Christian Siriano Sent Textile Waste Down the Runway at NYFW

Christian Siriano has never played by the archaic fashion rules. The designer has long championed size inclusion in his collections despite the industry standards lagging slowly behind. This season, he’s added another innovation to his collection with Circ. Two looks in his RTW Spring 2025 show were made entirely with Circ Lyocell, a recycled textile that had the look and feel of silk.

“I’ve never actually used a fully sustainable fabrication, and I felt like it was really needed,” Siriano told Teen Vogue in an exclusive backstage interview about the partnership. “I think what I did with it was try to show how it can feel luxurious and feel evening-like and elegant. And it’s not just for day wear. I think sometimes when people think of recycled fabric they don’t think of evening.”

Circ is a technology system that takes textile waste and turns it back into raw materials to be used again. The technology has never been part of New York Fashion Week before, but its appearance couldn’t come soon enough. As textile recycling is complicated by so many factories, especially considering the fact that it’s expensive and many textiles are blends, most brands have very slowly, if at all, used it. More, many brands still haven’t begun to address the dire need for circularity in fashion. We are after all, in another fashion month where hundreds of garments are being sent down runways around the world. The industry produces tons of clothing every year and much of it ends up in landfill or in the Global South.

Sara Kerens

Sara Kerens

Sara Kerens

“We are a no-waste brand. We don’t overproduce. We don’t make 10,000 units of something. I just thought [it] was a really interesting take on it,” Siriano explained about his brand philosophy. “And the fabric’s really pretty, so that helps.”

In the collection, two pieces used the lyocell — a full-length black trench coat and a pants and bra look. They were nearly indistinguishable from the other fabrics used. “I know a lot about fabrics,” the designer and Project Runway mentor says. “I’ve been working with fabrics for mills for my whole career. I’m pretty good at fabrication, and I’d never worked with anything like this. So that I think was more exciting for me. I think that was why I thought it was a cool project, whether it was eco or not. The process is kind of cool, and now, I want to help and see what else we could do together.”