You know her by the sunglasses she always has with her. You know her from TV, and you might know her from the tabloids, too, but Nicole Richie isn’t convinced any of it works for or against her when it comes to building her fashion design career.

She guided aspiring designers on the fashion competition show “Fashion Star,” and said she sees success in the fashion business as either potentially intense and fleeting, or broad-based and sustained. It’s up to the work you do – and doing it consistently, she said.

“You’re only as good as your last season,” she said.