Ninotchka "Nina" García (; born May 3, 1965) is a Colombian-American fashion journalist, the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', author, and a judge on the Bravo/Lifetime reality television program ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

'' since its first season.

Early life and education

García was born in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

, Colombia, the daughter of a wealthy importer. She graduated from the Dana Hall School in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

in 1983 and holds a bachelor's degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. Later she attended Esmod () in Paris and earned a bachelor's degree in

fashion merchandising Fashion merchandising can be defined as the planning and promotion of sales by presenting a product to the right market at the proper time, by carrying out organized, skillful advertising, using attractive displays, etc. Merchandising, within fashio ...

in 1992 from the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

(FIT).Fashion Institute of Technology
Nina Garcia to Give Keynote Address at FIT's Graduation Ceremonies on May 25
2010-05-18. Retrieved 2010-10-10.

Career

Garcia began her career in the fashion industry in the early 1980s. She worked in the public relations department for Perry Ellis and its then-designer,

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

Journalism

After leaving Marc Jacobs, García moved to '' Mirabella'', where she worked as Assistant Stylist and Market Editor until taking a position at ''

''. She became Fashion Director of ''Elle'' in 2000. She left the Fashion Director position in April 2008, becoming Editor-at-Large at the magazine until the end of August. On April 11, 2008, ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...

'' reported that Garcia left her post as fashion director of ''

''. Garcia's contract was reportedly up for renewal. Roberta Myers, Vice President/Editor-in-Chief at the magazine, announced May 15, 2008 that they had entered a new agreement with Nina Garcia who was named Editor-at-Large through September 1, 2008. Garcia was named the creative director of ''Marie Claire'' in 2012. Later on in her career Garcia was appointed as the editor-in-chief of ''Elle'' in September 2017, becoming the first Latina to lead a major American fashion title .

Other work

Her impact reaches beyond the fashion industry, as she takes on roles in spaces like television and mainstream media. She has hosted the

red carpet A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by Very Important Person, VIPs and celebrity, celebrities at formal events. History ...

for ABC's

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

telecast, has been a judge on the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning show ''

'' since it launched in 2004, and serves as a style expert on programs including ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', '' The View'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'', and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. In May 2016, Garcia joined the advisory board of fashion tech company Nineteenth Amendment, a platform for independent fashion designers to launch collections and have their designs made on demand and

sustainably Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

in the US.

Author

García is the author of four books. On September 5, 2007, Garcia's book, ''The Little Black Book of Style'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

) was released. The book has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. In August 2008, Garcia's second book for

, ''The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own'' was released. Garcia's third book, ''The Style Strategy'' was published in August 2009. ''Nina Garcia's Look Book'' was published in September 2010.

Awards

In 2010, García received an Oracle Award from Fashion Group International, and the Individual Achievement award from the Hispanic Federation. In 2015, García received the Champion of Educational Excellence Award from the Oliver Scholars Program. García also received the 2021 Media Award in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her work with ELLE. In 2022, García was honored as one of the Women of the Year by USA Today. In 2023, Nina Garcia was named by

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.

Personal life

Nina García is married to David Conrod, CEO of FocusPoint Private Capital Group. Together they have two children and they live in New York. In February 2019, Garcia published an article in ''Elle'' stating that she would not be attending

Fashion Week A fashion week is a week-long fashion industry event where fashion designers, brands, or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media which influences upcoming fashion trends for the current and appro ...

that year because she was undergoing a preventative double

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have ...

References

External links

Nina Garcia's Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Nina Living people 1965 births Colombian emigrants to the United States Fashion journalists Fashion editors People from Barranquilla Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Boston University alumni Colombian women journalists American women magazine editors Dana Hall School alumni Judges in American reality television series