Christian Siriano's Transformation From Aspiring Fashion Designer To Red Carpet Mainstay

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"Growing up, I knew I wasn't meant to stay in one place," Christian Siriano once told Baltimore Magazine. "I wanted something on a bigger scale, not only being a bigger brand, but changing people's idea of fashion and women." He did just that, becoming a designer beloved by red carpet-trotting celebs and, indeed, helping change people's notions of how fashion could look. But what's more interesting is Siriano's journey to get to that point. His story is not dissimilar from a rags-to-riches Disney princess tale. Just, in this case, the protagonist is making dresses that don't disappear at midnight.

When Siriano hit the screen with his catchphrases, like "fierce" or "hot mess," it was clear that he had the potential to be the One Direction or Jennifer Hudson of "Project Runway." Since his big Season 4 win in 2007, Siriano's brand brought in over $6 million in revenue per year in the mid-2010s. Hee was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 by Time Magazine, and he's even gone full circle and taken up his old mentor's role. But more on all that later. So, let's find out how Siriano made it work and take a look at his transformation from a big-haired, catchphrase-coining budding designer to a bespectacled designer to the stars whose looks have rolled down all the major red carpets.

Somewhere in suburban Annapolis during the late '80s, a young Christian Siriano seemed destined for the arts. While he was still in preschool, the future dress designer for the great and good would be dragged to his sister's ballet classes and spend his time sketching the costumes, such as one Sugar Plum Fairy ensemble. While they weren't looks that'd make it onto a runway (he wasn't that much of a prodigy), his early doodles showed that he had a natural eye for design.

Subsequently, Siriano applied to Baltimore School for the Arts after his freshman year of high school. There, he made collections that were impressive to tutors. "He stood out right away," Stephen Kent, the head of the school's visual arts wing, told Baltimore Magazine. "Everything was coordinated and professional, and he presented his work in a very thoughtful way. He had no formal training, but he had this passion," he added. "Even at 14, he was convincing, and he knew what he wanted to do. I believed him." But despite his work having class-topping quality, Siriano still relentlessly applied himself and asked questions. In fact, contrary to what his tutors thought, he believed he still had a lot to improve. Soon, he would push himself to do so.

Life can be cruel. Just when you think you're up, it brings you crashing down. Indeed, while Christian Siriano impressed his teachers at high school, his application to New York's prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology was rejected. But the future seven-figure designer of Italian heritage wasn't going to let that stop him from achieving his dream, even if it meant hopping on a Europe-bound plane and travelling across the pond. For the soon-to-be "Project Runway" winner, the comfort zone is something to be left rather than remain in.

"I'm glad it happened that way because it made me want to do something else, something that was totally different from anyone that I knew," Siriano told Baltimore Magazine regarding the rejection. Thanks to a bit of Googling and a relentless desire to achieve his fashion dreams, Siriano arrived in London and enrolled at the American InterContinental University. But rather than learn about Big Ben or Victorian-era murderers, he was there to learn about fashion. Thankfully, his transatlantic trip it was worth it. "The teachers were unbelievable and all worked in the industry," he explained in an interview with Fashionista. "The head pattern maker at Vivienne Westwood was my teacher, so she was like, 'you need to go work for Vivienne,' and I did."

It's something plucked straight from the storylines of "Emily in Paris," except this happened in London and 20-something years prior to Emily getting to France. During his studies abroad in the early '00s, Christian Siriano wound up as an intern at two of London's most celebrated fashion houses: Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. "I definitely learned about this idea of a small team creating big things," said Siriano of the experience when speaking to Whitewall Fashion. "The teams were so small and so hands-on. That's what was really so inspiring — being in the studio next to Sarah [Burton] and Lee [Alexander McQueen] and this designer named Caroline, who basically did everything." 

Burton would go on to be creative director at Givenchy and, by the turn of the century, McQueen was considered one of the most innovative and interesting designers around. Talk about learning from the best. Though, Siriano did still had a lot to learn. "I think my second day Naomi Campbell was doing her fitting, but I didn't know who she was," he told The Guardian. Siriano hadn't heard of Westwood nor McQueen prior to his internship, so hopefully Campbell didn't take the slight too personally. "I didn't know who anyone was — I just knew I liked to make clothes." Soon, he would be making clothes with some major models back home on, arguably, an even bigger stage.

In 2007, a sassy Christian Siriano stepped into the "Project Runway" house with a backpack, an emo haircut, and a dream at 21 years old. "I'm kinda fierce, and I'm kind of a celebrity ... in my own head," he says in his audition video played in the first episode of "Project Runway" Season 4. "Are these our beds?" he asks when speaking to other contestants. "I'd rather buy clothes than buy a bed." With that, a star was born. Whether it was thanks to his designs or his catchphrases, Christian Siriano captured the hearts and minds of the audience and the judges alike. "Re-watching the adorable Christian Siriano doing the challenges and he's such an adorable fierce little salty BRAT with a Karen hairstyle," said one fan on Reddit revisiting the season. 

It was clear that Siriano had serious talent, with his finale looks featuring extravagant blouses and brilliant black lace. "I loved everything that you did," said the "Project Runway" season finale judge Victoria Beckham. "It was very much my taste and my style," she added. "Rather than fierce, I'd say that you're major." In that episode, Siriano walked away with $100,000, a new Saturn Astra car, an Elle editorial, and a collection to be sold on Bluefly.com. But, perhaps most importantly, he left the show with much-earned fashion cred.

So, whatever happened to Siriano since his "Project Runway" debut? "It's September 11, 2008, and I'm presenting my first full collection at Fashion Week," wrote Christian Siriano in an excerpt from his 2010 book, "Fierce Style: How to be Your Most Fabulous Self" (via Oprah.com). "It's months of hard work come to life, and I stop, for just a moment, to take it all in," he continues. "And just like that, it's showtime. I feel like I'm holding my breath for all 28 looks. I can hear applause, even cheering, but I'm still a nervous wreck. But before I know it, the show is over." That's the moment when brand Christian Siriano began in earnest.

From there, his designs received acclaim from critics, and he even earned comparisons to the likes of Gucci and Valentino. Off the runway, his eponymously labeled clothing sold at major outlets like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. "It's amazing as a young designer to see people wearing your clothes," he told Baltimore Magazine. "Even now, it's a nice moment. It makes it feel a little bit worth it on the days that feel like they aren't." Looking at where the most successful "Project Runway" stars are today, Siriano seems to be the most successful of them all.

What do Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Sheryl Crow have in common? Well, apart from them all being incredibly successful American singers, they all love the designs of Christian Siriano and helped him become more than just an ex-"Project Runway" star. As Elle fashion editor Nikki Ogunnaike noted in Baltimore Magazine, "Christian Siriano is more than just a kid who got his start on 'Project Runway' ... He's a wildly talented designer who continues to push the conversation forward when it comes to size inclusivity on the runway and red carpet."

In 2011, for example, Swift wore a stunning ruffled dress from the designer's spring collection for her fragrance campaign. There are ways to copy Swift's lavish style on a budget, but many fans wanted the exact look, and the gown started selling like hot cakes. It's such a good look that it eventually wound up in a museum. But perhaps his most famous and meaningful look from the 2010s was the dress he designed for Michelle Obama for the 2016 Democratic National Convention. It was important on a personal level, too. "Obviously for me, as a gay American boy with a dream ... what the Obamas stood for was all of those things and supporting all of those things," Siriano told the Washington Post Live. "It was an iconic moment."

As we've covered, there is a fairy tale-esque quality to the career of Christian Siriano. Whether it's winding up at McQueen early on or winning the biggest design competition on television, it's an enviable career path. The same goes for his love life. In the afterglow of his "Project Runway" win, Siriano met photographer Brad Walsh and it looked like he found the one. "He was doing commercials for his season of the show and I remember him being really animated," Walsh recalled when speaking to Baltimore Magazine. "But in person he was way more himself, which is very calm, smart, and business-oriented — not like the character you might have imagined if you only saw him on TV." The pair began dating just two weeks after that Gawker-photoshoot-slash-meet-cute.

In 2013, things got even better when the pair announced their engagement and, three years later, they tied the knot. The ceremony looked suitably stylish, with the couple donning uber-cool black suits, as they kissed in the woodlands. If that piqued your interest, take a look inside Siriano's marriage to Walsh.

If you've ever watched a fashion documentary, you'll know that the life of a designer isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's not all rounds of applause and champagne receptions. Sometimes, the stresses of the job mean they need to make like Marc Jacobs and light countless cigarettes or, like Alexander McQueen, head off to the countryside. The same goes for Christian Siriano. In 2010, hopeful models started sending Siriano's label emails after two false Craigslist call-outs suggested interested models should apply, one of which asked wannabes to send a $150 fee for the pleasure. "There seem to be two [scams] going on. The first wanted models of a specific type and gave an address of where to go," Bianca Bianconi, a Siriano representative, said at the time (via the New York Post). "We were concerned for safety, that's why Christian said in his Twitter 'be careful.'" 

The same year, Siriano came under fire for his "hot t***** mess" catchphrase. "I was on Project Runway almost three years ago, so you kind of do a lot within that time," he said of the apology he subsequently made, as per Out. "You grow and mature as years pass. I just kind of stopped saying what I used to say." If that wasn't headache enough, a year later he was sued by his talent agency for neglecting to pay them commission from Siriano's collaboration with Payless, the now-defunct footwear store. We'd need a glass of champagne after all that!

"I always championed body inclusivity," wrote Christian Siriano in a 2016 essay, published in Glamour. "People noticed when I sent plus-size models down my runway, launched a line with Lane Bryant, and designed Leslie Jones' dress for the 'Ghostbusters' premiere," he added. "Leslie couldn't find a designer to dress her, and unfortunately I hear stories like hers a lot. But whether it's Leslie or Gwyneth Paltrow, I don't think about a woman's size when I dress her."

It's a commendable attitude to have, especially when you consider that fashion has typically had an unhealthy obsession with skinniness and the body positivity movement was only just gaining traction in the mid-2010s. Notably, in the early 2010s, Siriano dressed "Mad Men" star Christina Hendricks, despite other fashion houses rejecting her. While he faced critical backlash for the tiered peach dress he chose for her, attitudes were changing, and it only aided his career. As Siriano himself put it when speaking to Elle in 2017, "My mother was a size 16. But my sister is a 0, I've never wanted to leave any woman out of my sight. I want to dress them all." Without a doubt, he helped the evolution of the body positivity movement.

Naturally, Christian Siriano is one "Project Runway" winner who is nearly unrecognizable now, and with such drastic lifestyle changes come ups and downs. Indeed, after two years as husbands, he and Brad Walsh sadly split in 2018. "Bit more than a month ago my husband and I separated," Walsh announced on social media (via Page Six). "I was contacted by a writer for a website who somehow found out, so rather than let them break it, I'm telling you myself," he revealed. "It's nobody's business and I don't want to discuss, but that's what up."

Siriano, on the other hand, remained schtum about the break-up. Yet, rather heartbreakingly, a post remains on his Instagram from Valentine's Day in February 2018, picturing the pair the day they tied the knot. Around three years later, in 2021, Siriano filed for divorce to make things legally binding. Sadly, as for many couples, the marriage didn't work out. Here's the top scientific reason why marriages fail.

In 2019, the student became the master when Christian Siriano stepped into Tim Gunn's brown suede Suitsupply shoes, and he became a mentor on "Project Runway." However, Siriano was set on making the mentor role his own rather than taking a leaf directly from Gunn's book. "What's really great about this season is that, for the first time, the mentor for the designers gets to be a designer," he said ahead of his first season as a mentor (via Vulture). 

According to Siriano, Gunn never worked as a designer, though he spent over two decades as a teacher. "When the designers have a red-carpet challenge, I can actually give them real feedback because I'd just dressed people at the Golden Globes the week before," he added. "I'm giving them real, fashion-industry feedback that can, hopefully, only help them." Broadly, the reaction online suggests that Siriano's new direction is one that was valued despite taking a different approach than his predecessor. If you're wondering, here's what Siriano is really like when off-camera on "Project Runway."

Although he started out by interning in their fashion houses, Christian Siriano was now a designer talked about in the same breath as Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen, and his clothes were on the same red carpets too. Siriano once dressed Billy Porter in a divine tuxedo-slash-dress at the 2019 Oscars, made Lizzo's jaw-dropping rhinestone gown from her 2020 Grammy Awards performance, and put Janelle Monáe in a bizarre (but brilliant) grass-slash-machine dress at the 2026 Met Gala. There's hardly a major red carpet that his gowns haven't flowed down. In fact, he designed the look for a screen legend who was one of the best-dressed stars at the 2022 Emmy Awards.

Despite Siriano's amazing metamorphosis into a celebrated designer, with achievements like breaking a Met Gala record for having three of his pieces on display in the Costume Institute at once, it all comes back to his childhood. "Right now in particular, I think all of our muses are a little closer to home," he told Harper's Bazaar in 2021. "Lately, I've been most inspired by old photographs of my grandmother — she loved cocktail dresses, and getting dressed up, even for something casual," he added. "I think it taught [me] about American glamor at an early age." We hope he never forgets that glamor.