Nina Garcia on Judging Fashion Reality Show Project Runway

Emmy-winning reality series Project Runway returns for another season of high stakes and fierce fashion, this time streaming exclusively on Discovery Plus. Nina Garcia, who has been a judge on the show since it launched in 2004, also returns this time with Brandon Maxwell, and Elaine Welteroth who joined her since Season 17, to decide who has what it takes to make it in this industry.

Host Karlie Kloss is back, along with Christian Siriano as the mentor. In Season 18, the designers are tasked with creating functional outfits for Olympians and Paralympians, as well as turning donated garments from Goodwill of NY into high fashion wear.

In Season 18 celebrity judges include Leslie Jones (I live for her Project Runway live to tweet!), Laverne Cox, Cyndi Lauper, Thom Browne and Kiernan Shipka. “I love tie-dye! And in fact, I’m wearing a tie-dye dress when I introduce the challenge. What I love about this technique is that it can be applied to almost every single fabric: from denim to cashmere. Tie-dye made a comeback not only on the runways but also at home… if you look at TikTok or Instagram you will see thousands of stories from people making their own creations. And I love that!”

In a pandemic-hit world she exposed her view about masks be embraced as a fashion accessory, “First of all, I need to address the fact that face masks are so important and that I urge everyone that can, to wear one. Scientists have shown us that masks and social distancing are our best weapons against this virus (until we have a vaccine and medication widely available) so we all need to make the effort to wear one. I don’t think lipstick is going away, but maybe now we will need to pay more attention to our eye make-up.”