Well, we know Leslie Jones liked the show. The “Saturday Night Live” star, whom Christian Siriano dressed for the premiere of “Ghostbusters 2” when other designers declined, was seated front row at his spring show and let it be known that she was into it, hooting, hollering and cheering on the models with an enthusiasm that even a veteran like Coco Rocha probably has not seen along the many miles of catwalk she’s walked.
To Jones’ credit, it was not an average runway. No one has put his money where his mouth is in terms of the diversity conversation like Siriano has, casting not just a token model type or two, but filling his lineups with a broad swath of ethnicities and more than a handful of plus-size models. This season, he took it even further. Calling the show his “psychedelic greenhouse,” Siriano said, “I wanted to take everyone for this 13 minutes to a transformative place. 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.” And he really did.
A psychedelic garden it was. The first look out was an electric green and blue floral brocade top with puffed sleeves and twisted cutouts across the bust worn with matching cropped pants and green mules. There was a group of iridescent floral organza dresses in pink and absinthe green and sheer floral gowns confettied with candy-colored floral appliques and matching headscarves that felt a bit Gucci by way of Zac Posen. They were flamboyant showpieces that served to highlight the elegant lines of Siriano’s pared-back gowns done in solid brights with glamorous curve-hugging bombshell silhouettes. Not every curve was hugged equally — Siriano seemed to struggle with some of the bigger fits, but at least he’s up for the challenge, which is more than can be said for the majority of designers.