Christian Siriano is a 29 year old fashion designer who won the show “Project Runway” in 2008 (at the age of 22). He was and still is the youngest person to ever be the winner of “Project Runway”.
In 2008, I was thoroughly immersed in this show. It in some ways it is like any reality contest program, but to me, the challenges required a kind of resilience and versatility in the contestants that I find astounding. For those who do not know the structure of the show: each week a specific guideline was given to all the contestants about what kind of clothing they had to design. The direction could be anything from an Advant Garde (over the top, free-thinking) look to designing prom dresses for high school students. In addition to the need of versatility, the contestants had a strict time limit for how long each they could spend on each garment. This time limit could be as short as 1 day.
Christian Siriano stood out from this competition in many ways. First, he was young. Many contestants ran their own boutique already, had years of experience as a tailor, worked for other designers, etc. Christian was fresh out of an internship for Alexander McQueen and did not have those many years of experience. However, he did have immense amounts of passion. He often talked about how he had dreamed of this profession his entire life and how much he loved it.
His youth also aided him. While other contestants had the potential to be stuck in their ways, he was fresh and always looking for an interesting, new, and young way to design garments. He was truly fascinating to watch. He was fierce.
Christian Siriano ended up winning “Project Runway”, which truly was not a surprise. His depth and innovation were unmatched on his season of the show. However, what I find astounding is what he did after his victory. He designed for high fashion, which was the kind of design direction highlighted on the show. However, he also has designed lower budget items. He partnered with Payless and has a fashion forward but on a budget line for women. I think his ability to see that many of the people that watched and supported him on the show would not be able to afford the higher priced design items. He expanded markets and now is very successful.
I used to love watching Project Runway so much! It’s really cool & inspiring to know that, even though he lacked in the area of experience, his passion and drive made up for that in a lot of ways.
Love this! I have only seen bits and pieces of the show but I know it is an extremely high-stress and competitive environment. It is amazing how a young person could keep up with the older, more experienced competitors. Goes to show college kids can prove their own too!
I bought a pair of Christian Siriano pumps a few years ago and love them! I knew he was a contestant on Project Runway, but I had no clue who he was or how he got his start. Thank you for sharing his story! It was amazing to read about how his passion and drive led him to beat out the older designers. His story is truly inspiring.