What I Read: Nina Garcia
The Marie Claire creative director and Project Runway judge wakes up with Dora the Explorer and Carlos Jobim, swears by the Business of Fashion, and falls asleep with Downton Abbey and the New York Post.
.How do people deal with the torrent of information pouring down on us all? What sources can't they live without? We regularly reach out to prominent figures in media, entertainment, politics, the arts, and the literary world to hear their answers. This is drawn from a phone conversation with Nina Garcia, creative director at Marie Claire and longtime Project Runway judge.
I'm woken up by two kids, between 6:00 and 6:30 ... 6:45 sounds like I'm getting a break. They'll jump into bed, and I'll be like "please go have breakfast, please wait for me in the dining room." But, I have to admit, I do turn on [my phone] and check my emails, just in case something has happened overnight I don't know about. And I glance at my Twitter feed. Glance at it. I'm not engaging at that point. Too early.
Breakfast with my kids — we really don't have any TV during breakfast; it's family time. Actually it's family chaos. It's trying to get at least one of them out who needs to be at school at 7:50. So it's breakfast, hurry. After he leaves, I'm just with a three-year-old, but he is more easily entertained. At this point I may turn on the TV, and I'll check out what's happening with Charlie Rose and Gayle [on CBS This Morning]. I'll kind of listen. But I have a three-year-old being like, "I want Dora! I want Dora!" I'll glance at GMA for about five minutes, and then I'll succumb to his Dora. But then it gives me a chance to read the print newspapers.
I get The Wall Street Journal, I get The New York Times, and I get the New York Post. I will read The New York Times, I'll read The Wall Street Journal, and I'll glance at the Post. I'll look at Page Six to see if anything's happening ... in the back they have that business section that has juicy tidbits on what's happening. And I'll pick up my device at that point.
I'll read the Business of Fashion. I'm kind of addicted to them. It gives a really interesting view of what's happening in fashion, but also the business side. So I like that. I will look at my Twitter now with more time ... but not engage yet. I'll probably go take a shower, turn on my Sonos and do Pandora.
I'm obsessed Pandora. I have Carlos Jobim, Celia Cruz, Louie Armstrong. It varies, it depends on my mood. And that's why I so like Pandora. Or, if I want to hear pop, I'll do Sirius, and do Channel Two. It's just pop music, what's happening. So I will take a shower with the music on.
On my way to work, that's when I sit in the taxi and I'll look at Twitter. I will engage. I'll check my Instagram, I will check my Pinterest. And I think that time really gives me ... it gets my creative juices flowing. Once I get to the office, I do subscribe to a lot of physical print magazines, because I think it's important to see what other books are doing. Oh. You, know what else I check? Variety. I'll look at Variety on my mobile.
I read personal style blogs. I'll read Style.com, I love Into The Gloss, I like The Cut. I like Tom & Lorenzo, I think they're funny. The Huffington Post, Fashionista. When I get to work, I'll look at some of the magazines. If I have time, I'll look at Numéro and Wonderland, self service and Flaunt. All the foreign magazines that are very inspirational.
There's a lot of people that I follow on Instagram. I love Olivier Rousteing [of Balmain], I love Beyoncé, Rihanna. Montaigne Market. It's a store in Paris that has beautiful jewelry; I've actually gotten a little inspiration from that store. And I follow a lot of the fashion folk.
I get my alerts from some of my shopping favorites, like Moda [Operandi], Net-a-porter. Those are the ones that I get the most alerts from, the ones that I'll look at more carefully, in terms of shopping.
Throughout the day I use my iPad to see what's happening on the web. I use Zite — it's an aggregator of news, one-stop shopping. So, that I will check throughout the day. Also, if I am searching for any photographers, models, any particular girl that I am looking for, I will look at Models.com. I also check out Fashion Gone Rogue. I don't receive it by print — it's an aggregator, it has all of the foreign magazines. It will have Italian Vogue, French Numéro, all of the editorial that is happening, and it's timely. So you get to see what everybody's [doing]. If I'm not getting them in time on my desk, I can always go to Fashion Gone Rogue and see what's happening. It's very interesting.
On my way home again, I'll check my Twitter. Throughout the day, if I'm out on appointments, if I'm visiting a showroom and see something beautiful, if I'm going to a show, if I'm at a shoot, I will use my Instagram. That's the time when I feel creative. I always ask, because some people are not alright with me taking pictures of their clothes and posting them on Instagram. I try to be very respectful of that.
Also when we're doing a run-through [at Marie Claire], there are tons and tons of accessories and clothes. That's a very inspirational moment.
So home again, it's chaos. That's the time when I don't have time, because it's dinner time. It's the time when the kids go to bed and do their homework. So let's say between 6:00 and 8:00, there's a moratorium on all devices. That is the time to shut off. But once they're asleep, that's when all the fun begins!
I am a junkie, junkie on all these series that are happening. I watch them all, and I watch them all on my iPad. House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Girls, Ray Donovan, Downton Abbey. I can't get enough of Downton Abbey. But since I can't get enough, and I don't have the episode that is coming next, and I've watched them all like a geek ... I go to Netflix. And it sounds cheesy, but this is what I'm doing at the moment. I'm watching all the British romantic series that are on Netflix. So I watch Upstairs, Downstairs. I watch this one called The Buccaneers, which actually is with the guy from Homeland, the guy that plays the officer. This must have been a very long time ago that he filmed it, but like I said, I'm going back! Trying to find everything. Jane Eyre. I'm having a moment.
I watch the series right before going to bed. Before that, I'll check Pinterest, I'll check all the Instagrams, I'll engage in Twitter. And believe it or not, I'll read the Post at the end of the day. That's an unwinding moment. By 11:30, I sign off.