Christian Siriano showed his spring collection at Gotham Hall, the former Greenwich Savings Bank. Built during the Jazz Age, the super-size (at the time) building boasts an interior that borrows from the Old World, much as American fashion leaned on Paris then. On the floor there are mosaics; high up on the wall are carved sober statements such as, “Waste neither time nor money but use both to your own good and your neighbor’s good.” The sentiment seemed strangely at odds with the lavishness of the interiors—and with Siriano’s OTT creations.
Yet this push-and-pull between restraint and self-expression, opulence and minimalism, mirrors the chaotic times we live in. Mixed messages are everywhere. We know we must consume less, yet are tempted by the thrill of being “extra” that a life led on camera and social media seems to demand. We’re enticed by a world in which everyone can be a star.
Stardom is something Siriano knows a lot about. Not only does he dress stars for the red carpet; as a Project Runway winner he is a television star himself. When asked if he’s living the American Dream, the designer replies, “For sure. As a little boy I wanted to make clothes and be a fashion designer.” Et voila. Siriano wants to share the luck, and the love, by designing clothes for many types of women. He was casting “curve” models before the term existed, and he did so again today. Precious Lee opened and closed the show, which featured a live performance by Marina, and perched on a gold chair in the front row was Lil’ Kim, in ruffles that took up space. “We’re getting the most insane requests,” said Siriano who’s observed a pent-up demand for the escapist fantasy that fashion, particularly evening wear, can deliver. “I guess that’s what maybe inspired this collection to be a bit more than I would’ve done normally,” he said.
The designer was looking at old family photos when creating this collection, and the power punch of orange he used was an homage to his Italian grandmother, the season’s muse. There wasn’t a lot of restraint in this collection, but when it appeared, in slim ’30s silhouettes, a suit with asymmetric lapels, or a white dress with attached marabou-trimmed scarf, it was memorable. The idea of two-piece dressing, a bra and pants, say, seems current. Siriano does an LBD nicely, and there were options for the flirt and the very daring. The more voluminous looks, especially those with gigantic ruffles, felt heavy and threatened to overwhelm the wearer. (Though to be fair, looks that were only slightly less dramatic could be seen in the audience.)
Siriano successfully communicated his starry-eyed approach to fashion, but the collection lacked a clear point of view. There were too many looks and a surfeit of variety. “There is no gain so sure as that which results from economizing what you have,” reads one of the mottos carved in stone at Gotham Hall. Wise words.
