Christian Siriano to Appear on HSN With C. Wonder by Christian Siriano
Christian Siriano will make his HSN debut with C. Wonder by Christian Siriano, a ready-to-wear collection.
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The line, which retails from $40 for a T-shirt to $150 for a dress, is sized from XS to 3XL, with select styles available in tall and petite.
Last September, Xcel Brands launched C. Wonder by Christian Siriano and named Siriano as creative director. Xcel Brands is producing the C. Wonder by Christian Siriano collection exclusively for HSN.
“It’s been really exciting. Just being able to be part of the C. Wonder brand is really great. I came in in a creative director role. I’m super excited and proud of what it is,” said Siriano, in a telephone interview.
What Siriano is pleased about is being able to design for different types of people and giving them something “Christian Siriano at a great price and such a range of sizes.” He’s also looking forward to showing and selling the clothes on air.
Siriano will appear live on HSN on March 23 to preview a few pieces from his collection. He will then appear live on March 30 throughout the day to debut the full collection. He will return to HSN in April and May with new collections. During 2023, he will have nine new collections for which he will appear on-air.
The C. Wonder by Christian Siriano collection will be available to shop on hsn.com starting Friday.
Siriano has appeared once on QVC, but this is his first time on HSN. Both brands are owned by Qurate.
“I’ve never done something to this kind of scale. This is the first time I’ve done such a robust collection, partnering with a brand,” said Siriano. His first live show will be filmed at The Collective West, his Westport, Connecticut, store.
“I wanted people to feel that they can actually see how I work with clothes, and how I celebrate the body and the figure. I wanted it to feel very authentic. It feels a little bit more personal [being in my store],” said Siriano.
While he plans to carry the C. Wonder brand in his store, he said, “My main focus is HSN. We want consumers to shop there, that’s our goal.”
The collection is infused with pop culture inspiration, bold colors and one-of-a-kind prints. “I didn’t want to just do dresses; it’s a full world of dressing. It’s dresses, pants, jackets, jumpsuits, blouses, little over-capes, denim. I wanted it to feel like a full brand. I wanted it to feel signature Christian Siriano but wanted them to feel you’re getting a more rounded wardrobe,” he said.
Bridget Love, general merchandise manager and vice president, fashion, accessories, jewelry and beauty at HSN, said, “Women already have enough to worry about without having to add whether the outfit she’s picked out to conquer her day is going to fit. That’s why we love collaborating with Christian Siriano, because he knows exactly how to design a guilt-free luxury collection that reinvents everyday dressing for the modern woman.” She added that the collection is part of their continued commitment to inclusive sizing for all women.
“As the exclusive launch partner for C. Wonder by Christian Siriano, we project the launch to be one of HSN’s most highly anticipated apparel collections this year,” said Love.
Siriano and the C. Wonder team have been working on this together for the last few months. “Trust me, I went back and forth over prints. I can’t tell you how many times I talked about floral prints, but it has to be the right floral. Obviously we want to keep the authenticity of C. Wonder, but also I wanted it to be me, which is still younger, cooler, fresher….we want our customer to feel like she’s getting fashion and it feels exciting,” said Siriano.
Robert D’Loren, chairman and chief executive officer of Xcel Brands, noted, “Pairing the creative energy of New York award-winning designer Christian Siriano with the loved American brand C. Wonder, this new collaboration offers the consumer a compelling fashion collection that continues our commitment to livestream selling and shopping through discovery.”
In addition to C. Wonder by Christian Siriano, Xcel owns the Judith Ripka, Halston, and LOGO by Lori Goldstein brands and has a minority stake in the Isaac Mizrahi brand. The company’s brands have generated in excess of $3 billion in retail sales via livestreaming in interactive television and digital channels alone.
Siriano is looking to attract a wide age range to the brand.
“I wanted someone like my mom, who is 75, to buy something but I also wanted my sister, who’s 35, to buy something,” he continued. “I actually think the quality is so good, it’s scary sometimes. When you see the price point is $40, $50 or $100, you never know, but I think our quality is so beautiful. That was very important. Especially coming from me. I’m a couture designer, we make eveningwear, our quality can not be better. I hope that people feel that the quality is really great. The fit is amazing,” he said.
The first collection will feature 25 styles.
Describing what he anticipates will be bestsellers, he said, “We did these really beautiful floral organza shirtdresses that I really love and I think will do very well.”
Asked about his on-air schedule, he said, “It’s more than I’m ready for, but I’m practicing and I’m going to get really good at it. I’m excited to get to show people how passionate I am about fabrics and fit,” he said. “We all worked really hard on it and we hope that people really love it. I know I’m really good at selling clothes, so hopefully it will be a hit.”
In addition to C. Wonder, Siriano continues to design his own high-end collection. He no longer wholesales the line to department and specialty stores, but sells his designer collection online and in his Westport store. He also does made-to-order.
The C. Wonder brand was originally launched by Christopher Burch, the venture capitalist who is Tory Burch’s ex-husband. In 2015, C. Wonder filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores. A few months later, Xcel Brands acquired C. Wonder’s intellectual property rights, trademarks and other assets.
As reported, for the three months ended Dec. 22, Qurate’s revenues were down 13 percent to $3.53 million from $4.1 million. The company said last week it was cutting 400 jobs as part of a turnaround plan it revealed last summer. The company said this year it was looking at opportunities to optimize assortment and pricing, trim freight costs, negotiate vendor agreements, strengthen margins, and enhance analytics.
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