ELLE NO, WE WON'T GO!: If there's anyone out there still interested in the Nina Garcia saga in the slightest — OK, can she just decide already? — here's a minor update: Reports circulated late last week that Garcia may be headed to Marie Claire once her contributing editorship gig expires at Elle (that is, if she ever signs the deal). The stint at Elle would guarantee Garcia could appear on season five of "Project Runway," the last in which Elle is involved. Marie Claire has been campaigning actively to be the magazine for season six when the show switches to Lifetime from Bravo, so it naturally was assumed that having Garcia on board as fashion director would seal the deal.
Not so fast. A spokesman for The Weinstein Co., which produces the show, said the reports were inaccurate. Contract negotiations between "Project Runway" and its primary judges — Michael Kors and Garcia — are still continuing, and according to sources close to the show, negotiations for sponsorships and magazine partners for season six have yet to begin. Garcia is also still negotiating the terms — or the severing — of her relationship with Hachette Filipacchi Media, Elle's parent company.
Since "Project Runway" debuted in 2005, Elle has seen an uptick in both ad pages and circulation, in part helped by the buzz from the reality show. Any magazine that partners with "Project Runway" is likely to garner the same attention. Marie Claire has seen its newsstand decline since Joanna Coles took over in 2006 (its six-month single copy average fell to 341,000 issues in the period ending December 2007 from nearly 400,000 in the same period in 2006). Even In Style, which is gearing up for an extensive redesign in August as its newsstand has shrunk, could be a likely candidate and is said to have shown interest in partnering with the show.
Meanwhile, Elle creative director Joe Zee and fashion news director Anne Slowey will be busy promoting "Fashionistas" at CW's television upfronts in New York today, a sure sign of support for the reality show. Zee and Slowey will accompany other network casts from "Gossip Girls," "One Tree Hill" and "America's Next Top Model."
— Stephanie D. Smith
