Christian Siriano Reinvented Marilyn Monroe's Famous White Dress for His Spring 2023 Collection

When choosing a venue for his Spring 2023 fashion show, Christian Siriano jumped at the chance to turn Elizabeth Taylor's former New York City townhouse into his personal runway.

"When this [venue] became available, I was like OK, well, we can't not show here," he told InStyle backstage, moments before his new collection made its debut. He said the location tied in perfectly with his designs, which included those famous voluminous ballgowns, sequins, and sleek suits. "We needed a venue like this because the collection already was an homage to this return to glamour and the idea of the Hollywood greats — Elizabeth, Audrey [Hepburn], Katherine Hepburn, and Bianca Jagger. I wanted all of that to be channeled here."

The designer also said he was moving away from focusing solely on the spring and summer months when dreaming up these pieces.

"It's really a collection for right now," he said, adding that the goal was to make the designs feel more couture-like. "I think our customers are so different now. They're shopping differently, they're wearing these things at different times all over the world. It's really hard to do a season nowadays. Other designers are having that feeling too — it's a bit, 'What are seasons?' So, it's just beautiful eveningwear that I think hopefully lots of people will dream about."

One look that will likely remain on the minds of fashion fans is Siriano's elegant white dress, which he says was a subtle reference to Marilyn Monroe.

"There's a Marilyn moment in here, but it's like, what's the modern Marilyn white dress? Is it a long, draped dress? What is it? So, that [look] has elements. It's the same with Katherine Hepburn, who really was a master of the men's suit — that's kind of what she wore and that's in here too. But how do you rework that kind of boxy men's suit?"

And yes, Taylor herself also has a subtle nod in this group.

"She wore this little feather muumuu thing to the Oscars and there's a feather muumuu, so that's kind of that homage, but all in a modern way," he told us. "It's short, it's mini."

Not only did the designer think about fashion icons during the creative process, he also thought of them when choosing the guest list. Janet Jackson was spotted sitting front row at the show.

"When you have the lovely Janet Jackson coming, that's all you need."