Christian Siriano, 23, was born to design. Raised by a creative family in Annapolis, Maryland, Christian began designing professionally at just 13 years old. Confident he wanted to pursue a career in fashion, he went on to study design at the Baltimore School for the Arts and at the American Intercontinental University in London, where he earned an internship with punk legend Vivienne Westwood and, during his senior year, a prized position with Alexander McQueen.

Upon graduation Christian returned to the United Sates and moved to New York City, where he worked as a freelance bridal designer in addition to collaborating with Rosetta Getty on her Riser Goodwyn label. His big break came when he earned a spot on season four of Bravo's hit program Project Runway. Despite fierce competition, Christian became the show's youngest winner, fan favorite, and a rising star in the fashion world.

Since winning, Christian has shown at Spring 2008 and Fall 2009 Fashion Week in New York, with sponsorship from LG, Sprint, Victoria's Secret, Cibu International and Aveda, and his latest show featured accessories from Tori Spelling's jewelry line. His fall collection was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews-Stephanie Solomon of Bloomingdale's was heard to remark "We'd love to buy this collection" from the front row. As reported by New York Magazine's The Cut blog, sales of Christian's line are growing steadily despite the economic recession. Trunk shows across the country have been a resounding success and a range of new boutiques in every major city will be carrying Christian's designs in the fall.

In addition to his own line, Christian designed a small exclusive line for Bluefly.com that sold out almost immediately in 2008. Since then he has joined the likes of Abaete, Alice + Olivia, Lela Rose and Pat Field in creating a line of shoes and bags for Payless which will be available in September 2009, to be followed by a separate holiday collection in December. Christian also designed the Fierce Mamas collection for Moody Mamas, a maternity line, to be sold on Nordstrom.com and in boutiques around the country.

Christian has designed for a growing list of celebrity clients which includes: style icon Victoria Beckham; supermodel Heidi Klum; actresses Anne Hathaway, Mena Suvari, Tori Spelling, Shailene Woodley, Becki Newton, Vanessa Williams, Katrina Bowden and Whoopi Goldberg in her role as host of the 2008 Tony Awards; and singers Kimberly Locke, Estelle, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls. He has signed on to design a full couture collection to appear in the upcoming film Eloise in Paris, starring Uma Thurman.

In addition to his guest starring role on hit television series Ugly Betty and Bravo's Make Me A Supermodel, Christian has appeared on daytime and late night talk shows - he was a red carpet fashion correspondent for the 2008 Emmy Awards, 2008 MTV Movie Awards, and the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, a guest judge for the 2008 Miss USA Pageant, and recipient of a 2008 Logo NewNowNext Award and Bravo A-List Award. He has appeared on The Tyra Banks Show as a celebrity stylist for contestants from The Biggest Loser.

Despite his busy schedule, Christian has also written a style guide titled Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self. The book will be available from Hachette Book Group's Grand Central Publishing in October 2009.

Echoing his comments that Christian is "his generation's Marc Jacobs," Tim Gunn has remained a supporter since Christian's time on Project Runway. "I'm extremely proud of him," he stated to Newsday. "He really is the next great American fashion designer, I'm confident of it."