California Apparel News

Fashion Star's fierce fashion team: Nicole Richie, John Varvatos, Elle Macpherson and Jessica Simpson.

It’s not often that a reality show has much to do with reality, but James Deutch and E.J. Johnston wanted to take a different approach with their new show, “Fashion Star.”

What sets the show apart from other fashion series is its partnership with three major retailers to produce the contestants’ clothing in stores under a “Fashion Star” label.

Macy’s, HM and Saks Fifth Avenue have each invested $1 million in developing the designers’ collections throughout the series and invested an additional $2 million a piece in the collections spawned by the final episode.

“We felt like the real dream makers were the stores, and they’d never really been highlighted in a show before,” Deutch said.

Based on the premise that you are not a designer until your clothes are in stores, the show pulls back the curtain on the often bumpy road of how someone with talent and passion becomes a professional designer.

In the real world, it’s difficult for an unknown designer to get picked up by a major retailer, and if they are, the orders aren’t guaranteed and designers often have to finance the line themselves, Johnston explained. On the show, the stores will help the designers from start to finish, from sourcing factories to guaranteed financing.

“As soon as HM or Saks says, ’I’ll take a thousand of this,’ you’re a designer,” he said.

Like other reality series, the show features a leggy glamazon (the series is hosted by Elle Macpherson), but instead of a panel of judges, it has two groups, consisting of mentors and store buyers.

The mentors include Nicole Richie, Jessica Simpson and John Varvatos, whose roles are to help guide the designers through the challenges, but the contestants’ fates will ultimately lie in the hands of the buyers, who have the option of whether or not to purchase the collections each episode.

Deutch and Johnston said the mentors were chosen based on their experiences in the fashion industry. Macpherson runs her own lingerie company; Simpson has her own label; Richie has developed jewelry, clothing and shoe lines; and Varvatos is an established menswear designer.

“We wanted to represent different facets of the fashion industry,” Deutch said. “All four have been on the commerce side of fashion. … They all have something to say.”

The pair were also concerned with including a menswear designer because menswear is so underserved on fashion television shows, Deutch said.

Another big difference with “Fashion Star” is that it’s not the usual gaggle of 20-somethings found on reality TV. The contestants are primarily over 30 and range in age from 27 to 55.

The producers performed a nationwide search for the best talent, scouring schools, blogs and boutiques for interesting, creative creators they thought could succeed in the industry, and the three retailers also weighed in.

“Some people were tailors with wealthy clientele, or they just wanted to get to the next level and they had desire but not the opportunity,” Johnston said. “They all were really passionate; they just didn’t have a platform, and that’s what ’Fashion Star’ gives them.”

Because the series was filmed six months ago, the clothes created by the winning contestant from each episode will be available online through the retailers that same night and in stores the next day.

The show, hosted and executive produced by Elle Macpherson, will premiere on NBC on Tuesday, March 13 (9:30–11 p.m. EST).

14 contestants were picked from around the country to compete for their own fashion line.