BravoCon 2022: Behind-The-Scenes Secrets About Christian Siriano Are Revealed

While pulling back the curtain on the long-running fashion design competition series "Project Runway," one panel at BravoCon 2022 got into some behind-the-scenes secrets about Season 4 winner Christian Siriano. Apart from having built his career as a fashion designer, Siriano replaced judge Tim Gunn on the series in 2019, according to Vulture. He also hosted the "Project Runway of Their World" panel at BravoCon alongside judge Elaine Welteroth, making these comments about him — rather than the many other panelists from the series — that much more entertaining (and possibly a bit awkward).

According to a reporter from The List, Siriano isn't necessarily the same person viewers see on television when the cameras aren't rolling. With his numerous quirky catchphrases chronicled by Oprah.com from his time on Season 4 — including some words, such as "vacay," which have entered a wider vernacular since that time — it's admittedly hard to imagine that Siriano might come across in a different way in real life.

As a former "Project Runway" contestant himself, though, there's no doubt that Siriano knows more about the series than most people. He has the unique position of having seen both sides of the competition, and based on his response to one question during the BravoCon panel, this seems to have carried over into his involvement on the show since his win. In fact, Welteroth, Siriano's panel co-host, was more than happy to go into greater detail about what fans don't get to see on "Project Runway" when it comes to Siriano.

According to a reporter from The List who was in attendance during the panel, upon being asked how true to life the challenges on "Project Runway" were, Christian Siriano explained that he regularly works with the producers to bring in relevant elements of pop culture when developing the challenges given to the show's contestants. Not everyone seems to see Siriano's input in the same way, however, as Elaine Welteroth proceeded to chime in, "If you think he's sassy on-camera, you should see him off-camera ... His favorite thing to do is to boss everybody, all the producers, around."

It's clear that Siriano is detail-oriented, as he discussed in an interview with Guest of a Guest in relation to a collection he designed for shoe store Payless in 2011. Sharing how he went from high fashion to designing a more affordable collection for the retailer, he said, "It's pretty amazing, they're really responsive to showing me the steps because like, in all honesty, I can create something from nothing, so it's easier for me to design something seeing it in between the processes than seeing before and after. I really have to see the whole process. And that's really how you find design details. If you're like, 'Oh, I need to change that buckle,' or 'it needs a little bit more curve or a little bit more of a sharp edge.' Those are important."

Luckily, it sounds like Siriano's eye for detail hasn't affected his "Project Runway" gig.

Taking it all the way back to the casting process prior to Season 4 during the BravoCon 2022 panel, Christian Siriano admitted that he hadn't seen "Project Runway" before he auditioned for it. "I'd never seen 'Project Runway' before ... when I auditioned, I remember we just had to go and like show our clothes ... I think the best designer ... (is) any designer that goes in with like nothing to lose."

At the time that he competed on "Project Runway," Siriano was only 22 years old, making him the youngest winner of the series, according to People. A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Siriano explained in an interview with his alma mater that he was able to create his own program in fashion design despite the fact that it wasn't offered as part of the school's curriculum. At one point during the interview, he shared more about his personality, explaining, "I'm not one to shy away. I ask lots of questions. You have to be overly curious, overly interested until the point you are annoying."

There's no doubt that Siriano's earlier sentiments sound very similar to what he said (and what was said about him) at BravoCon 2022. Although his approach might not be everyone's style, his persistence has clearly paid off for him in terms of his professional life, as he has continued to make waves in the fashion industry despite intense competition.