Fashion

Christian Siriano: Is the King of the Runway Now King of Awards Season?

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After watching countless fancy dresses on the runways at NYFW , we are more than prepared to see our favorite television stars slip into designer looks at this year’s Emmys.

In case you didn’t know, the 70th annual Emmy Awards will be held Monday, Sept. 17, and TV’s hottest stars will be honored for their outstanding work. Before the ceremony, however, the celebs get to strut their stuff on the red carpet, and as such, we have a ton of amazing fashions to discuss. Before the festivities commence, Hers magazine in collaboration with InStyle scored a exclusive with acclaimed womenswear designer Christian Siriano to discuss his famous friendships and designs.

If you are a fashion aficionado, chances are you know Siriano’s work. Born November 18, 1985, Siriano is an American fashion designer who first gained attention after winning the fourth season of “Project Runway,” becoming the series’ youngest winner. A member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), he launched his namesake “Christian Siriano” collection in 2008.

We sat down with the beloved designer and his high-profile clients for an in-depth interview on the designer. Whether they star in movies or television shows, celebrities aren’t just popular, they are ambassadors who can provide strong brand endorsements. Siriano has, in fact, had a growing number of female celebrities show off his designs since his mainstream emergence.

As Hollywood lights shine bright this award season on premiere talent and their fashion, Siriano stands in the shadows allowing the lights to shine brighter on his famous clients. Actress, comedian Leslie Jones expressed her admiration for Siriano. “The Saturday Night Live” star formulated a relationship with Siriano when she had nothing to wear to the premiere of Ghostbusters, her first big role in a Hollywood movie. She tweeted her frustrations and more than 500 of her fans retweeted her post. Less than an hour later, designer Christian Siriano quickly offered his help by replying to her with a raised-hand emoji.

“I thought I was going to come in and assistants were going to be flying around like birds, but he was just normal,” she says. “He actually gets it. That’s what I call a real designer, someone who designs for everyone, you know, skinny, fat, tall, short, which I would think all designers would do anyway. Don’t you want to make a lot of money? That’s why I like him, because he’s smart.”

Sia with Christian Siriano

Photo credit: Alexander Neumann/Shotview

The designer’s inclusive approach to retail and celebrity dressing has heightened his profile, but he remains as down-to-earth and energetic as ever. Pop artist Sia praises Siriano for his inclusive stance.

“Christian has dressed me in every permutation my body has ever gone through,” Sia says. “Even when I wasn’t very successful or overweight and nobody else would dress me, he has always been there saying, ‘I’ve got something for you.’”

The question of “who are you wearing” is a loaded one and was so famously referenced by the late Joan Rivers. This topic was often discussed day after most awards shows on the Fashion Police. It’s a phrase that can spark hundreds of reactionary tweets and Instagram repost. Asking an Emmy attendee to identify the designer of her dress is an act that can seem trivial. That’s because the tradition of dressing an actress for an award show, like almost anything in the industry, is truly a business opportunity. “ We dressed 17 women at the Oscars,” Siriano says. “Dior didn’t do that.”

Best known for her starring role as Joan Holloway on the AMC period drama series “Mad Men,” Christina Hendricks said “When I wear his dresses, I don’t feel like I’m being manipulated or made to fit into someone else’s idea of what is beautiful,” she says. “I don’t want to be critiqued or ridiculed. I don’t want to have to think about the dress but the occasion and go to the party and have people talk about the work I did this year.”

One of Soriano’s other celeb BFF’s is Kate Mara. She is known for her roles as reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama “House of Cards,” computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in the Fox thriller series 24 and Ben Harmon’s vengeful mistress Hayden McClaine in the FX horror miniseries “American Horror Story: Murder House.” Mara discussed her partnership with Siriano.
“He can do anything for anyone,” says Kate Mara, “and make anyone feel beautiful.”

From 1998 through 2006, we tuned in to “Will & Grace” like clockwork on Thursday nights. The series offered witty one-liners, top-notch physical comedy, and onscreen friendships unlike any we had seen on TV. Of course, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t also tuning in to see what Grace Adler was wearing. Debra Messing expressed her love for the designer in the most profound way.

“Christian has more design ideas than he has paper in his house to fill,” says Messing. “I know that anything I wear of his will fit perfectly, and that goes a long way to making women feel beautiful.”

We’re still very interested in which designers the stars will be wearing on the red carpet. Will it be Siriano for the win? Set your television channel, get your popcorn ready and stay tuned!

 

Always up for a fashion challenge, Siriano sat down with Laverne Cox, Alicia Silverstone, Leslie Jones, Debra Messing, Christina Hendricks, Kate Mara, Juliette Lewis, and Selma Blair to draw their dream dresses in 60 seconds.

 

 

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