Interview with "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano

AE: I thought your models absolutely rocked your outfits. They were fantastic.
CS: Didn’t Lisa rock it? Even Nina said, “Lisa, you really worked it this time.”

AE: I thought your models did a noticeably and dramatically better job than those of the other two. Did you give them a lot of direction? Was it just all in the casting? I’m specifically talking about the final runway in Bryant Park.
CS: I’m really glad that you noticed that, ‘cause I do hear Rami and Jillian, and other people, they say I’m young, I’m inexperienced, but let me tell you, that casting, I was so specific in what I needed. I’ve been to a lot of shows and I’ve done a lot of shows. They might not be at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, but I’ve done a lot of little shows and I know what a good model looks like. So I felt like my girls, like I wanted them – they all needed to be really tall and really edgy and really strong walkers. So that’s like what I was going for.

And it’s funny, ‘cause like when we cast, I basically got almost every girl that I wanted on like the first choice, which was great, ‘cause obviously nobody else used ethnic girls, which was perfect for me, because I really wanted a dark-skinned girl for the second half of my collection. And it just so happened that my last model does couture for John Galliano every year in Paris. So I really worked hard to get perfect models that were just really strong and successful girls. It was definitely a point. I wanted to show that my models were going to be really, just really strong and beat the other ones out.

AE: And what kind of direction did you give them? I mean was that a big part of it, too, or was it mostly in just choosing the right girls?
CS: A lot of the girls I asked to walk with their hands kind of cinched on their hips, because that really showed off the silhouette, which made a big difference. And my shoes were really tall and pretty. They were hard to walk in, but if you could walk in them it made it so dramatic ‘cause they were so high. And then my music. Like my music was so upbeat that they want to walk amazing, and they had fun with it, I think.

AE: Your music was fantastic. What was it?
CS: Didn’t Brad do a good job?

AE: Was it Brad? Oh my god, that’s so wonderful.
CS: It’s on his MySpace. It’s called “Control Me,” and he made it for me.

AE: He made it just for you?
CS: Yeah. Don’t worry. I gave lots of input.

AE: Did he do it specifically for the Bryant Park show, or had he made it for you for some other reason?
CS: I just said to him, I said, “Look, I don’t have a lot of money in my budget, so can you make my music?” I mean I literally sat at the computer with him and we just played around, and he played around, and I said, “I like this. I don’t like that. Take this out,” and with someone else I wouldn’t have been able to do that. So he made it. It was just for the runway show.

AE: So just going back to your model for a second, I loved the interaction between you and Lisa, when she was telling you how talented you were, and she looked as happy as you did. And I just wondered, did you guys become friends? She just seemed like she was made for you.
CS: She is. I loved her, I mean, so much. And Lee as well, my other model, which is amazing. She was in my show as well. But Lisa and I are such good friends. We had a big event last night. I made her dress. She came over. We all went together. The thing about Lisa, is she works in a lot of showrooms. She sees clothes all day long and actually works with them. She has other little jobs and really knows a lot about designers and fashion. She’s really up on it.

But she’s been modeling for a while. She’s probably not going to do it too much longer. So she’s getting more into the fashion industry part of it. She knows a lot about clothes and she’s more of a mirror than really a model that just puts the clothes on, which is great for the show.

I remember one of my jackets, one of the darts was a little higher than the other, and she was like, “Don’t worry. I’ll just stand with my hand on the hip so you can’t tell.” Like she knows. She really knows how to work it so it looks right.

AE: She has such an unusual look. I love her face.
CS: Yeah. She’s very edgy and dark. If you see her photographs – a lot of my fans go on her MySpace and stuff. She’s great for runway, but I mean her photos are flawless.