Although this website (written nearly a year ago) gives us the lowdown on past winners and runners up, I think VH1 should do a "Where are they now?" episode on Project Runway winners, don't you? That way we could see what projects they've been working on and if winning Project Runway really made a big difference in their careers.
On Mon night at 10pm ET on Bravo I watched a show called "Christian Siriano: Having a Moment" which was all about my favorite Project Runway winner, hands down. I remember when watching that season that Christian was a real stand out. His thinking, his designs, his vast experience despite being so young all told me he was going to make it big. Project Runway was merely the vehicle to introduce Christian to the world.
As you recall, it wasn't just Christian's beautiful designs that made him so memorable, it was also his personality and use of the buzz words "fierce", "tranny", and "hot mess". Regular people (like me) began saying them in the right circles, and the buzz words even infiltrated pop culture when Saturday Night Live did a parody of Christian. The one catch phrase of Christian's that didn't seem to catch on was "I'm kind of a big deal".
But the 1-hour show on Bravo was NOT a rehash of Christian on Project Runway. Quite the opposite. Christian acknowledged that he became a household name due to Project Runway, but also reminds viewers that before Project Runway he worked for big design firms like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. The show chronicles a week in Christian's life, including preparing to show his latest collection at New York's Fashion Week, model selections, celebrity fittings, and a buyer's meeting where Christian sells his collection to upscale department stores and boutiques. In fact, he rarely says "fierce", "tranny", or "hot mess" in the TV show. They are replaced with "having a moment", hence the title of the show.
One might think the life of a young fashion designer is mostly fun and creative, but the TV show gives us a look into the business side of it as well as the need to interact with paying clients who can sometimes be challenging to work with.
Of course the TV show wouldn't be complete without showing viewer's Christian's collection at New York's Fashion Week, which was my 2nd favorite part of the show. Here are just a few:
All very Christian Siriano, yet not simply duplicates (aka Uli or Rami). For lots and lots of high quality images of Christian's collection check out Tom & Lorenzo's blog.But my favorite part of "Christian Siriano: Having a Moment" was they way it portrayed Christian as a real person. Not a typical person, but a real one. There were many references to and interview bits with his partner, Brad, who said "When I met Christian he was just a young talented guy on a reality show. I was a musician playing in a band at that time so I was the one with all the connections. Obviously that's not the case anymore."
Christian and Brad visit Christian's mom in MD for a weekend and we get to see them all interacting, like real people. And if you read the multitude of interviews with Christian (he's arguably the most interviewed of all Project Runway winners or contestants) you'll see that he's a real person, although an exceptionally talented and funny one.If you missed "Christian Siriano: Having a Moment" Mon night, fear not. Its on Bravo, which means it will be rebroadcast at least a 1/2 dozen times. Check for rebroadcast date/times here or set your DVR. One thing's for sure: its fierce.
Crush du Jour: Joey Casanas
2 comments:
I love his designs and admire his talent, but the thing about him that always annoyed me was that he seemed to think more of himself that other people did.
I always thought he was dangerously close to that confidence/arrogance line.
But man, the boy can couture!
This show was great. I loved it. He is such an amazing designer. I'm guessing he's the most successful from Project Runway?
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