Jessica Simpson awaits the birth of ‘Fashion Star’ - Boston Herald

Jessica Simpson is bursting for the debut of NBC’s “Fashion Star” (Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. on WHDH, Ch. 7).

“I wasn’t pregnant when we shot it. It will be amazing to see myself with a waistline,” said Simpson, who along with Nicole Richie and John Varvatos serves as a mentor to 14 unknown designers. Supermodel Elle Macpherson hosts.

“Fashion Star” taped early last summer. The blond Texan, engaged to Needham native and former NFL player Eric Johnson, is expecting the couple’s first child, a girl, sometime this spring and recently posed nude for the cover of Elle in a pose reminiscent of Demi Moore’s iconic 1991 Vanity Fair cover.

Since Simpson appeared on MTV’s “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica” with now-ex-husband Nick Lachey in 2003, the singer/-actress has forged a successful career in fashion with her Jessica Simpson Collection.

“Behind the scenes of fashion has been my life for the past six or seven years. I just really wanted to be there and hang out with the designers,” the 31-year-old told the Herald recently.

Her role is to help contestants impress judges, and buyers from Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and H&M. In a revolutionary twist, the winning fashions from each episode will be available for purchase online the night “Fashion Star” airs and in retail stores the next day.

Designers not selected by the buyers face elimination.

“It’s about picking a designer that has a vision and can be around for the next 20 or 30 years. It was about making sure they knew what they were getting into,” she said.

The show aims to design for everyday Americans, and Simpson said one of the toughest hurdles for designers is understanding their audience.

“Instead of putting your ego first, put the buyer first. That’s the hardest part, but it’s also the easiest part,” Simpson said.

The stiletto-loving celebrity said it was a lesson she learned quickly.

“At the beginning, I thought everything that I wanted to create was right and that was what every-one should be wearing,” she said. “I don’t wear flats, and I’m very, very pregnant. (But) 99 percent of America wears flats. It’s not just about what I would wear.”