Cunard has tapped Christian Siriano, Bob Mackie and Coco Rocha for the return of its Transatlantic Fashion Week voyage.
The style-minded trio won’t set sail aboard the Queen Mary 2 until October, but they spoke of their plans — and by Siriano’s own admission — with a trace of trepidation. The weeklong voyage from New York to Southampton, England will be the first one that has been held since the pandemic. It will feature two runway shows featuring a selection of Siriano’s designs from the past 16 years, including looks that were worn by actresses and musicians. Guests will be able to catch a screening of the documentary “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion,” and listen to a Q&A with the storied designer. And Rocha will be offering travelers a sampling of her signature model camp with primers about poise, modeling and fashion.
Having always wanted to do a show on a boat — as in a yacht — Siriano was game, when the prospect of a cruise was presented. Five hundred people will be able to sit and watch each of the two shows. Excited about joining Mackie and Rocha at sea, the designer said, “We want to make everything fabulous and get people inspired. What’s cool, too, is that everybody gets dressed up for dinner and tea. It’s a very fashionable kind of cruise — old-school style.”
Siriano, who recently closed his Westport, Conn. store, is scouting New York City locations. He just launched a fashion boot camp for aspiring designers — a two-day crash course in sketching, draping and sewing for 80 people that is being held in his studio once a month in June, July and August. The current crop ranges in age from 15 to 65. He said his idea riffs on Rocha’s model camp.
Rocha said she already told Siriano that she wants to be fully dressed in multiple outfits from morning, noon and night so travelers will see next-level fashion.
Having been on a Cunard cruise before with a Julien’s Auction tie-in, Mackie said, “It’s just magical. You feel like you’re leading another life, and that’s not bad.”
Siriano told him, “I want one dress from Cher to wear. Don’t forget it.”
When the designer, who has never been on a cruise before, heard that Mackie’s other crossing involved the captain informing him that they were passing “the final resting place of the Titanic,” Siriano piped up, “We do not need to know that. I’m so excited. I can’t wait. I already picked out three things in the gallery. I’ll be spending more money than I will make.”
The designer will be offering sketching classes on board, too. “We’re just bringing fantasies to people, who can’t always see a fashion show. That’s what’s special about this cruise. People, who may never get to see a fashion show in New York or any other city, will get to see it. And this is for all walks of life, and all different types of people.”
Siriano added, “And it’s in October with the icebergs and we’re all going to make it out alive.”
Bob Mackie
Photo by WWD
As for the current state of fashion, Mackie praised the Cannes Film Festival’s ban on “naked” dressing. “Everyone thinks I should say, ‘That’s terrible.’ I think it’s perfect. They’ve gone way overboard to the point of horrible.”
Photo by WWD
New York City’s street style isn’t much better, according to Mackie. “Here on the streets, I’ve seen things that I never want to see. I don’t know where it’s coming from. Even last week in the Berkshires, the shorts were shorter than short and everything is hanging out in the wrong places. It’s really terrifying.”
Accustomed to being asked by strangers to evaluate their appearances, Mackie said, “That’s a hard one. A lady, who was going to a wedding in London and had to wear a hat, held up a picture of the one she planned to wear and asked if that was a good choice. I said, ‘No, it looks like a flowerpot.’ She was kind of a full woman, [gesturing with his arms for effect,] so the scale was completely off. And I told her.”
His foul-proof advice for anyone is, “’Invest in a three-way mirror.’ Nobody ever looks in the back. You go to the airport early in the morning and you just want to shoot yourself, it’s so scary.”
Before flying back to his home in California, Mackie was hosting the opening of “Bob Mackie: From Sketches to Spotlight,” an exhibition at the Soho Grand Gallery that will be on view this summer.
