It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
In another dimension—the one where science isn’t “an opinion,” where health is a human right, where Quibi is the name of a celebrity baby instead of, like, whatever it is—Fashion Week would be moving right along. There would be triumphs and trends, breakout faces wearing sponsored mascara, and the occasional “that didn’t need to be a show” sigh from weary editors on a micro-drip of cold brew and chunky accessories. In other words, the jagged bliss of our jobs.
Instead, here we are in a more twisted timeline, exclaiming “it’s so good to see you!” even though half our faces are covered. And that’s where Christian Siriano pops into view. (For real though—at the show he seemed to appear magically from behind a tree in his backyard, yelling “it’s so good to see you!” while wearing a mask—one of the 750k he’s created for frontline workers since the start of the pandemic.)
Along with helping solve this dimension’s PPE shortage and making TikTok videos with Sarah Jessica Parker, the 34-year-old designer has been doing exactly what the rest of us have: binging old movies in his PJs. “Comfort viewing is a very real thing,” he says, “and for me, that’s Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” The 1991 comedy stars Christina Applegate as a high school senior pretending to be a fashion executive. Its glorious finale has a bunch of giddy teens wearing Balmain-meets-Burger-King versions of fast food uniforms on a catwalk made from pool floats. And for many current millennials—Siriano included—“it was the first time I ever saw a runway show, or even realized that fashion could be a job.”