What would Audrey Hepburn do on a late night in the garden? Christian Siriano has referenced the iconic actress before, but for fall 2023, he took a fresh look at her legendary glamour through the lens of gardening — she was British, after all — at night. “It’s dark, a little sexier,” he said backstage before the show.
The mood was set as soon as guests entered the show, held in a landmarked former bank turned event space with massive vaulted ceilings, ionic columns and stained glass ceiling. Siriano filled it with roses across the runway, creating a lush garden to match his opulent collection of event dressing. “They’re a little more abstract,” he said of his floral inspiration, which gave him room to be playful with the theme.
He opened with a section of silver and black zebra jacquard pieces with oversize shoulder puffs that looked like clouds. Several looks were topped off with derby hats, a touch Hepburn might have loved.
Florals creeped in with the shapes, with panniers or tulip skirts. He had white rosettes growing in size cascading down a shapely black tank dress with cutouts and exposed midriff, a meeting of sweetness and edge. Suiting came with grommets and oversize rose details.
The designer linked with Alicia Silverstone for a mini reboot of her “Clueless” character, Cher Horowitz, for a Super Bowl commercial for Rakuten and brought the theme to the runway, too, with an oversize black and white striped boyfriend blazer over yellow miniskirt or several tone-on-tone basket weave plaid looks that were modern takes on the ’90s classic.
As Lindsay Lohan looked on (her siblings Dakota and Ali walked the show), sitting next to Golden Globe award winner Quinta Brunson and Julia Stiles, Siriano muse and friend Coco Rocha came out for the finale, amping up the drama in a black and magenta head-to-toe tulle gown that swept down the runway. It underscored the type of spectacle and glamour one always counts on Siriano to bring to New York Fashion Week.
