Christian Siriano is in his New York Fashion Week element at Chelsea Industrial, where his 54-piece Fall/Winter 2026 collection is being presented to the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Monica, Natasha Leon, and Julia Fox. A few hours before, though, Siriano was backstage focusing on a collection he’s worked on even longer: a 7-piece line of skincare appropriately named Runway. When I admit I can’t believe he’s the first to lock in that name, Siriano agrees. “I’ve said it like 10 times,” he laughs. “I said, the fact that we have ‘Runway’ is insane.”
It’s the television show Project Runway that brought the designer into our homes in 2007, though he reminds me that he started as a makeup artist back in the early aughts. “I really wanted to launch with makeup,” he says. “But I didn’t feel ready. I use skincare every day, and so does everybody I know. So I felt like that was something that I would understand.” Siriano runs an American atelier, after all, and has long understood the power of a collab after almost two decades in the industry behind the scenes and in front of the camera. He’s honest about the why of stepping into the beauty space, noting that yes, sales are important, and yes, the line is fuchsia because he knows his customer and they love the color (“pink is a neutral”). Plus, beauty brings in a new, accessible price point.
“I really wanted my friends who have normal jobs, the girls who work in my office, people to be able to buy it,” Siriano says. For now, everything from the Radiance Ready Moisturizer (his sister’s favorite) to the caffeinated Stage Bright Eye Cream (his favorite) is under $50. Both are being applied to models as he explains the “natural and new-as-possible” marine biotechnology he’s spent two years formulating with a team and about seven months sampling. “Literally, I gave it to the seamstresses, the pattern makers, they all have it. It was so fun to do that. It’s different from clothes or even a bag; you don’t carry it every day. This is something you can have that’s part of our brand every single day.”
Today, the aforementioned products are layered with Behind the Scenes Essence, Spotlight Brightening Serum, and First Look Gripping Glow Primer on models’ faces that gleam under the studio lighting. “I wanted glossy,” he says, to keep with the show’s “surrealist” theme that’s “very fantasy, very dreamy” and designed to “take you out of where you are, whatever that means for anyone.” Steps away, Coco Rocha sits in hair artist Lacy Redway’s chair for a Wuthering Heights-inspired neck scarf of hair held in place with Tresemmé and a few pins. Further off, makeup artist Hiromi paints Brynn Bonner’s eyes with what Siriano calls “outlined liner to feel Dali-esque.”
Today, Siriano makes both his collections, above and below the neck, work. He wants “soft and romantic” and knows his aesthetic can be specific. “This show, I was like, it will not be for everybody—I think that’s okay,” he says. “I’ve found that as long as you fill the room with clients that buy the clothes, people that support, fabulous celebrities, cool friends, that’s kind of all that matters.”
Have a beauty or wellness trend you’re curious about? We want to know! Send Vogue’s senior beauty & wellness editor an email at beauty@vogue.com.