At 22, Christian Siriano is the youngest winner in 'Project Runway' history. (Photos courtesy of Bravo Television)
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By KATHERINE VOLIN
Thursday, March 20, 2008
As every fashion queen already knows, sassy Christian Siriano was crowned the winner of Bravo's "Project Runway" — and he's the youngest to ever take home the prize.
The 22-year-old's run on the show was chronicled in his often whiny, frequently snippy and occasionally dead-on interview blurbs that peppered the otherwise tame fourth season of the show.
"I'm gonna die of barfness," he said about the challenge that included deconstructing jeans and redesigning them into a new classic denim look.
"I'm not a miracle worker, lady. I can't make you have an ass," he told a client who had lost a lot of weight and needed her clothes redesigned for another challenge.
"Don't these bitches know that I'm way better than them?" he quipped when coming under fire from the other designers.
The last comment was proven true on March 5, when the show's final episode aired, revealing that Siriano, who turned 22 during the show's filming, was judged the winner. Guest judge Victoria Beckham, a former Spice Girl and wife of soccer star David Beckham, revealed her preference for Christian's designs and it was all over.
His competition was stiff, however. Fellow finalists Jillian Lewis, whose collection was inspired by 15th century Spanish armor, and Rami Kashou, who looked to Joan of Arc while creating his 12 looks, were also talented designers.
"I thought all three were better than anything you've ever seen on 'Project Runway' in the finals," says Jack Mackenroth, a fellow contestant and close friend of Christian's. "I thought all three were technically really wonderful and amazing."
Nonetheless, Siriano won the new car, $100,000 and publicity that would make other struggling designers green with envy. Mackenroth is not one of those people, however.
"I am so proud of him," he says. "When anyone asked me the whole way along, I always knew it would probably be him [who would win]."
Siriano's runway show, a beautiful black sea of cigarette pants with voluminous tops and a pair of dresses at the end, was visually stunning.
"When you do a [runway] show, you're putting on a show. It's theatrics, and I think Christian was the most successful at that," Mackenroth says.
Abe Azelaja, a stylist and Saks Fifth Avenue personal shopper, also raves about the young designer.
"I thought his designs were not only extraordinary but also innovative," Azelaja says. "You can see the work and detail that goes into his garments. The speed of how he creates these garments is what amazes me. It's talent and to be a 21-year-old with all that skill … I grew up sketching dresses my whole life and I found out that he didn't even end up being interested in fashion design until he was 13, so I just think that's incredible."
after the final episode aired, Christian — whose voice was hoarse from a long day of interviews — over the phone. All the insecure complaining that had marked his tenure on the show was replaced with confident joyfulness and generosity toward his fellow competitors.
"I know that I come off sassy and make funny comments, but in all honestly, I get along with all the designers," he says, saying that he still keeps in touch with Jack, Victoria, Kevin, Sweet P and Kit. "I feel like I made some real lifelong friends, which is wonderful."
As for the comments he made about other designers during the filming of the show, Siriano chalks it up to the immense pressure that "Project Runway" created.
"It was so stressful. I did say that Rami was a bit annoying to work with sometimes, but everyone was. Some days Chris would be so annoying because of his laugh and Jillian would be annoying because she was whiny, but you know, I'm sure they felt the same way about me," Siriano says.
Siriano says he plans to use the publicity that he's now getting from his win to promote his collection.
"I really was taking 'Project Runway' like a fashion route," he says. "I want to be a fashion designer, I want to be in the fashion industry. I want to dress Victoria Beckham. I don’t want to go that route where [I win on] TV and then it stops here."
After Beckham expressed interest in wearing his designs during the "Project Runway" finale, Siriano promised he would comply.
"I made her a few dresses and hopefully I'll see her next week and see what she likes, see how it goes," he says.
dresses aside, Siriano's winning looks were dominated by androgynous designs.
"I wanted it to be feminine, but sexy and strong and yes, I know that my clothes aren't for every woman, but I think that the woman who wants to wear my clothes wants to feel that way," he says.
Interestingly enough, the designer doesn't think that his gay identity played much into his designs.
"In all honestly, I don't think it reflected in what I make in fashion. Not necessarily, because I'm really designing for this specific customer who's this specific woman and the inspiration comes from so many other places, I don’t think that has an affect on it," he says.
In general, though, from what Siriano says, it doesn't seem as though being gay has been something to which he has devoted a lot of thought, nor from which he has derived much stress. Siriano grew up in Annapolis, Md., where he worked in a beauty salon prior to attending Baltimore School for the Arts.
"It's not a big issue for me and my lifestyle, from when I worked at the salon, and my family," he says. "I don’t know. I can't say that it was bad, because it wasn't. It was fine. Even though [Annapolis is] very conservative, I went to an arts school for high school. I never went to a normal school where kids are immature. So it never really was a problem."
Although Washington, D.C., and its surrounding area, including Annapolis, take plenty of heat for not being sartorially advanced, Siriano, who surprisingly seems to have the rosy-outlook market cornered, says he views the area a little differently.
"It's conservative in a way, but the whole yacht clubbers and there's a lot of money in D.C. and Annapolis and those women who are shopping, they have some taste. They know what they're doing," he says. "There's a weed here and there, but luckily, there's some divas floating around the area. I know most of them."
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