Satuday was a gorgeous sunny, 75 degree, perfect Autumn day, complete with an awesome meeting with Project Runway Season 4's winner Christian Siriano.  The youngest winner to-date, Christian was born in November 1985 (he's not yet 24!) and studied ballet as a child.  This led to his interest in costume design, and thankfully for the future of the design world, to becoming a fashion designer.  If you watched him in season 4, you were probably like me and couldn't get enough.  He was tart and hilarous and as he likes to say "sassy!", and above all...let's say it together now...FIERCE!  Remember when Victoria Beckham gushed over his final collection at New York's fashion week?

To promote his new shoe and handbag line at Payless stores, and his new book "Fierce Style - How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self", Christian answered questions and did a mini runway show where he re-styled 4 lucky audience members at Montgomery Mall in Maryland.  I was there with IPhone video taping in one hand, and camera in the other (not to mention my fashion-loving 5-year-old in tow).  I asked him if I could give his assistent something for him, he was so gracious and so NOT diva-ish and said "sure, or you can just give it to me!' with a coy smile.  I love him!  So UNlike many celebs I've come across in the past. So I gave him a gift card for any of my bean bag chairs, and he slipped it into his back pocket - I hope he doesn't forget and put it in the wash!  Shoot! I should have asked him to show me his squid and octopus tattoos on his right arm.

Videos of Christian answering questions and his mini runway show (keep in mind it's from a phone and not a real video camera, but at least you can see how cute he is):

Delicious bites of Christian's thoughts on fashion and design:
-He was wearing a "cheap but fashionable" Topshop Men's shirt and a womens' blazer from Intermix NYC - "Don't judge me cuz I'm little!"  Jeans from Cheap Monday and sneakers from his new shoe line. "No Gucci today."
-His favorite designers include Mark Jacob, Michael Kors, and Alexander Mcqueen.
-He's so over the 'no white after Labor Day' rule.
-He loves animal prints "You can never go wrong with animal prints, but it can be dangerous, don't go out and buy a leopard faux fur giant parka, accessorize with shoes or bags. It's graphic and an interesting texture, do it in a new way".
-Leggings..oh goodness...he sort of gets when they're ok to wear...not a fan apparently
-Stay-at-home Moms can stay chic by emulating iconic celebrities, get inspired by people in the media because it's easy.  His Mom does this.
-To get inspired, he doesn't look at other designer's clothes, he looks at movement, styling, and shape.
-Heidi Klum is so real, not sassy.  After the show, he went to her house to find Heidi on the porch with flip flops and no makeup.  "I will tell you though, on set, she's a diva.  She deserves it.  Her set wardrobe is huge"
-"Tim Gunn's so cuddly.  He's a little sassy!" The way Tim is on the show is the way he is every single day. Always in a tie, always pinned up.  He writes his emails exactly how he talks.
-Michael Kors looks orange on the show because of the set's lighting - he's not over-tanned!
-The best wardrobe staple is accessories: statement shoes and statement bags.  Dresses are easy because you don't have to worry about lots of different pieces in your outfit.
-Purple is his new color for the moment.

My favorite Chrisitian-isms caught on camera:

Sitting with Style                               The Head Throwback        Sassy and Tart!

So what's Christian up to lately?  Besides his Payless shoe and handbag collection ($30 price level), Christian is also creating a makeup line for Victoria's Secret, a new fashion mobile phone for LG - the "Lotus", has clothing in Saks Fifth Avenue, and designed a collection for Puma.  He also appeared as himself in "Ugly Betty" and was even in an R&B music video (Estelle, "No Subsitute Love").  He has shown 4 collections at NYC's Fashion Week.

Sporting His New Shoe Line

I agree with Tim Gunn that Christian Siriano is potentially "the next Marc Jacobs...the next great American designer."  I only hope he takes me up on my offer to design the fiercest, sassiest bean bag chair ever!

Yours truly, Jade