美国国家公共电台 NPR How Christian Siriano Broke The Internet With His Inclusive Design At The Oscars

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Finally, today we want to talk about fashion. The runway shows in New York and Europe are about finished for the season. But if your invitations got lost, you still got to take in plenty of fashion during awards season, which wrapped last Sunday with the Oscars. And while a lot of people's looks grabbed buzz, I think it's fair to say that the most head-turning ensemble¹ was Billy Porter's gender²-bending velvet³ tuxedo⁴ gown. Porter, the star of the TV series "Pose," also hosted preshow coverage⁵ for ABC. And his ensemble, as they say, broke the Internet.

No surprise - it was designed by Christian⁶ Siriano, the designer who first won acclaim⁷ as the 21-year-old winner of the fourth season of "Project Runway." But he's now lauded⁸ around the world for his show-stopping designs as well as his willingness to dress people with all different types of bodies and at all different price points. And he's with us now from his studio in New York.

Christian, thanks so much for joining us.

CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Thank you.

MARTIN: Well, let's start with Billy Porter's look. What was the inspiration for this?

SIRIANO: It was a really organic kind of thing. I just grabbed this dress, and I was, like, I think we should try this on. And he was, like, I would love to. And we threw kind of a jacket over it that obviously didn't really work with the look. But we were trying to just get an idea, and it just all kind of came together. And then we made it fully⁹ custom for him. But it was the first thing we tried. It was the first conversation we had. And I think he just really wanted to wear something that made him feel really good.

MARTIN: Did you see it as a statement? And here is where I want to say that you have consistently broken norms - I mean, that you have consistently used plus-sized models in your shows. I wonder, do you see this also as making a statement? Or for you, is it just an outfit¹⁰ that the guy wanted to wear and it made him feel good?

SIRIANO: I don't know. I'm open to that, but I really just don't think about it that same way. It was the same with showing curvy girls on the runway. I really just wanted to show the customers that the clothes looked good on all these different sizes. I didn't think it would change, you know, what this kind of world of fashion is. And I think the same with Billy. You know, we just kind of were having fun, you know? And I think he felt great, I felt good, and we just didn't take it so seriously until we saw what it was doing.

And then - now I think about it a little bit more. And I'm, like, oh, well, maybe this was something that needed to happen - receiving all these amazing messages from parents with young kids that don't know what they are yet and - can they be masculine or feminine? And it's such a huge cultural issue that we have right now going on in our world, so it was really interesting to see that.

MARTIN: I was interested in what kind of feedback you're getting because it wasn't all positive. I mean, there are...

SIRIANO: Of course.

MARTIN: I'm thinking about one person, for example, a African-American male commentator¹¹ who wrote several pieces decrying¹² what he called the feminizing of the black man and seemed to take offense¹³ at it. So how do you understand that? And what kinds of comments are you getting?

SIRIANO: Yeah. I mean, I think the outpour of amazing, you know, support and response and literally¹⁴, like, reading these parents' emails saying that they have a child who is - you know, has kind of unidentified gender and isn't sure, you know, who they are and reading how Billy's gown changed that child's life - I mean, that's something that just doesn't happen every day when somebody shows up on a red carpet. I mean, at the end of the day, red carpets can be quite frivolous¹⁵. And just - they're just for fun. But I think this was really more just showing that you can be whoever you want to be. Whatever makes you feel good, that's what you should wear or do. I mean, we're not curing cancer here. We're putting on a party dress and going out. And I think that it's a funny thing that people can take it so seriously, sometimes in a negative way.

MARTIN: Many people have worn your clothes who are internationally famous, like Lady Gaga, former first lady Michelle Obama. But you've also made a point to reach out to people who have been looked over by other designers. I think some might recall that you dressed Leslie Jones for the premiere of "Ghostbusters" when she said that nobody else would. Why do you do that?

SIRIANO: I thought that that was so interesting that she was having a hard time finding a dress for a huge premiere. So it just was a no-brainer. I just didn't really think about it. I didn't know it would turn into this thing that, you know, designers don't want to dress people. I didn't even know that was a thing. I just thought that it was strange. But I think for me, my team, my world - even how I grew up - I like being immersed with all these different types of people. And I think that's what's interesting about this business. So that's what excites me. I like dressing¹⁶ all these different types of women. Shapes, sizes, ages - I don't care. I think that's kind of the fun challenge of it.

MARTIN: Do you think other people are following your lead, though? I still hear complaints. Like, we still read complaints every year about lack of diversity on the runway...

SIRIANO: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...Lack of diversity of body size, lack of diversity ethnically¹⁷. And then we see these moments where, like, Gucci with the blackface sweater and things of that sort...

SIRIANO: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...How do you understand that? What does that say?

SIRIANO: There's a few brands that are really trying to champion people - not just, you know, obviously women but obviously just people in general. And I think then to see other brands completely disregard it - my mom is a curvy woman, and my sister is a tiny little ballet dancer. So I don't know. I think it would be weird¹⁸ to not have something for both of them.

MARTIN: I find that women are still criticized for wearing pants, for example. I noted¹⁹ that in the wake of the #MeToo movement, a number of women made a point of wearing pants on the red carpet or wearing lower heels. I think it was a way of saying that I'm going to do what I want to do. But I still think that they get criticized for that. I - do you agree?

SIRIANO: Yeah.

MARTIN: So do you think it's going to be a point at which women can wear the pants if they want and men, like Billy Porter, can wear a gown...

SIRIANO: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...If they want - and it's not going to be so judgy?

SIRIANO: I hope so. And I definitely think it takes every fashion commentator or reviewer of that world to really get behind it 'cause it's really a collective thing. I think that's kind of the whole issue with - in general, just like this idea of supporting people, is that we all have to do it collectively - which is a challenge. But I think it is definitely changing. I mean, the amount of support from Billy was so much more than the negative. It was mind blowing. From just normal, average people to the most famous people in the world, it was so crazy to see the support.

MARTIN: That was Christian Siriano, fashion designer and mentor²⁰ for the upcoming reboot of "Project Runway." He was kind enough to join us at a very busy time for him from his studios in New York City.

Christian Siriano, thank you so much for talking to us once again.

SIRIANO: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF HANNI EL KHATIB'S "PARALYZED (DISCOTHEQUE REFIX)")

MARTIN: After our conversation, we called Christian Siriano back to ask if he would dress first lady Melania Trump²¹. In an April 2017 interview with Time, he said that he would not, that he dresses people that he can support. But his publicist has said that they didn't want to get into it this year.

(SOUNDBITE OF HANNI EL KHATIB'S "PARALYZED (DISCOTHEQUE REFIX)")

1 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

4 tuxedo   

n.礼服，无尾礼服

参考例句：

• Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。
• Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

8 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

11 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

12 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

13 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

14 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

15 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

16 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

17 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

18 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

21 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。