I celebrate just like the next girl when I see Christian Siriano's diverse runway [1], which he describes as the "new world of what's beautiful." The clothes are colourful, the women are colourful, and there is such a wide variety of body shapes and sizes represented, it's impossible not to stand up and cheer. But I also love to scan his front row [2] — he has so many admirers who he's worked with for years showing up in support, Whoopi Goldberg included.
When I got the chance to talk to Christian, who's launching a new eyewear collection for Transitions [3] that is predictably bold and bright, I wanted to focus on the topic most of us are interested in: his impressive roster of celebrity enthusiasts and his red carpet domination through the years — though he promises that has only happened naturally:
"We never go after people. We are not like, 'Oh, I have to dress that person.' I really like to make it more organic and I think that's why I had success on the red carpet for so long, because we just hope for the best and I don't put so much pressure on myself because that'll drive me crazy . . . We will reach out to stylists, but I don't let it make or break my life," he told me.
Christian recounted some of his proudest moments for me, like Michelle Obama's blue DNC dress [4], for which he received one of his most memorable compliments. But he truly treasures his relationship with Lady Gaga, and he so humbly reminded me that he was one of the first people to dress her and still works with her today. Keep scrolling to find the one woman Siriano has yet to create something for (no spoilers here!) and the one gown from his Spring 2019 line that you just might see pop up this award season.
Lady Gaga
"I was one of the first people to ever dress Lady Gaga [6]. People didn't know who she was. That was very exciting. I remember I dressed her for the Tony Awards and we made all of her looks. That was really something for me at the time that was so special. I still dress Gaga to this day. I just made a dress for her a couple days ago and I met her almost 12 years ago when we both had no careers."
Lady Gaga [7] wearing a champagne Christian Siriano gown at the 2016 Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon in Beverly Hills.
Lady Gaga [8] wearing a white off-the-shoulder Christian Siriano midi dress in NYC in December 2014.
Michelle Obama
"One compliment [I received on something I created that stood out a lot] would be the dress I made for Michelle Obama at the DNC [9] when she gave her really powerful speech. The comment I got was that the dress was really simple and elegant, but spoke volumes. That was really great to hear and it was a really good memory."
Michelle Obama [10] wearing a cobalt blue Christian Siriano dress [11] at the DNC in July 2016 in Philadelphia.
Oprah Winfrey
"Oprah was one of the first women that I dressed. I mean, we had a lot of great moments really early on in my career to remember, and I feel so lucky that I get to work with people that I have admired for a long time."
"A little Sunday glamour with the fabulous @Oprah. Throwing it back to this chic moment!" Christian wrote recently on Twitter [12], sharing a photo of her moment on stage.
Oprah wearing a purple Christian Siriano dress on her "The Life You Want" tour in September 2014 in Newark, NJ.
The 1 Woman Christian Would Love to Work With
"You know, I'm a big fan of Cate Blanchett [13], and I haven't really done anything for her. So I think that would be kind of fun. You know, it's so funny. I just haven't ever really thought about [designing for her]. That's the thing, we never go after people. We just hope for the best and we don't put so much pressure."
Cate wearing a Giorgio Armani dress at the second Rome Film Festival for her the premiere of Elizabeth: The Golden Age in October 2007.
Perhaps You'll Find This Exact Spring 2019 Dress on Cate?
"Obviously a lot of my collections are very red-carpet friendly and we always have that in mind in some way. At the end of my Spring show [14], we had this really beautiful chartreuse sheer, tiered gown, and I think it will have a great red carpet moment soon. I don't second guess myself and I don't say, 'Oh this has to be on this person.'"
