Project Runway judge Nina Garcia is reportedly "out" at Elle magazine.
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Garcia has been fired from her position as the magazine's fashion director -- a position she's held since 2000 -- Us Weekly reported Friday.
However although Garcia had been initially tapped as a Project Runway judge because Elle was a founding sponsor of the show (each season's winner receives an Elle photo spread as part of their prize package), Bravo says Garcia is expected to remain a judge for the show's currently casting fifth season.
"We expect [Garcia] to return for Season 5," a Bravo spokesperson told Reality TV World on Monday.
Coincidently (or not, perhaps), Garcia's departure from Elle came in the same week that Lifetime Networks and The Weinstein Company announced a five-year deal to bring Project Runway from Bravo to Lifetime beginning with the reality series' sixth season, which the network has already scheduled to debut in November 2008.
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While Gunn and Project Runway lead judge Heidi Klum will both be making the move to Lifetime, the network's announcement made no mention of Garcia or fellow judge Michael Kors, who are reportedly both still negotiating new contracts.
Regardless, Elle has apparently already begun to broaden its reality television portfolio.
The magazine will serve as the focus of Fashionista, a new The CW fashion magazine-focused reality competition series, Women's Wear Daily reported Monday.
The CW ordered the show in January from Project Runway developer Eli Holzman and executive producers Jane Cha and Desiree Gruber, who developed the series with Top Model creator Tyra Banks and executive producer Ken Mok. Elle's editorial staff will mentor and judge Fashionista's contestants, who are competing for a job in the fashion industry.
Fashionista is currently filming in New York and will air this summer, according to Women's Wear Daily.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio