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Nina Garcia Dishes on J.Lo, Runway and Biker Gear

The Project Runway judge insists she doesn't know if Jennifer Lopez will be popping up on the fashionista reality competition show

By Marc Malkin Sep 12, 2008 12:46 AMTags
Nina GarciaKaty Winn/Getty Images for IMG

If the rumors are true that Jennifer Lopez will be the celebrity judge for the Project Runway finale, Nina Garcia hasn't been told about it.

At least that's what Ms. Garcia is saying.

"I don't know if it's her," Garcia says with a laugh from her office in New York City. "Do you know? I don't...But whoever it is, [the designer contestants] should be scared."

Lopez, like Victoria Beckham last season, will reportedly be on hand when the finalists present their work tomorrow under the Bryant Park tents at the near end of New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

"All of them are very strong designers and have very different points of view," says Garcia, who recently left her post at Elle to join Marie Claire. "I really think it comes down to the three best. There's no question about it…In other seasons there might have been a hesitation, but this time I think it's really clear-cut."

Nope, Garcia ain't about to reveal her favorite.

Project Runway isn't Garcia's only reality show these days.

She just started shooting Running in Heels, a new Style Network series that goes behind the scenes of Marie Claire with three interns getting much camera time. "I don't think it's The Devil Wears Prada at all," Garcia says with a laugh. "It's really about understanding how a magazine functions."

Garcia also just learned that her new book, The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own, will be on the New York Times Best-Seller List for a second week in a row.

Does she really own No. 58 in the book, a motorcycle jacket? "Yes, I have several actually," she says. "I keep wearing this one that I really like. It's falling apart, but I love it. I wear it a lot. In the winter, you'll see me wearing it."

How about No. 92, a pair of sneakers from skater and surfer-dude brand Vans? "You haven't traveled with me," says Garcia, who has an 18-month-old son Lucas with businessman hubby David Conrod. "I wear them on the plane, and I wear them on the weekends!"

Those Vans will come in handy for season six of Project Runway when it not only moves networks from Bravo to Lifetime, but also its locale. The design competition is headed west to Los Angeles. "I'm all about embracing change," Garcia says. "I've changed jobs, and I am changing networks. It's great."

And she's happy that Lifetime executives decided to postpone the next premiere from this fall to January 2009. "I think it's better," Garcia says. "It gives us a little more time. This [season] is just ending, and then starting again in November is just very close. And they would have made three Project Runways in one year, which I think would be too much."

Time is something Garcia could use some more of these days. With all that she has going on, she still managed to squeeze in another competition gig: Judging the Go Beyond and Step Up makeover contest for the Yaz contraceptive pill's carrying case. She was pleasantly surprised by the entries. "I really wasn't sure what to expect," she says. "I didn't know if it was going to be something good or bad, but I was incredibly just impressed with what they submitted. Some of them were very creative."

Sounds just like Project Runway.