Christian Siriano, discovered on “Project Runway,” sells at Saks and Neimans. His shmattas last year earned more than a million bucks. He’s born 1985. My blouses are older.
“Took over four months to prepare this week’s show, which really only came together the last month,” he told me. “The way I handle nerves the night before is to eat lots of pizza. I like to sit at home, zone out, watch TV. I’m pretty nervous, but I try to think positive. Like, if it’s not a success I’ll make it up next season. Otherwise I go crazy.
“And right afterwards it’s relief. I take my family — my mom and sister — to a party and great dinner. Asian fusion and veggies. No drinks because I couldn’t handle it. I’m in bed by 12:30.
“Depends on the season, but for a young designer each show costs a lot. A few hundred thousand. You pay for production, music, staff, every piece, model, accessory. Sometimes it’s more than you make in sales.
“Being now my ninth season, people who like me give me a good deal so what I spend is worth the money. I try not to use models that don’t get noticed and try for hair and makeup sponsors. Since I work for Payless, at least I don’t pay for shoes.
“It never stops. Right now, the very next day after, I’m already picking fabrics for the spring collection. And off to Paris and London to look. Our women differ from theirs. Ours play off one another. New York women are different from everyone, even from domestic sales in Nashville and Birmingham. New York women cross over. Expensive Hermès bag, easy Michael Kors flats. Europeans never take off the YSL mules.
“I love glamour. Like Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett. And I cater to over-40s who never show their arms and need long-enough lengths. Look, my parents aren’t together. He’s in Florida so can’t come each time, but my mom, who sits front-row every show in a new dress I make her every time, is size 14.
“And spring will be femininity. More romantic. We’re through with edgy. We’re going girlie.”
EVERYBODY’s squeezing around town. 9:53 p.m. Kris Humphries sipping with his sister at Bagatelle. Then dinner with seven girls and three other guys at 10:19 . . . Adam Lambert exited Gansevoort with two guys at 11:52 . . . Kris Jenner at Provocateur with Lance Bass at 12:55 . . . Bryan “How To Make It in America” Greenberg at Toy for John Varvatos’ upstairs whatever. He forgot to check in with me, so I don’t know what time.
OPRAH’s body’s grabbing bigger numbers than her show. The dress size increased one inch. Bra is now 38E . . . Listen, something not usually seen at Lincoln Center’s easydoesit fashion shows. Big heels, big bags, big prices, yes. Big guns, no. Monday, three NYPD guys with machine guns and bulletproof vests. What were they guarding — Carolina Herrera or Joanna Mastroianni’s collections? They said: “The fashion shows were on a target list of possible hits for Sept. 11.”
OLYMPIC medalist Gabby Douglas vacuuming up shoes for those gold-medal gym feet at Saks . . . Manhasset’s Stresa Restaurant. Former NY Chief Judge Sol Wachtler and author Nelson DeMille dishing DeMille’s latest 630-page novel, “The Panther,” due in October . . . So many books lousing up Obama that Kenya is now claiming Obama was born in the USA.
COMING your way is a celebration of our great Great White Way. Videos and docs about New York City’s 40 historic theatres — Booth, Belasco, Al Hirschfeld, Richard Rodgers, the August Wilson, the Majestic. Plus scenes from productions born on their stages. Plus actors, producers, historians, union members sharing memories. It’ll be called Spotlight on Broadway.
CONNIE Francis is again amongst us. Saturday, she’s Grand Marshal of San Gennaro Festival’s 86th annual Great Procession and remembers doing it before, 35 years ago. She says: “I got in trouble then. Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo were running for governor. I had no idea. I’d been working in California. I stumped for Koch, and everybody was mad at me. An Italian heading an Italian festival ignoring an Italian candidate and pushing for Ed Koch who’s Jewish?”
SPEAKING of Italians, Sirio of Le Cirque’s new (what else?) Italian eatery named (what else?) Sirio’s in Le Caprice’s old Pierre Hotel space, was to open last month. It opens (what else?) next month . . . Scribner’s “King Larry: The Life and Ruins of a Billionaire Genius” is about Larry Hillblom, the H in DHL, who fled the US, launched multiple lawsuits against us, invested in Vietnam, and had a large appetite for underage prostitutes. It’d be nice to pick up the paperback around the holidays.
AFTER screening Harvey Weinstein’s pseudo takeoff on Scientology, “The Master,” two known New Yorkers hit the exit so quickly they nearly knocked over Adrien Brody. One: “My pantyhose are falling down. Got to get out of here.” The other: “Me, too. I’m in pain. My tights are too tight.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.