“Fashion finds a way,” wrote Washington Post Fashion Critic Robin Givhan at Christian Siriano’s New York Fashion Week show. It’s true – global pandemic or not – it always finds a way with Siriano.
Today, the CFDA designer closed NYFW not with a bang, but rather, a splash. And it was all thanks to former GRAZIA covergirl, Coco Rocha.
Seven months pregnant and with the same devil-may-care attitude (remember, she famously hung from a crane hook on a Brooklyn Yard rooftop for our sixth issue), the “Queen of the Pose” was back to her old, boundary-pushing tricks: entering Christian Siriano’s pool in 40 pounds of red ruffled silk, Cordovan hat and mask.
READ: BEHIND THE SCENES OF COCO ROCHA’S GRAZIA COVER SHOOT
Staged at the designer’s home in Westport, Connecticut, a socially-distanced crowd of editors, influencers and the fabulous Billy Porter scattered around the sprawling gardens to witness the wonder of Siriano’s fantasy, an in turn, the magic (and madness) of Coco Rocha.
“I had the finale look, this dress probably weighed about 30 to 40 pounds,” Rocha said, narrating a video of herself emerging from Siriano’s floral-flanked pool on Instagram. “Walking across the bridge was fine. Crossing the grass was easy. But since this was my only show during New York Fashion Week, I thought I’d change things up, so I decided to get in the pool. Christian said it was warm, so I thought, why not!” Well, if you’re Coco Rocha, why not indeed.
But while her entrance was elegant, her exit was fraught with danger (and drama). “Getting out of the pool was extremely difficult. I needed a little help,” she continued. “At first, all was good. Then once I got my mask wet, mmm…couldn’t breathe as much.” Scrambling in the water, red ruffles rising around her, the body of the ballgown utterly soaked, Rocha made a dash to the pool stairs before a male model came to her rescue. “That male model said that dress probably weighed 200 pounds now!”
Trust Rocha – and Siriano – to turn a very strange fashion week into a festive, feathered, flounced extravaganza full of fun and surprise.
“I’ve worked as a model through 35 seasons of #NYFW, but this is my first during a global pandemic. Backstage at @csiriano – today was a moment!💃😷”.
