Oscar de la Renta
Óscar de la Renta at the Hotel Ritz, Madrid during a visit to Spain in 2008
Born	(1932-07-22) July 22, 1932 (age 79) Dominican Republic
Nationality	Dominican/United States
Occupation	Fashion designer
Awards	CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award, American Fashion Critic's Award, Order of Juan Pablo Duarte, Order of Cristóbal Colón
Labels	Oscar de la Renta
Website
www.oscardelarenta.com

Óscar de la Renta (born July 22, 1932 in Dominican Republic) ^[1] is one of the world's leading fashion designers. Trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio Castillo, he became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers to dress Jacqueline Kennedy. An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain; his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty, into the 2010s. De La Renta is particularly known for his red carpet gowns and evening wear.

Early years[link]

De la Renta was born Óscar Aristides Renta Fiallo in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father.^[2][3] At the age of 18 he left the Dominican Republic to study in Spain, where he studied painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He quickly became interested in the world of fashion design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses, which soon led to an apprenticeship with Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Later, de la Renta left Spain to join Antonio Castillo as a couture assistant at Lanvin in Paris.

Career[link]

In 1963, torn between designing custom clothing for Elizabeth Arden ^[4] as well as designing shoes and accessories, and designing ready-to-wear for Christian Dior-New York, de la Renta turned for advice to Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, saying that what he really wanted was to "get into ready to wear, because that's where the money is". Vreeland replied, "Then go to Arden because you will make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you. At the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior."^[5] De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years before he in 1965 went to work for Jane Derby and launched his own label.^[6] When Derby died in August 1965 Oscar de la Renta took over the label.^[7]

He was one of the three major protégés of Baron de Gunzburg; the others were Bill Blass and Calvin Klein.^[8]

From 1993 to 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain, becoming the first Dominican to design for a French couture house.^[9] In 2006, the Oscar de la Renta label diversified into bridal wear. ^[10]

His clothes have been worn by many celebrities ^[11], including Gloria Guinness, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush ^[12], Princess Maxima of the Netherlands ^[13], Princess Madeleine of Sweden ^[14], Tina Fey ^[15], Anne Hathaway.

De la Renta's ready-to-wear designs are available online ^[16] and from his own label stores.^[17]

Other enterprises[link]

In 1977, de la Renta launched his fragrance, OSCAR,^[18] followed by an accessories line in 2001 ^[19] and a homewares line in 2002. ^[20]

In 2006 Oscar de la Renta designed Tortuga Bay, a boutique hotel at PUNTACANA Resort and Club. Tortuga Bay is a Leading Small Hotel of the World ^[21] and a member of Virtuoso.^[22]

Awards, honors, philanthropic endeavors[link]

Design awards[link]

1n 1967 and 1968, de la Renta won the Coty award (the US fashion industry 'Oscars') and in 1973 was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame.^[23]

From 1973 to 1976, and from 1986 to 1988, he served as President of the CFDA.^[24] He is also a two-time winner of the American Fashion Critic's Award and was inducted into the Fame in 1973. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1973.^[25] In 1968 he got the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award^{[citation needed]}

De la Renta's talents receive continual international recognition. Among them, he received the Council of Fashion Designers Designer of the Year Award in 2000 and in 2007 (tied with Proenza Schouler). In February 1990, he was honored with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award.^[26]

Other awards[link]

The Dominican Republic has also honored him with the Order of Juan Pablo Duarte and the Order of Cristóbal Colón. De la Renta founded the Casa del Nino orphanage in La Romana^[27] He has contributed extensively in the construction of a much needed school near his home at the Punta Cana Resort and Club in Punta Cana.^{[citation needed]}

De la Renta serves as a board member of the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and WNET. He also serves on the boards of several charitable institutions such as New Yorkers for Children, the America's Society.

De la Renta is presently chairman of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute. In 1993, de la Renta was recognized with an award by the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute at their annual gala dinner held in New York.^{[citation needed]}.^{[citation needed]}

Marriages[link]

In 1967, de Renta became the third husband of Françoise de Langlade (1931–1983), an editor-in-chief of French Vogue who once worked for the fashion house of Elsa Schiaparelli. She previously was married to businessman Jean Bruère and diplomat Nicholas Bagenow. After her third marriage, Françoise de la Renta worked as a consultant to Elizabeth Arden, became a prominent hostess, had their Manhattan apartment decorated by Denning & Fourcade,^[28] and later opened her own decorating business (among her clients were Florinda Bolkan and Helmut Berger). Of her approach to fashion, she once said, "Oscar is not my favorite designer–just one of them." As The New York Times noted after her death, "She was also widely credited for some of the successes of her husband, the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. Although she was not active in his business, she attracted many of the rich and famous to his shows."^[29][30]

In 1989, the designer married Annette Reed (born 1939). She is the former wife of American Heritage magazine publisher Samuel Pryor Reed and is the only child of German banker Dr. Fritz Mannheimer and his wife, Marie Annette Reiss.

De la Renta has stepchildren from both marriages. He also has an adopted son, Moises de la Renta.^[31] His son-in-law Alex Bolen operates as Chief Executive Officer, step-daughter Eliza Bolen serves as Vice President of Licensing, and his son Moises de la Renta works in the Design Studio.^[32]

See also[link]

	Dominican Republic portal
	Fashion portal

• List of people from the Dominican Republic

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Oscar de la Renta at the Internet Movie Database
• Oscar de la Renta collections at style.com
• Sewing patterns by Oscar de La Renta
• Oscar de La Renta featured on The Sche Report
• Оскар де ла Рента. Article from alternative ecyclopedia of celebrities. Фэшнпедия.рф (Rus.)

Isabella Blow
Born	Isabella Delves Broughton (1958-11-19)19 November 1958 Marylebone, London, England
Died	7 May 2007(2007-05-07) (aged 48) Gloucester, England
Years active	1993–2007
Spouse	Nicholas Taylor (1981–1983) Detmar Blow (1989–2007)

Isabella Blow^[1][2] (19 November 1958 – 7 May 2007)^[3][4] was an English magazine editor. The muse^{[clarification needed]} of hat designer Philip Treacy, she is credited with discovering the models Stella Tennant and Sophie Dahl as well as the fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

Early life[link]

Born Isabella Delves Broughton in Marylebone, London, England, she was the eldest child of Major Sir Evelyn Delves Broughton, a military officer, and his second wife, Helen Mary Shore, a barrister. Sir Evelyn was the only son of Jock Delves Broughton; his sister, Rosamond, married Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat in 1938.

Blow had two sisters, Julia and Lavinia, and a brother, John, who drowned in the family's swimming pool at the age of two. In 1972, when she was 14, her parents separated and her mother left the household, bidding each daughter farewell with a handshake. Her parents divorced two years later. Isabella did not get along with her father, who bequeathed her only £5,000 from his estate, which was worth more than one million pounds.^[5] Blow often said her fondest memory was trying on her mother's pink hat, a recollection that she explained led to her career in fashion.^[6]

Blow studied for her A-levels at Heathfield School, after which she enrolled at a secretarial college and then took odd jobs.^[7] As she told Tamsin Blanchard of The Observer in 2002:

I've done the most peculiar jobs. I was working in a scone shop for years, selling apricot-studded scones. I was a cleaner in London for two years. I wore a handkerchief with knots on the side, and my cousin saw me in the post office and said, What are you doing? I said, What do you think I look like I'm doing? I'm a cleaner!^[8]

Career[link]

Blow moved to New York City in 1979 to study Ancient Chinese Art at Columbia University and shared a flat with the actress Catherine Oxenberg. A year later, she left the Art History programme at Columbia, moved to Texas, and worked for Guy Laroche. In 1981, she married her first husband, Nicholas Taylor (whom she divorced in 1983), and was introduced to the fashion director of the U.S. edition of Vogue, Anna Wintour. She was hired initially as Wintour's assistant, but it was not long before she was assisting Andre Leon Talley, now U.S. Vogue's editor-at-large. While working in New York, she befriended Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.^[9]

In 1986, Blow returned to London and worked for Michael Roberts, then the fashion director of Tatler and the Sunday Times Style magazine.^[10]

In 1989, Blow married her second husband, art dealer Detmar Hamilton Blow, in Gloucester Cathedral; he is a grandson (and namesake) of the early 20th-century society architect Detmar Blow. Philip Treacy designed the bride's wedding headdress and a now-famous fashion relationship was forged. Realizing Treacy's talent, Blow established Treacy in her London flat, where he worked on his collections. She soon began wearing Treacy's hats, making them a signature part of her flamboyant style.^[11] In a 2002 interview with Tamsin Blanchard, Blow declared that she wore extravagant hats for a practical reason:

...to keep everyone away from me. They say, Oh, can I kiss you? I say, No, thank you very much. That's why I've worn the hat. Goodbye. I don't want to be kissed by all and sundry. I want to be kissed by the people I love.^[8]

In 1993, Blow worked with the photographer Steven Meisel producing the Babes in London shoot featuring Plum Sykes, Bella Freud, and Honor Fraser. Blow had a natural sense of style and a good feeling for future fashion directions. She discovered Alexander McQueen and purchased his entire graduate collection for ₤5,000, paying it off in weekly ₤100 installments. Spotting Sophie Dahl, Blow described Dahl as "a blow up doll with brains", and launched the model's career.^[10]

Isabella Blow arrives as a guest at the Turner Prize, December 2005.

Blow was the fashion director of Tatler and consulted for DuPont Lycra, Lacoste, and Swarovski. In 2002, she became the subject of an exhibition entitled When Philip met Isabella, featuring sketches and photographs of her wearing Treacy's hat designs.^[12]

In 2004, she had a brief acting cameo in the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

In 2005, Blow starred in a project by artist Matthieu Laurette, commissioned and produced by Frieze Projects 2005 and entitled "What Do They Wear at Frieze Art Fair?" It consisted of daily guided tours of Frieze Art Fair led by Blow and fellow international fashion experts Peter Saville, Kira Joliffe, and Bay Garnett.^[13]

Shortly before her death, she was the creative director and stylist of a series of books about beauty in the Arab world; the books were being produced by Kuwaiti fashion entrepreneur Sheikh Majed al-Sabah. Blow was dismissed from the project for unknown reasons and attempted suicide.^{[citation needed]}

Illness[link]

Toward the end of her life, Blow had become seriously depressed and was reportedly anguished over her inability to "find a home in a world she influenced". Daphne Guinness, a friend of Blow's stated, "She was upset that Alexander McQueen didn't take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci. Once the deals started happening, she fell by the wayside. Everybody else got contracts, and she got a free dress".^[14] According to a 2002 interview with Tamsin Blanchard, it was Blow who brokered the deal in which Gucci purchased McQueen's label.^[8]

Other pressures included money problems (Blow was disinherited by her father in 1994^[8]) and infertility. In an effort to have a child, Blow and her husband had unsuccessfully tried in vitro fertilization eight times. She later stated, "We were like a pair of exotic fruits that could not breed when placed together."^[6]

In 2004, Isabella and Detmar Blow separated. Detmar Blow went on to have an affair with Stephanie Theobald, the society editor of British Harper's Bazaar,^[15] while his estranged wife entered into a liaison with a gondolier she met in Venice. During the couple's separation, Blow was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and began undergoing electroshock therapy. For a time, the treatments appeared to be helpful. After an eighteen month separation,^[16] Isabella and Detmar Blow were reconciled. Soon after, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.^[6]

Depressed over her waning celebrity status^[17] and her cancer diagnosis, Blow began telling friends that she was suicidal.^[4] In 2006, Blow attempted suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. Later that year, Blow again attempted suicide by jumping from the Hammersmith Flyover, which resulted in her breaking both ankles.^[18]

In 2007, Blow made several more suicide attempts by driving her car into the rear of a truck, attempting to obtain horse tranquilizers, trying to drown herself in a lake and by overdosing while on a beach in India.^[18]

Death[link]

On May 6, 2007, during a weekend house party at Hilles, where the guests included Treacy and his life partner, Stefan Bartlett, Blow announced that she was going shopping. Instead, she was later discovered collapsed on a bathroom floor by her sister Lavinia and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where Blow told the doctor she had drunk the weedkiller Paraquat.^[19] Blow died at the hospital the following day.^[4][20]

Blow's death was initially reported as being caused by ovarian cancer;^[19][21] however, a coroner later ruled the death a suicide. At the inquest, Blow's sister, Lavinia Verney, stated that after she discovered her sister had ingested the poison, Blow had told her, "I'm worried that I haven't taken enough."^[22]

After her death, Detmar Blow confirmed that his wife suffered from depression and that she had once declared, "I'm fighting depression and I can't beat it".^[23]

Her funeral was held at Gloucester Cathedral on May 15, 2007. Her coffin, made of willow, was surmounted by one of her Philip Treacy hats instead of a floral tribute, and her pallbearers included her godson Otis Ferry, a son of the rock star Bryan Ferry. (In 2010, Bryan Ferry dedicated his Olympia album in memoriam Isabella Blow and David Williams.) Actor Rupert Everett and actress Joan Collins delivered eulogies.^[24] A memorial service was held in the Guards Chapel in London on September 18, 2007,^[25] where Anna Wintour and Geordie Greig spoke. Wintour's eulogy and part of the memorial service can be seen in DVD disc 2 of The September Issue.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Blow, Detmar with Tom Sykes, Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow, New York, HarperCollins, 2010, ISBN 978006202087.
• Crowe, Lauren Goldstein, "Isabella Blow: A Life In Fashion", New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2010, ISBN 978-0-312-59294-3.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Isabella Blow

• Isabella Blow at the Internet Movie Database
• Isabella Blow at Find a Grave
• Isabella Blow, A Life In Fashion, Nov 8 2010

Reem Acra is an internationally known Lebanese fashion designer. She studied in Paris, as well as New York. She is known for her bridal designs. Her designs are sold in famous clothing boutiques such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. She has been on several popular magazines including In Style, Town & Country, Vogue, Women's Wear Daily, Sayidaty [English] and W. Her fine evening gowns are also sold all over the world.

The Reem Acra flagship store is located at 730 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Early life[link]

Born in Lebanon,^[1] Reem was introduced to the intricate world of art by her grandmother, who had a skilled hand for creating handmade silk flowers. According to her biography, Reem Acra studied design in both Paris and New York at the Esmod Ecole de Mode of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

After her studies and practical design experience, she returned to New York where her atelier quickly gained international recognition. Her collections are carried in more than 100 of the most exclusive retailers in the world including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as her flagship Manhattan boutique.

As a wedding gown designer, Reem Acra began her career as an embroidery artist in New York. She launched her own bridal gown company in 1995 and has shot to the top in the bridal business.

Wedding gown designer, Reem Acra is recognized for her signature use of embroidery. Acra's collection also includes daywear pieces.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reem Acra

• Official site
• Reem Acra designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• [1]
• [2]

Frida Gustavsson
Frida Gustavsson in November 2011
Born	(1993-06-06) June 6, 1993 (age 19) Stockholm, Sweden
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Hair color	Dark Blonde
Eye color	Blue/Grey
Measurements	78-59-88 (EU) 31-23.5-35 (US)[1]
Dress size	36 (EU), 6 (US)
Shoe size	39.5 (EU), 9 (US), 6.5 (UK)[1]
Manager	IMG Models

Frida Gustavsson (born June 6, 1993) is a Swedish fashion model.

Career[link]

Gustavsson began modeling locally in 2008 and made her way to Japan. Her career took a positive turn when she was signed by IMG in 2009. Soon after, she opened the Fall Valentino haute couture show in Paris.^[2]

Since then, she has walked shows for Shiatzy Chen, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Lanvin, Carolina Herrera, Fendi, Christian Dior, Jil Sander, Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Abdullah Kobayashi, Emilio Pucci, Celine, Hermès, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Blumarine and Versace.

She was the fourth most requested model of the Spring 2010 season, behind Kasia Struss, Liu Wen, and Constance Jablonski.^[3]

Gustavsson has been in magazines such as Elle, W, Numéro, American, Italian, French, British, German, and Japanese Vogue, L'Officiel and Crash. In March 2010, she appeared on the cover of German Vogue.^[2]

She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Jill Stuart, Anna Sui, H&M, Max Mara and Prada.^[4]

Gustavsson won Elle Sweden's Model of the Year award in 2011.^[5]

Personal[link]

Gustavsson graduated from St Martins Gymnasium in Sundbyberg, Sweden in June 2011.^[6] She hopes to become a fashion stylist and is particularly interested in pattern and product design.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Frida Gustavsson

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Frida Gustavsson

• Frida Gustavsson on The Internet Fashion Database
• Frida Gustavsson on Style.com
• Frida Gustavsson on New York Magazine

Christian Siriano
Christian Siriano in May 2011
Born	(1985-11-18) November 18, 1985 (age 26) Annapolis, Maryland, United States
Nationality	American
Education	American InterContinental University
Occupation	Fashion designer
Labels	Christian Siriano

Christian Siriano (born November 18, 1985) is an American fashion designer. Siriano first gained attention after winning the fourth season of American reality show Project Runway, becoming the series' youngest winner.^[1] Shortly after winning Runway, Siriano launched his fashion line, Christian Siriano, which as of 2010 has brought in revenue of over $1.2 million.^[2]

Early life[link]

Siriano was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland.^[3][4] He has one older sister,^[5] and is of Italian and German descent.^[6]

Siriano has said that his parents supported the arts and encouraged him and his sister to pursue creative fields.^[5][6] As a child, Siriano studied ballet,^[5][6] and on a March 2008 Ellen appearance, he described himself as a "musical theater kid who loved costumes".^[7] Siriano's interest in costume design inspired him to pursue a career in fashion.^[3][5] 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.^[8] Siriano spent a year at Broadneck Senior High School before transferring to Baltimore School for the Arts.^[8] The school allowed Siriano to choose fashion design as his course of study.^[3]

After being rejected by the Fashion Institute of Technology,^[9] Siriano chose to study abroad at American InterContinental University in London, England.^[8] Following the recommendation of a teacher during his senior year, he began interning at Vivienne Westwood, and later, at Alexander McQueen,^[8] whom Siriano has stated is his favorite designer.^[10] Siriano moved to New York City after graduating from college.^[3]

Career[link]

[edit] Project Runway

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^[5] while also holding a brief intern position at Marc Jacobs.^[3] Siriano decided to audition for the show after the suggestion of a friend's mother.^[5] 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).^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[12][13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] As part of his prize for winning Project Runway, Siriano's first collection for Bluefly began retailing on the website shortly after his win.^[16]

Label and mass market collections[link]

Siriano's eponymous fashion line, Christian Siriano, debuted at New York Fashion Week on September 13, 2008.^[17] His collection is retailed at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.^[2][18] In 2010, Siriano was named one of Crain's Top 40 Entrepreneurs Under 40, which reported that his line has brought in over $1.2 million in revenue as of 2010.^[2]

In 2008, shortly before debuting his fashion line, Siriano began collaborating on several mass market retail collections. In April 2008, Siriano designed a fifteen piece collection for Puma.^[19] In May 2008, Siriano designed virtual promwear for Gaia Online's virtual prom.^[20] In the summer of 2008, he launched a maternity line, Fierce Mamas, with Moody Mamas founders Elise Rosemarin and Marta Abrams.^[21] 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.^[22] Siriano's line at Payless expanded in 2011, when he signed on to release four collections for the chain annually, including a higher priced "Gold Collection."^[23]

In February 2009, Siriano teamed up with LG to create a fashion-themed phone, the LG Lotus (LX600).^[24] 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.^[25] In November 2009, Siriano collaborated with Starbucks to create a limited edition Siriano brand gift card.^[26] Siriano created a series of fashion-themed sponges for cleaning item brand O-Cel-O in the summer of 2010.^[27]

In February 2011, Siriano launched a limited collection for catalog retailer Spiegel, named "Christian Siriano for Spiegel." Siriano was the first designer chosen for the catalog's designer collaborations line, "Signature Styles."^[28]

In the media[link]

Siriano began to receive pop culture attention during his time on Project Runway, primarily for his asymmetrical upswept hair-do and his flamboyant attitude.^[1] Several of Siriano's catchphrases were parodied in the media by multiple blogs and television shows like Saturday Night Live, on which Amy Poehler portrayed Siriano.^[6][29] In March 2008, Siriano appeared as a celebrity guest on season 1 episode 11 of Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel, where he critiqued the contestants' catwalks and designed an outfit for one of the contestants, Holly Kiser, to model on the runway. (Kiser went on to win the competition).^[30] On May 1, 2008, Siriano appeared as himself on season 2 episode 15 of Ugly Betty, and designed some of the cast's costumes (such as Amanda Tanen 's blouse, which was sold in an auction on the internet).^[31] In June 2008, Siriano appeared in the music video for R&B artist Estelle's single "No Substitute Love."

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.^[32]

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.^[33]

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!" ^[34]

Criticism[link]

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."^[35]

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."^[36] The remark garnered criticism for its derogatory slang and its comparison of transsexuality and drag queen culture to "white-trash" and trailer parks.^[37][38] Siriano released an apology to GLAAD in which he stated, "I mean no disrespect to the transgender community and I never will."^[38] 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."^[38] He further commented that he is "actively working to remove" the term "tranny" from his vocabulary.^[38]

DMA lawsuit[link]

In November 2011, Siriano's talent agency, DMA, filed a lawsuit against Siriano, claiming he violated an oral contract and neglected to pay over $53,000 in commission and fees owed to them from his partnership with Payless ShoeSource.^[39] Siriano's attorneys released a statement shortly after stating, "It is unfortunate that Designer's Management Agency ("DMA") has commenced a legal proceeding. Christian does not work with DMA and has no obligation to them. DMA concedes that it does not have a written contract. However, based upon an alleged oral contract, it incredibly seeks to obtain commissions in perpetuity. This legal action it has taken against the companies of Christian Siriano is without merit."^[40]

Personal life[link]

Siriano has tattoos of a squid and an octopus on his right arm that he has said are "a tribute to Maryland and the sea life".^[3] However, Siriano later contradicted this statement by saying that his tattoos "mean nothing... Totally random. And yes, it's permanent, but I'm young. In twenty years, there's totally going to be ways to remove it."^[9]

Siriano is openly gay and lives in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City with longtime boyfriend, singer-songwriter Brad Walsh.^[37][41][42]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Christian Siriano on Myspace
• Biography of Christian Siriano on Bravo Official Website
• Christian's e-Prom Dress Line