By LEANNE ITALIE
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Christian Siriano lined his New York Fashion Week runway Thursday with thousands of multicolored flowers and put wide-brimmed hats worthy of muse Audrey Hepburn on some of his models to top off a big week.
First, there was the custom burgundy power suit he made Vice President Kamala Harris for Tuesday’s State of the Union. He nailed it in one trip to Washington, D.C., in one fitting.
“And we had the Grammys and fashion week,” Siriano told The Associated Press in a backstage interview. “We had no time and I was like, well, we hope it works. It’s just such an honor. We wanted to make her look really beautiful and powerful.”
Then there was his update of Alicia Silverstone’s iconic “Clueless” yellow plaid skirt set for her Rakuten Super Bowl commercial airing Sunday. He even scored a cameo as a student in Cher Horowitz’s debate class.
Siriano and Silverstone are long-time pals and she sits often on his front rows. She was away filming this time around. Lindsay Lohan, with brother Dakota and one of her sisters walking in the show, attended with Quinta Brunson and Julia Stiles.
“Growing up, literally any young fashion designer is obsessed with ‘Clueless.’ I mean, Cher is your muse. It felt really full circle,” he said of his Super Bowl moment.
Siriano had another muse on his mind for his latest collection: Hepburn. To be precise, Hepburn in a rose garden at midnight. He was inspired by a 1990s TV documentary series she did with Michael York, “Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn.”
The series had Hepburn visiting spectacular gardens in England, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the U.S. and elsewhere.
Siriano honored the series with Japanese-influenced hats in purple check and large 3D floral embellishments in looks of fuchsia, or as he described it, “orchid purple.” He incorporated roses into a swirly black-and-white print and offered up sunny yellow in solids and color blocked looks.
And there were youthful, girly little black dresses, more matronly, roomy dresses and other looks, and a standout barely there evening dress in body-hugging, delicate tulle.
Siriano took his flower mission seriously, sending out one model in one of his big hats adorned with huge blossoms, with more huge blossoms on the top of a matching fuchsia pantsuit.
Wearable? It would take courage. A beautifully cut, long tuxedo coat with pants, all in the same pinky purple hue, might be easier.
All thanks to Hepburn’s first and only television series.
“It was incredible and fabulous,” Siriano said of the show, “and just very inspiring.”
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