FishbowlNY's Diane Clehane has the latest on Nina Garcia:

While it's true that Garcia is no longer fashion director at Elle, an inside source at the magazine says the Project Runway judge turned author is "still in negotiations" with the powers that be at the magazine.

An announcement could come as early as Monday.

The end of Garcia's tenure as fashion director seems to have been foreshadowed by the arrival of Joe Zee, Elle's creative director. Following in the path Garcia forged as editor-turned-reality star, Zee is slated to be the magazine's newest editor-turned-television personality. He and fashion news director Anne Slowey are wrapping production on their first season of Perfect Fit, Elle's sophomore reality television effort that will air later this year on the CW.

Our spy says with all these fashionistas fighting for their 15 minutes there's been a lot of "political tension" at 1633 Broadway lately.

Zee's star is definitely on the rise with an increasingly higher profile at the magazine that includes the requisite lunches at Michael's. He lunched at the power spot with editor-in-chief Robbie Myers just last Wednesday.

But don't count Garcia out yet. She's reportedly talking with Harvey Weinstein and Bravo about new television projects. And interestingly, says our spy, Garcia could still be involved with the next season of Project Runway regardless of how things play out with Elle. She and fellow judge Michael Kors have reportedly not yet signed on for the next cycle. And, of course, the battle between Weinstein and NBC Universal is just heating up since the mogul announced he is moving the show to Lifetime. NBC is suing to keep Runway on Bravo.

Stay tuned for more behind the seams updates...