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Christian Siriano: PR Winner and Mentor


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Christian "kind of a big deal" Siriano--yassss!  I love him. What a breath of fresh air. Excellent to have a bona fide talented designer mentoring. I fell tf out of love with Tim after his mentor show and don't miss him (or Heidi) one bit!

Edited by anonymiss
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I like the idea of Christian as a mentor, but I found him a touch too subdued on his first episode. I know we all can't be Tim Gunn, but every other judge and the host seems to remember that they're on TV. Christian's affect still seems very flat to me. I'm hoping he warms up more as the season progresses. If I recall correctly from his winning season, he's capable of being a "bigger" character. But maturity doesn't necessarily mean "quiet."

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This article came across my desk this morning.  https://www.fastcompany.com/90324114/how-christian-siriano-transformed-from-tv-star-to-a-red-carpet-staple-and-back-again

I'm really liking him as a mentor on the show. I think he has found a nice line between being helpful, and letting designers know when they really need to change up their design (whether or not the designers listen is another story).  Thanks @Sharpie66 for sharing the video of his S/S Runway show!

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On 3/18/2019 at 8:01 AM, Eolivet said:

I know we all can't be Tim Gunn

I think that's one of his strengths, that he's not trying to be Tim Gunn.  It's all the more obvious when I see Karlie (name?) trying to be Heidi.  If we want someone to imitate Tim Gunn, we could get Santino.

He's a lot more present in the workroom, although I don't know if that's his idea or the producers'.  Tim always supervised their fabric shopping, swooped in for his review and then gathered them up at the end, but Christian is an integral part of the process all the way through.

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I have recorded this show for awhile but not really into fashion probably as much as you.  However, I thought if Hester decided to disregard Christian's advice and go with white she would, IMHO, have lost.  Changing the color was a big deal.   Once before he gave her what I considered substantial  advice.  Is this the way the show operates?

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I think Christian gives good, specific advice.  I luvved Tim Gunn (and all his quotes!) , but agree that Christian gives great advice to the designers.  Is it too much?  I don't know.

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1 hour ago, Thumper said:

I think Christian gives good, specific advice.  I luvved Tim Gunn (and all his quotes!) , but agree that Christian gives great advice to the designers.  Is it too much?  I don't know.

Tim gave more general advice because his discipline wasn't fashion design. His actual discipline is fine arts and sculpture. Tim's approach might have helped the designers to learn how to self-edit, but it probably contributed to that thing where the people in the middle of the pack would flip out because they didn't know what the judges thought of their work. Christian gives good specific advice and solid evaluations. Because of that, I don't think there's a single person who was eliminated who felt blindsided.

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10 hours ago, Thumper said:

I think Christian gives good, specific advice.  I luvved Tim Gunn (and all his quotes!) , but agree that Christian gives great advice to the designers.  Is it too much?  I don't know.

I like the advice Christian gives.   Tim's advice was never concrete enough for my tastes and I was often stymied as to how it was very helpful.

I do like that Christian and the judges seem to be offering far more specific advice than they did in previous iterations of the show. Or, at least it seems that way to me. 

I think the designers who make it on the show are good enough to be there, but most still need to fine-tune their work (Hesther) - or find ways to expand the diversity of their work (Garo).

I think the show is far better when the judges and mentor and judges give them what they need rather than being mean in their criticisms.   

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Tim was an instructor at Parsons, he knew what he was talking about. He is the type of teacher that gives advice but expects the student to do the work, Christian is the type of teacher that gives some of the answers to the student.

In this context, neither is wrong but Christian is at least partially responsible for some of the designs going out. 

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11 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Tim was an instructor at Parsons, he knew what he was talking about.

You can see Tim Gunn's various roles at Parsons here, but the short version is that he served as assistant director of admissions, associate dean, and chair of the fashion design department, roles in which he developed some programs and curricula for the school. He wasn't an instructor, though.

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(edited)

Tim has mentioned several times that he taught classes at Parsons and he was listed as part of faculty. He also did more than teach in terms of designing curriculum but he has worked directly with students. I was actually responding to the post stating Tim’s experience was not in fashion, but he does in fact have a lot of experience in the fashion world.

8BEC8DCF-049A-4D99-A699-AF2FC6238014.jpeg

Edited by Madding crowd
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On 6/6/2019 at 11:02 PM, Banchee said:

I have recorded this show for awhile but not really into fashion probably as much as you.  However, I thought if Hester decided to disregard Christian's advice and go with white she would, IMHO, have lost.  Changing the color was a big deal.   Once before he gave her what I considered substantial  advice.  Is this the way the show operates?

Hester would have been out if she had presented that white dress.  Christian re-designed her dress for her. 

The fix is in.

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I like Christian's approach to mentoring, even though it can indeed (INDEED! LOL) veer perilously close to co-designing. I think the fact that he has been in the designers' shoes as a contestant and has achieved the career they're shooting for adds a lot of value to his opinions.

In Tim's last few seasons of PR, I noticed that his advice to the designers about what the judges would or would not "respond to" seemed off. I love me some Tim Gunn, but in my opinion, the show is better off with a fresh perspective.

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8 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I like Christian's approach to mentoring, even though it can indeed (INDEED! LOL) veer perilously close to co-designing. I think the fact that he has been in the designers' shoes as a contestant and has achieved the career they're shooting for adds a lot of value to his opinions.

In Tim's last few seasons of PR, I noticed that his advice to the designers about what the judges would or would not "respond to" seemed off. I love me some Tim Gunn, but in my opinion, the show is better off with a fresh perspective.

I love Tim Gunn and thought he was a great mentor in the beginning. He’s still in my list of people I want to invite to a dinner party.

I was not sure how Christian would be as a mentor but I just love the wonderful person he blossomed into since he was a contestant on PR. I hope he finds a better balance next season and doesn’t become a quasi co-designer. I think he will. 

This season has been so refreshing and enjoyable (well, there is the Hester thing) compared to the last few seasons on Lifetime.

I really loved how final four designers were so supportive of each other.

I like Brandon, not excited about Elaine, Karlie seems to finding her footing, and Nina is well, Nina. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers but like her so much more than when the show was on Lifetime (despite her unexpected love of Hester).

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On 6/9/2019 at 12:28 PM, Ashforth said:

I like Christian's approach to mentoring, even though it can indeed (INDEED! LOL) veer perilously close to co-designing. I think the fact that he has been in the designers' shoes as a contestant and has achieved the career they're shooting for adds a lot of value to his opinions.

In Tim's last few seasons of PR, I noticed that his advice to the designers about what the judges would or would not "respond to" seemed off. I love me some Tim Gunn, but in my opinion, the show is better off with a fresh perspective.

Also:  I have always loved Tim, but I sometimes got the feeling that he didn't "get" some of the designers - he did treat everyone like a student, which makes sense, but wasn't always as helpful (see Swapnil, etc.).  And in later years, his advice/opinion was often in conflict with what the judges had to say.  He was always supportive and kind, though, and his take on things interesting to me.

Christian, on the other hand, seems to be motivated not just by his fashion experience, but by his time as a contestant, the "get-something-done" pressure, and his knowledge of what's possible/how to improvise in the time allotted.  I am finding Christian to be more helpful and also more balanced among the contestants in his advice (and snark).

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On 6/9/2019 at 12:28 PM, Ashforth said:

I like Christian's approach to mentoring, even though it can indeed (INDEED! LOL) veer perilously close to co-designing. I think the fact that he has been in the designers' shoes as a contestant and has achieved the career they're shooting for adds a lot of value to his opinions.

In Tim's last few seasons of PR, I noticed that his advice to the designers about what the judges would or would not "respond to" seemed off. I love me some Tim Gunn, but in my opinion, the show is better off with a fresh perspective.

I agree. And in the later seasons, Tim did occasionally veer close to co-designing, advising contestants to use one fabric over another, or to change a pant to a skirt, etc. And sometimes, his advice landed the designer in the bottom.

I still want to see the collection that Candice Cuoco would've sent down the runway in season 14 if Tim hadn't advised her to tone things down.  😕

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On 6/14/2019 at 8:00 AM, Sharpie66 said:

I just watched an excellent profile of Christian that was on PBS about 9 months ago. 

Loved that, too! I want those eyeball t-shirts.

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Worth mentioning: I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston recently where there's an exhibit on Gender Bending fashion. This included a look by one Christian Siriano.

Edited by Fukui San
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On 9/24/2019 at 7:09 PM, Harry24 said:

I don't like those seams on Chrissy's dress.  It ends up looking cheap IMO.

On 9/26/2019 at 10:54 AM, dleighg said:

I think the whole thing looks like a prom dress from Walmart. In the clearance rack. Not elegant at all.

I think the biggest problem is the material. It looks like the cheap thin metallic material you’d find at Forever 21/Charlotte Russe/Wet Seal. I’m not saying the design of the dress is great but I think Chrissy would have looked better if it had been made with a different material. 

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Jonathan Van Ness (of Queer Eye, Gay of Thrones, etc) is the first non-female to appear on the cover of Cosmo UK in 35 years (the last time it was Boy George). He is wearing a Christian Siriano dress!

Behind the scenes video with a better view of the dress:

Rachel Brosnahan wore a custom suit by Christian Siriano to the S3 premiere party for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel:

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On 9/27/2019 at 7:06 PM, SuprSuprElevated said:

I know that CS has made tulle his thing, but I can't be the only one that thinks this dress is wearing Alicia.  Can I?

For me, Alicia can do no wrong and I love how she's part of Christian's posse now.

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