The first Monday in May won't be a day of rest for Christian Sirano - but some of his designs will be falling asleep around New York City.
The designer has partnered with Unisom to highlight the beauty of sleep on fashion's biggest night, which is celebrating the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion' exhibit this year. The Big Apple will be turning into a runway with over a dozen models wearing Christian Siriano designs at iconic spots in New York City, including Rockefeller Plaza and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
"I had to dip into my archives the last 15 years because we wanted this really to be this beautiful midnight blue and things that felt dreamlike and ethereal to really go with the Unisom feeling," Siriano told HELLO! in an exclusive interview, adding, "It'll be kind of fabulous."
Between the stunt and the gala itself, Siriano has a whirlwind day ahead of him. Though you won’t find the designer at The Carlyle or The Mark Hotel getting ready for hours on end. "Listen, my new rule is I am not sitting around for hair and makeup for five hours. I can't do it anymore. So I'm like, I will show up, get the dress on or the dresses," he said. "If I run around, I try to focus, and obviously we'll be doing this shoot. So we will also be all over the city. So it'll be a very busy, busy day, which is wild and I'm doing E! so that'll be fun. It'll be a crazy day."
As for who might be walking up the famed steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wearing a Christian Siriano design on May 6? The CFDA member kept mum. "I really like to keep it just quiet and chill because you never really know ever what's going to happen?” he admitted. “But we're doing some things and we hope they work out, and if they do, they'll be really beautiful."
Designing a Met Gala look can take anywhere from a month to three days for Siriano, and every year is different when it comes to dressing attendees. "Sometimes you get to be so creative and make whatever you want," he shared. "I remember when I made Lili Reinhart's dress, she just was like, 'Make me whatever you want to make me' and in the fitting, she was like, 'I love it.' And it was so easy. And sometimes it's more collaborative."
While the fashion designer is expecting to see a lot of flowers on the carpet this year, he revealed that he’s "going more dark and a bit more like something that comes into the light and grows."
Siriano pointed out, "I did flowers last year. I mean, I covered Karen Elson’s entire body in flowers to honor Karl Lagerfeld. The year before that, I did Lili Reinhart covered in 50 state flowers, so I'm like I cannot do flowers. I can't do it."
Instead, fashion watchers can expect abstract designs from Siriano. He teased, "They're different."
Continue reading for more from HELLO!’s exclusive interview with Christian Siriano about all things Met Gala…
On trends to expect at the 2024 Met Gala
“We're gonna see a lot of flowers and botanicals and sleeping beauties in some way. But I hope that people go a bit more abstract with it. I think obviously people like Zendaya will do something so creative and so different. And with Jennifer Lopez also being a host, I do think she's going to surprise us with what she wears. So it'll be cool to see."
On what he's wearing to the 2024 Met Gala
"Oh my God, I literally am wearing the most simple nothing because I just don't care. [Laughs]. Honestly, when you're a designer... I just like to focus on my work, really. That's what is important to me."
On his favorite Met Gala look that he's designed
"I think what I did for Janelle Monáe when she wore this abstract, Picasso-style face. The eye, we had it blink all night long. It was so cool. So it was one of my favorites."
Siriano, who doesn’t regret any Met Gala looks, also noted that Alexa Chung’s dress from 2022 is a favorite of his as well. "It’s this beautiful white dress, and it got so much attention and so many people have ordered that dress because of that night. It was very simple and that sometimes can really shock you. Like not always the biggest, craziest dress can be the most powerful in a way, so you just never know. It depends on the theme. It really does."
On the craziest thing he's witnessed inside the Met Gala
"I think it's funny to watch really, really famous people in really, really intense clothes that they can't really move in, walk around. That's the difference. Like at the Oscars or the Vanity Fair [party], the clothes are a little bit more wearable. These clothes are not that wearable. [Laughs]... They'll have a mask on or a hood - Katy Perry even wore a chandelier. She couldn't walk. She did change, but I just think it's funny."
On whose look he is most excited to see at the 2024 Met Gala
"I'm excited to see Zendaya. Just because I just made a look for her for her tour. And I think what her and Law [Roach] are doing is incredible."
On who he'd like to dress for the Met Gala - or in general
"I've never dressed Cate Blanchett. I've never really dressed Tilda Swinton. And both would be really incredible to have fun with because I think they're creatively such amazing actresses and so cool."
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On if he'd like to dress the royals
"Of course… I've dressed a lot of first ladies, and the vice president and so the royals would be next on my list for sure."