Tim Gunn on celeb fashion: "The Kardashians have an absence of taste"

Wonderwall, Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 4:39pm (PST)

By Melissa Hunter, Reporting by Mary S. Park

We talked with design guru and "Project Runway" star Tim Gunn at Fashion Week, and let's just say, he made this interview work (tee hee). He has built a career on his strong sartorial opinions, so it's no wonder that he lets loose when talking about the "Jersey Shore" stars' fashion sense and the Kardashians' Bebe line. Check it out.

Wonderwall: What do you think of Jersey Shore style?

Gunn: Ugh! Oh! Don't even get me started. It is not a style to emulate. I know that the show is hugely popular. I will tell you it pains me when I hear 12-year-old girls say it's their favorite show. You shouldn't be watching it! And it's so incendiary that New Jersey is no longer permitting it to be taped in New Jersey.

WW: That's why they're going to film in Miami.

TG: Yeah, so what does that say?

WW: Nothing good.

TG: It's like throwing people to the lions in ancient Rome. I don't get it.

WW: J-Woww is launching her own line.

TG: Preposterous! Preposterous! Sorry.

WW: Are you a supporter of the Kardashians' line with Bebe?

TG: No! I just think the Kardashians have an absence of taste and I don't think that that should be perpetuated. I'm sorry I'm sounding like an old farty snob but it bothers me.

WW: You sound like somebody who's telling the truth.

TG: I will say in general with celebrity labels, with the understanding that they're not actually designing them, but you hope in a way that they're not overseeing them either. I'm all in favor of anything that employs young designers.

WW: How do you feel about Fashion Week moving to Lincoln Center?

TG: We have to look for a silver lining to this. And we've known for a number of seasons that we were battling with the Parks Commissioner. Why, I do not know because Bryant Park helped brand New York as the fashion capital of the world, but we're taking the high road here. And for me, I love the fact that we can align fashion with the arts. It puts it into a cultural context ... and I'm really quite thrilled by it all. The only little downside is it's going to be a subway ride away from the Fashion District.

WW: We'll make it work.

TG: We'll make it work. Exactly.

More on Wonderwall:

Check out more Fashion Week coverage

See Gunn, Clooney, and all of Hollywood's silver foxes

Click here for all the "Project Runway" info you need