Christian Siriano life and biography

Christian Siriano is an American fashion designer and the winner of the fourth season of American reality show Project Runway. Siriano is the series' youngest winner.

The son of Joye and Peter Siriano, Siriano was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. He is of Italian and German descent. Siriano's parents divorced when he was four years old, though he has said his father is still a part of his life.

Siriano has said that his parents supported the arts and encouraged him and his sister to pursue creative fields. As a child, Siriano studied ballet, and on a March 2008 Ellen appearance, he described himself as a "musical theater kid who loved costumes". Siriano's interest in costume design inspired him to pursue a career in fashion.He began designing clothes at age thirteen, while working as a hair washer and styling assistant at Bubbles Salon in Annapolis, and eventually began sewing clothes for the salon's annual hair shows. Siriano attended high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts, but spent his freshman year at Broadneck Senior High School. The school allowed Siriano to choose fashion design as his course of study.

After being rejected by the Fashion Institute of Technology, Siriano chose to study abroad at American InterContinental University in London, England. Following the recommendation of a teacher during his senior year, he began interning at Vivienne Westwood, and later, at Alexander McQueen, whom Siriano has stated is his favorite designer. Siriano moved to New York City after graduating from college.

Before auditioning for the fourth season of Project Runway, Siriano worked as a freelance make-up artist for Stila cosmetics and made wedding gowns for private clients, as well as holding a brief intern position at Marc Jacobs. Siriano decided to audition for the show after the suggestion of a friend's mother. During his time on Runway, Siriano won four challenges, the most of any contestant that season (followed by Rami and Victorya, who each won two). Siriano advanced to the show's finals, and won a spot to show a twelve-piece final collection at New York Fashion Week. His collection was made up of Musketeer-inspired couture, featuring ruffles, feathers and headwear. During the finale, which aired on March 5, 2008, celebrity guest judge Victoria Beckham praised Siriano's collection as being a "breath of fresh air" and stated that she would be "honored to wear" any piece of his clothing. Siriano was announced the winner of the show's fourth season, winning a fashion spread in Elle magazine, a 2008 Saturn Astra, and $100,000 US to start his own label. In addition, Siriano was awarded the season's "Fan Favorite" award, based on votes from viewers. He received a check for $10,000 US, which was presented to him by season three Fan Favorite Michael Knight. In a March 2008 interview, Runway mentor Tim Gunn stated of Siriano, "I really believe he is this generation's Marc Jacobs. I really do. We have found America's next great fashion designer... I'm confident."

In April 2008, Siriano signed on to design a fifteen piece collection for Puma. In May 2008, Siriano designed virtual promwear for Gaia Online's virtual prom. He appeared on Total Request Live to promote the event. As part of his prize for winning Project Runway, Siriano's first collection for Bluefly began retailing on the website in July 2008.

Siriano's first fashion line, Christian V. Siriano, debuted at New York Fashion Week on September 13, 2008. He has since shown at New York Fashion Week for the Spring 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 seasons. His entire Fall 2009 collection was picked up by New York City retailer Saks Fifth Avenue.

Shortly after the debut of his line, Siriano began collaborating on a maternity line, Fierce Mamas, with Moody Mamas founders Elise Rosemarin and Marta Abrams.

On December 4, 2008, it was announced that Siriano had signed a deal to design a line of low-cost shoes and handbags for Payless Shoesource with products to be available for retail in Payless stores in Fall 2009.

In February 2009, Siriano teamed up with the LG Group to create a fashion phone called the LG Lotus (LX600). LG Vice President, Ehtisham Rabbani had stated to the press that "The partnership with Christian has provided LG the perfect platform for marketing the Lotus to our more fashion-conscious customers. The LG Lotus -- like a well-crafted garment -- stands out in the crowd by fusing both style and functionality. Lotus owners know they are making a fashion statement every time they use their phone." In April 2009, Women's Wear Daily announced that Siriano had partnered with Victoria's Secret to retail his own makeup line, Christian Siriano for VS Makeup.

In October 2009, Siriano released a book titled Fierce Style: How To Be Your Most Fabulous Self. The book was co-written by Rennie Dyball and featured a foreword by Siriano's former Runway mentor Tim Gunn.

In August 2010 Siriano's name was used in a Craigslist scam. The scam involved a search for women interested in modeling for Siriano's line. Upon hearing the news, Siriano posted this on Twitter: "fyi girls i have never and do not ever look for models on craigslist or online. these photo shoots i'm hearing about are scams! be careful!"

On April 5, 2010, Bravo aired a one hour special entitled Christian Siriano: Having a Moment which followed Siriano as he prepared to debut his Spring 2010 collection at Fashion Week.

In March 2008, Margaret Price, a columnist for Bitch magazine, wrote an editorial entitled, "Is Christian Siriano Making A Hot Mess of the Term 'Tranny'?", in which she stated that Siriano's use of the terms "tranny" and "hot tranny mess" were offensive to the transsexual community and that by using the terms he was popularizing an "as-yet unclaimed slur." In a May 2008 interview with Time Out New York, Siriano responded to a question about the lasting power of drag culture by stating, "If you think of heterosexuals, they have white-trash women and trailer parks, and we have drag queens and trannies. I don't know if I'm the one who can explain it. It's, like, drag queens are just there." The remark garnered criticism for its derogatory slang and its comparison of transsexuality and drag queen culture to "white-trash" and trailer parks. Siriano released an apology to GLAAD in which he stated, "I mean no disrespect to the transgender community and I never will." Of his comments in the article, Siriano said, "I wish that my words were not taken in that way. When I was speaking, some comments that I made were not used in the article." He further commented that he is "actively working to remove" the term "tranny" from his vocabulary.

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