Christian Siriano
Italian + German-American
Fashion Designer + Founder, Christian Siriano
Website: christiansiriano.com
Instagram: @csiriano
Known as the youngest winner of Project Runway due to his win at the age of 21, Christian Siriano is of Italian and German descent. He was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland, and started his journey to the runway when he was a teenager studying fashion design at the Baltimore School for the Arts. Thanks to encouragement he received from his parents to enter the creative field, Christian gained an interest in costume design, and began designing and sewing clothes for the annual hair show at Bubbles Hair Salon – where he worked as a shampoo assistant throughout high school.
When Christian applied to the famed Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, he was denied admission. This occurrence would have stopped others in their tracks, but Christian moved on to plan b and decided to study abroad at American Intercontinental University in London, England. By the time he graduated, Christian struck gold with internships at famed fashion houses such as, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.
Upon graduation, he moved to New York and worked as a freelance make-up artist and made wedding gowns for private clients. While interning for Marc Jacobs, Christian auditioned for project runway and was chosen to become one of the contestants. With talent and a fierce attitude, Christian went on to become the winner of the show’s fourth season (march 2008). The win garnered him a spread in Elle Magazine, a 2008 Saturn Astra and $100,000 to start his own fashion label.
Since 2008, Christian has been on an uphill swing. He launched a namesake label, Christian Siriano (2008), was named one of Crain’s top 40 Entrepreneurs Under 40 (2010), opened his flagship store in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood (2012), and after a second attempt, was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2013. In addition, Christian has collaborated with Puma, Payless Shoesource, Starbucks, HSN, Spiegel, Lane Bryant and Victoria’s Secret; and has drawn the following celebrity clientele: Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna, Leslie Jones and First Lady, Michelle Obama!
As Christian continues to challenge the appearance of traditional runway shows, he is not afraid to cast models of all body types and ethnicities, as he did in his Spring/Summer 2017 shown below. Through his actions of encouraging inclusion in style, we hope that this will ultimately pave the way for all women who dream to one-day strut their stuff on the runway!
Sources: Crain’s New York, NPR, The Baltimore Sun and NY Post