For two seasons of Sundance Channel‘s All on the Line with Joe Zee, Elle creative director Joe Zee was part mentor, part professor and part psychologist for struggling fashion designers. But, for Season 3, Zee said it was time to shake things up a bit.

“We had done seasons one and two in New York, and not that it’s tapped out, but it’s time to sort of really grow what the series can be about,” he explained in our Media Beat interview. “And I think West Coast fashion has really sort of evolved in terms of what the importance of it has been in the past few years. And also this is the world I live in. The celebrity culture in America is huge and only getting bigger, and what someone wears on the red carpet, on television, or in the media can ultimately change a struggling designer’s business.”

So, how much does Zee’s on-screen persona align with the real thing? All of it, he says.

“The reality is we do what we do, because I am authentic in that position. I don’t do it because of the cameras. I don’t do it for any heightened drama. I do it because I really believe in it.”

Part 2: Elle‘s Joe Zee Reveals Exactly What a Magazine Creative Director Does
Part 3: How Elle‘s Joe Zee Broke Into Fashion (and How You Can Too)