Fashion / Style

Christian Siriano’s Sky-High Fashion Show Reaches for the Stars — and Angers Some

Space-Age Looks, Tiny Elevators and Annoyed Fashionistas

BY // 02.14.19

NEW  YORK — Christian Siriano is known as a down-to-earth designer who pioneered the inclusion of models of all sizes on the runway and one who always speaks his mind.

While he has his feet firmly planted on the ground, Siriano reached for the stars at New York Fashion Week with an out-of-this-world fall collection of space-age looks combined with the luxe red carpet gowns he is known for.

The Season 4 Project Runway winner, who is returning in the revamped version that premieres on Bravo March 14 in the role of mentor popularized by Tim Gunn, offered a futuristic take on fashion, with “asteroid gray” faux fur coats, “supernova silver” mini-dresses, blouses and trousers in patterns that resemble mirrored glass, and a revealing “meteor crystal” mesh gown worn by model Ashley Graham to close the show.

The models’ faces were dotted with Swarovski crystals like sparkling freckles and those with long hair had silver metal chains weaved in to enhance the space-age attitude.

While the distinctive looks will surely be featured in upcoming editorial fashion spreads, Siriano’s more traditional gowns are more likely to be the real people-pleasers. (The collection will be available in Houston at Elizabeth Anthony.) A sculpted tiered tulle gown in “pulsar purple” and a one-shoulder “infinite black” gown with a thigh-high slit were runway favorites of the celebrity front row, which included Debra Messing, Christina Hendricks, Christina Ricci, Danielle Brooks, and Law & Order SVU stars Mariska Hargitay and Kelli Giddish.

The only snag in the show was getting there. In keeping with the sky-high theme, Siriano staged the collection on the 67th floor observation deck at Rockefeller Center, known as “Top of The Rock.” However, organizers didn’t factor in the difficulty in transporting so many fashionistas in tiny elevators in such a short amount of time, and lines of increasingly irate fashion editors and guests snaked through the lobby.

The show started nearly an hour late, but even so, several hundred people didn’t make it in. During his runway bow, the 33-year-old designer told the crowd “I’m so sorry!” several times.

And then he vanished into space.

Part of the Special Series:

PaperCity - On the Runway Fall 2019

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