Christian Siriano's Latest Fragrance Was Inspired by a Powerful Purpose

Project Runway mentor Christian Siriano doesn't just have advice to offer when it comes to cutting and draping. (Stay tuned for Project Runway's new season, which is coming home to Bravo in 2019.) The designer also has powerful, inspiring beliefs about how the fashion industry can expand to become more inclusive of all types of people — regardless of their size, ethnicity, or any other factor. And Christian is using his latest fragrance, People Are People, to spread his message of inclusion. 

Now available at Payless, the scent is housed in a chic black-and-white tube; it's laced with notes of bergamot, pink pepper, and jasmine. But to the designer, the scent represents more than just a new product for his customers to purchase. 

"With the name of this fragrance, I wanted to show that I don’t care who you are, you can still be a part of fashion,” the designer told People. “You shouldn’t feel alienated by fashion. You should feel like you can be celebrated." To underscore that empowering message, Christian gathered his friends and family members for a portrait session; each of them wore a T-shirt that reads People Are People. 

"I wanted it to be a diverse group of people to show that I don’t care who you are or what walk of life you come from, you can wear this fragrance, you can buy our clothes — you should feel celebrated in some way," he shared of the photo shoot. "This is not for advertising. It’s not to make money off anything, we’re not doing billboards, we’re not doing ads in magazines. This is really just to bring a little awareness of what I think a fashion editorial should look like. It’s a call to action to show that this is what is beautiful in our fashion world, or just in our world in general. It’s about seeing all these beautiful people celebrating one another together, which I think is really a great thing."