If there's one word to describe Christian Siriano, it would have to be his signature phrase: fierce.
After studying in London under Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, the designer won season four of Project Runway and launched his collection in 2008. Since then, he's continued to take the fashion industry by storm, creating everything from sportswear and accessories to coats and evening gowns.
Over the years, his pieces have been worn by a number of stars, including Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez. He's also shared his designs each season at New York Fashion Week, using his platform to champion inclusivity by challenging the industry's status quo.
"All people are beautiful," he wrote in a piece for Teen Vogue in 2017. "There is no correct size, shape, color or age. As a creator of fashion, I celebrate the body that wears my work."
Now, 13 years after making his NYFW debut, Siriano showcased his latest creations during a star-studded show. He unveiled his spring/summer 2022 collection on Sept. 7 to a front row that included the like of Katie Holmes, Alicia Silverstone and Kristin Chenoweth.
In honor of the occasion, here's a look back at Siriano's New York Fashion Week designs throughout the years.
Siriano told E!'s Zanna Roberts Rassi that he hoped to transport attendees to a "dream world" with his runway show. "The collection's kind of inspired by my grandmother," he explained. "I wanted the homage to this Italian woman in the '60s and '70s, like she was and how she would dress."
"It's looking to the past of what I love and powerful women in my life," Siriano also shared with E!, "and then it's a great diverse mix of cultures and people wearing the clothes."
Siriano's fall/winter 2021 collection was inspired by a trip to Colorado. "It was more in the mountains, you're watching the sunset, overlooking the stone, and then what do you see?" he told E! News. "So that's where all the color palette came from, that's where the textures came from. That was the idea. The shapes, the sculptures. It was all from that."
Held amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Siriano's spring/summer 2021 show took place outside of his Connecticut home and was all about escapism.
"It's fantasy," he said to E!'s Zanna Roberts Rassi "It's like, even for 20 minutes, we can think about something beautiful."
According to WWD, Siriano's fall/winter 2020 collection was sponsored by Margot Robbie's movie Birds of Prey.
From the accessories to the décor lining the runway, there were several nods to the Harley Quinn film.
For his spring/summer 2020 show, Siriano collaborated with artist Ashley Longshore. "I was inspired by surrealism," Siriano told WWD, "and a lot of Ashley Longshore's work and playfulness and women's empowerment."
According to The Los Angeles Times, Siriano's notes for his fall/winter 2019 show said the collection "was inspired by a trip to the future, a world where we live as a society in an outer space land; a new culture floating in space with communities and a thriving social calendar."
"It would be a dream fantasy world," Siriano added in his notes, per The L.A. Times, "created for people to escape to."
The idea for Siriano's spring/summer 2019 collection stemmed from a Hawaiian holiday.
Ten years after he made his New York Fashion Week debut, Siriano celebrated with an unforgettable anniversary show.
Among the powerful looks was a design worn by Selma Blair. "That Selma look was really inspired by her celebrating her body, her power in this world," Siriano told Vogue. "She was one of the first women to come forward during the #MeToo movement and I felt like [it] was important to put her in a powerful look that she felt amazing in."
According to WWD, Siriano wanted his spring/summer 2018 show to be like a "psychedelic greenhouse."
"I wanted to take everyone for this 13 minutes to a transformative place," he told the outlet. "A lot of the conceptual looks came from my idea that we all grow in the same greenhouse, so I have a lot of diversity on the runway: men, trans, small, large, everyone."
As Siriano explained to Vogue, his fall/winter 2017 collection came after a trip to Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park.
"The last couple months I needed a break, and driving through the park you feel like you're in a dream," he told the magazine. "I wanted everyone out there to kind of take 20 minutes to just dream. There is a lot going on in the world, but for a moment you can take yourself out of it."
For his spring/summer 2017 show, Siriano took attendees on an imaginary trip to Capri.
According to Vogue, Siriano drew inspiration from artist Sheila Hicks's yarn and knit-based pieces for his fall/winter 2016 collection.
He also closed the show with colorful, dramatic suits. "I wanted to change it up a little," Siriano told Vogue. "To show that evening doesn't have to be a gown."
"The imperial cities of Morocco were an initial source of inspiration for my Spring/Summer 2016 collection," Siriano said, per Elle. "I was drawn to the culture and lifestyle, particularly the annual traditional 'Feast of the Throne' celebration in Marrakesh, for which notables dress head to toe in beautifully draped white linens."
According to Vogue, Siriano drew inspiration from a dream trip to the Congo rainforest for his fall/winter 2015 collection and included fabrics like floral prints.
Per Fashion Week Daily, Siriano's spring/summer 2015 collection gave a nod to Australian glass artist Sergio Redegalli and Brooklyn-based sculptor Tara Donovan.
Siriano's fall/winter 2014 collection was an ode to the late model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn.
"I wanted to have the vibe that it was her [Fonssagrives-Penn] and her approach to dressing" he told The Wall Street Journal. "Very French, very '50s and early '60s, which was when she was prominent in fashion."
Siriano's spring/summer 2014 collection was reminiscent of his trip to Isla Mujeres. "It's about really celebrating women," he told PopSugar. "I wanted this collection, you know, to feel light, and bright, and fun and feminine."
For his fall/winter 2013 collection, Siriano transported show attendees to Russia. "I wanted it to feel opulent and glamorous," he explained to HollywoodLife. "We were inspired by kind of the golden age of Russian opera, which is kind of 1800s. So, a little vintage-inspired, as well. But I still wanted it to feel modern."
Siriano didn't miss a step with his ballet-inspired spring/summer 2013 collection.
Love an old movie? You're not alone. For his fall/winter 2012 collection, Siriano paid homage to the 1933 film The Vampire Bat, which starred the late actress Fay Wray.
"I just thought that she was so stunning in this movie. Even though the movie's, like, creepy and quirky she looked so elegant and I just thought that that was really beautiful and I think that tipped off the whole thing," he told The Wall Street Journal. "And then also, sometimes, it's just, like, what I'm feeling. Like if I'm kind of [in] a little bit dark mood I kind of go for that world, which I was I guess at the beginning of the collection. We lightened it up as the days have gone on because I'm feeling more confident."
According to WWD, the late Katharine Hepburn was Siriano's muse for his spring/summer 2012 show.
Per Fashionista, Siriano looked to black orchids for his fall/winter 2011 show.
Vogue, citing Siriano's fashion show notes, also reported he channeled the head-to-toe ensembles of European women during the 1960s for his fall/winter 2010 collection.