Since Project Runway's first season, Nina Garcia has been judging up-and-coming designers on the reality-competition show. The Colombia-born fashion journalist spent 13 years at Elle magazine before moving to Marie Claire magazine, serving as fashion director there since 2008.
Garcia has authored four books. Her last one, Nina Garcia's Look Book, came out in 2010.
Project Runway is currently on its 12th season. This time, Heidi Klum and Zac Posen join Garcia on the judging panel.
Windy City Times caught up to the busy fashionista during a hectic day at the office.
Windy City Times: Tell our readers about your start in fashion.
Nina Garcia: Well, I am originally from Colombia. I was born and raised there until I was about 15, in Barranquilla, the land of Shakira and Sofia Vergara.
WCT: Not bad...
NG [Laughs] Not bad, right? It is a small town but a nice place to grow up. I knew from very early on that my interest was in fashion. I had a mother that was very obsessed with clothes. She was not a very thin woman but she knew how to dress her body very well. She took a lot of pride in getting dressed and how she looked. I think that is where it came from, my fascination with fashion came from her and watching her deal with the way she dressed. She wasn't model-size or thin; she was voluptuous.
I loved playing in her closet and watching her get dressed. Very early I thought I wanted to be a designer. Later on I realized I didn't have the talent for designing but there were so many other opportunities.
Fashion for me when I was an 11-year-old in Colombia equaled being a designer. Later on in life I learned that fashion business is so much bigger than fashion design. At 15, I came to the States to boarding school and I have stayed here ever since. Slowly and surely I found my way into publishing and the magazine side of fashion. It has fascinated me for 20-plus years!
WCT: Are you able to travel back to Colombia often?
Nina Garcia: I do, Jerry; I try to go at least three times a year. Three times a year hasn't happened in a while but we usually go for Thanksgiving and celebrate with my family. We usually make it twice a year.
I have two children that I have raised bilingual. They go back to Colombia a lot and know they are half-Colombian and half-American.
WCT: Audiences never get to see this side to you on Project Runway.
Nina Garcia: I know. It is interesting that some of the viewers don't even know I am Colombian. With a name like Garcia that should be a big lead!
WCT: Let's talk about the current season. It's already great.
Nina Garcia: It is a great season. Every season is different. Some seasons the contestants are very competitive and other seasons they unite and are very friendly. This season they are very quiet but very talented. Yes, there are big personalities like we have seen obviously but there are some very hard workers that are very gentle and have a lot of talent.
WCT: There have been many openly gay designers and with this season we have Jeremy Brandrick, who has kids with his partner, and there was a gay engagement captured on the runway in front of you and the other judges with Bradon McDonald.
Nina Garcia: That was phenomenal moment in TV where he proposed to his boyfriend on camera. We have had many seminal moments on Project Runway with Mondo and this was another one. It is interesting on the show when a lot of other issues come up, bullying, this marriage proposal and AIDS. It just happens naturally. It is one of those things...
WCT: Heidi says that Christian Siriano is a favorite of hers from a past season. Did you have a favorite one? Possibly a Latin designer like Mondo?
Nina Garcia: Christian is obviously everybody's favorite. He checks in and stays in touch. He's been our success story and has done so well. Mondo is one of my personal favorites as well. I love the Brazilians. I loved Layana. I haven't seen her but I loved her. I loved Fabio. There was something very calm about Fabio that I like.
WCT: Do you feel that you have mellowed a bit on the judging panel?
Nina Garcia: Do you think I have mellowed out? If you are asking me it's because you think so!
WCT: Maybe Heidi has just gotten stricter in comparison.
Nina Garcia: I don't think I have mellowed out but I just think I need to give them more positive reinforcements. What I want for them is to succeed ultimately. I judge them and compare to what I see in the market. I don't want them to be scared of me. I want them to listen to me and get the constructive criticism. When I am too harsh on them I think they get scared and I don't want them to be scared.
WCT: Is your work schedule at the magazine hectic?
Nina Garcia: The work at the magazine is great—yes, it is hectic. Anything that has a dateline to be published makes you always feel like you are scrambling at the last minute but it is exciting. No week is like every other week.
What is so exciting about the fashion industry is it's about change. It's about the new season, or the new shoe. It feels always exciting. I have been in the magazine business for a very long time. Sometimes I wonder why I am still doing this but it is because I love publishing a magazine. I love communicating to women what I see and kind of curating the best of the shows. It is all about embracing new ideas and seeing new designers. There is never a lull in fashion.
Watch that Runway Thursdays on Lifetime with full episodes at www.mylifetime.com .
