Nicole Richie joins Jessica Simpson for NBC’s ‘Fashion Star’

Reality princess Nicole Richie will join fellow fashionista and singer Jessica Simpson this fall for NBC’s “Fashion Star,” a reality show centered on a competing group of aspiring fashion designers.

Richie and Simpson will serve on the mentor panel of the show alongside menswear mogul John Varvatos,with supermodel Elle MacPherson as the show’s host.  The celebrity-studded team will guide and judge 24 unknown designers through a series of challenges in the competition to win a multi-million dollar opportunity to launch their own fashion lines in three of America’s largest retailers.

“Jessica, Nicole, John and Elle make the most exciting team we have ever worked with on a reality television show and we are thrilled to feature such an extraordinary group of mentors and designers,” Executive Producer Ben Silverman said in a statement.

In addition to her television roles on “The Simple Life” and NBC’s “Chuck”, Richie, 29, designs the clothing line Winter Kate.  While she has not always represented the best role model for young girls–she has been suspected of various eating disorders, was arrested for driving under the influence in 2003 and again in 2006, and has been known for her extensive drug abuse –she seems to be putting her life together. She married Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden last year and is now the mother of two children, it seems Richie is finally taking responsibility for herself.  In 2010, she won “Entrepeneur of the Year” Award for her “House of Harlow 1960” brand at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.  Combined with Simpson, whose fashion empire has amassed almost $1 billion, the two celebrities are set to bring a certain level of expertise and credibility to the show.

Still, Richie remains modest about her own personal style.  She insists that she is “pretty much a jeans and T-shirt type of girl and then I go from there.”  While her designs are meticulously planned and perfected, Richie is much more laid back when it comes to her own wardrobe.  “I don’t think it’s as prepared as you’d think,” she recently told In Style magazine.  “I just grab whatever’s around and put it on.”

Whatever the case, it seems to be working well for Ms. Richie.  “Fashion Star” will premiere this fall on NBC.

Images by AshleyCooper and cliff1066™ via Flickr