember Daniel Vosovic from the second season of Project Runway? Well, the 26-year-old budding designer has been keeping very busy since his successful stint on the Bravo reality show (he won five design challenges). He may have lots of balls in the air, but when it comes to starting his own fashion label, Mr. Vosovic is nothing but slow and cautious.

“Right after the show, I...

Project Runway Premieres!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:47:49 -0500

Vanity Fair’s James Wolcott summed it up best when he wrote, “It's time to thread that sewing machine, flex those tattoos, and give Tim Gunn something to murmur about before he tidies off like a tight, smart, walking umbrella, to borrow K Tynan's peerless description of John Gielgud.” Mr. Wolcott was referring to, of course, the fourth season of Bravo’s Project Runway, which premiered last night. It didn’t disappoint. Runway fans who missed the...