Lifetime will debut the all-new half hour fashion special, Project Runway Spotlight: Marchesa, on Thursday, December 20 at 10pm ET/PT following a new episode of Project Runway All Stars. The special provides a unique, behind-the-scenes look at Marchesa – the fashion house co-founded by expectant mama Georgina Chapman.
Georgina opens up about her documentary, her “easy” second pregnancy with husband Harvey Weinstein, their 2-year-old daughter India, and how she juggles her busy career and family life.
CBS: How is your second pregnancy going?
GC: “Great, I am very lucky. The pregnancy has been perfect so far. I feel good; I am having an easy pregnancy.”
CBS: Are you going to find out the gender of the baby?
GC: “I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”
CBS: How do you balance your busy career and motherhood?
GC: “I make sure I carve out time to be with my daughter. My family is my number one priority. India comes into the office with me most days – she has her little area with a desk and she draws. I leave later in the mornings now and spend the mornings with her, so I do see her. She spends a lot of time with me at work. I don’t know how that’s going to work once she’s at school – I’m going to miss her, it’s going to be hard.”
CBS: What is India into these days?
GC: “Being a 2-year-old, she loves running, drawing on everything, sticking things on everything. She’s like a little Tasmanian devil running around [laughs]. She loves being at the office and going through all the fabrics and everything. She loves fashion already — she strokes the dresses and goes, ‘Beautiful dress, Mommy.’ ”
CBS: Tell us about being approached to be a judge on Project Runway: All Stars.
GC: “I was incredibly flattered and very excited. I had been a judge several times on Project Runway before and I always really loved the experience. I think it’s great to get out of my everyday environment and experience other designers. You have very little opportunity to do that as a designer in the world. I really, really enjoy it and I enjoy meeting the people.
There is so much talent that we’ve seen and I think all the viewers can appreciate—in particular seasons there are very, very high standards.”
CBS: Have you watched every season of Project Runway?
GC: “I think I probably have. I’m such a huge fan of the show, and my step-kids are too. It’s a really fun show – I’m always in awe. Even though I’m now a judge, it still hasn’t become old hat to me. I just don’t know how they do it within the time constrictions.
It’s fun for me to watch the other show as well. When I’m a judge on the show, I don’t get to see all the backstage drama and I don’t get to see them constructing their pieces. I just see them when they come down the runway, so I don’t know any of the back-story. It’s quite fun to watch something afresh and have no idea what’s coming.”
CBS Have you ever though of designing a separate line for children?
GC: “I would love to one day, but I don’t know whether that will happen any time soon.”
CBS: Does pregnancy affect your design process?
GC: “It’s funny, because I sometimes feel that I’m most creative when I’m pregnant. I guess it’s because I am physically creating at the same time. I just keep going – the show must go on. You just work through and obviously some days you’re a little more tired than you normally might be, but I do feel very creative when I’m pregnant. I love tapping into that energy because I think that’s what my whole physical being is about at this time.”
CBS: Did you discover anything surprising while filming and watching her documentary?
GC: “Not really, because I had lived it. There were no surprises. There was nothing filmed that I didn’t know about or wasn’t living a part of. It was quite a while later that I saw it, and I was on to the next thing as it were.
It was interesting seeing it like a fly on the wall looking at your own life. It’s a strange thing to step back and to see yourself in the mirror like that. There weren’t really any surprises, because that’s my day-to-day life and the depiction is pretty accurate.”
CBS: Are there any celebrity appearances in the documentary?
GC: “Yes, there are. There are people talking about the dresses, actresses who’ve worn the dresses, and editors talking about Marchesa. You get a glimpse inside our shows and a glimpse inside a charity show we did. Then you get a glimpse inside an award season and the process behind the making of a dress.”
CBS: Did your husband have a role in the Project Runway Spotlight: Marchesa?
GC: “He doesn’t have much of a role when it comes to fashion. The documentary was actually made by a Canadian company for Canadian TV. So this is a version of it that Lifetime has worked on. He didn’t really have any involvement.”
CBS: Do you have any maternity style advice for Kate Middleton as her pregnancy progresses?
GC: “I couldn’t advise Kate; she’s such a stylish girl and she always gets it right. I just hope she’s feeling better, poor thing. Being pregnant myself, I just can’t even imagine what a nightmare that must be. I hope she’s concentrating on just getting a lot of rest right now.”
CBS: Do you have any maternity style tips?
GC: “I think it depends on your body type. Your body changes so much and everybody changes differently, so it really is a very personal thing and I think you just have to go with what you’re comfortable with. You have to embrace it. You enjoy it. It’s a few months of your life and it’s a special time in your life, so just enjoy.”
