Q&A: Marla Aaron on Her NYFW Collaboration With Christian Siriano

Emili VesilindSeptember 15, 20222 Mins read600 Views

Fashion designer Christian Siriano’s glamorous fashion presentation kicked off New York Fashion Week last week. And when we saw photos of the show’s models sauntering down a staircase inside an incredible venue—the late Elizabeth’s Taylor’s epic Midtown townhouse—we spied a multi-strand necklace with a carabiner-like lock that had to be a Marla Aaron creation. The versatile locks are the NYC-based designer’s signature style and are instantly recognizable.

And indeed, Marla Aaron (the designer and the brand) collaborated with Siriano and his team on the jewelry featured in the show. We caught up with Aaron this week to chat about how the collaboration came to fruition, and her thoughts about the show.

The Zing Report: Congrats on the runway collaboration! It looked amazing. How did this collaboration come to be?

Marla Aaron: Thank you! I was very flattered when Christian approached me to contribute to his beautiful Spring 2023 collection. I have always appreciated his point of view, and our shared enthusiasm for bringing people joy through design made this a very gratifying collaboration. Jewelry’s only job is to bring joy to people and Christian’s work is a fashion equivalent.

*Bold choker: Marla Aaron Locks clipped together to create a dramatic necklace*

How were the jewelry pieces selected?

Christian and his team came to our showroom. Our showroom visits are probably not like others. We’ve tried to create this luxurious willy Wonka-esque playground-meets-living room that makes people feel at ease. Buying jewelry is extremely personal, so a huge a part of what we do is just getting to know people. Then we can better help them find pieces that will bring them joy for a very long time.

So, it began there. Once we had a sense of what Christian and his team were drawn to, we created some looks. Then came the fitting. Then some edits. And before I knew it, we were backstage helping all these beautiful models get ready to walk. I even got to help someone tie their shoes.

To your amazing eye, how did the jewelry and clothes complement each other?

Our jewelry can really be anything—and having it in Christian’s show was the highest expression of this. The show was all about glamour, and our jewelry can turn into that quite simply by combining it in different ways. It can give anything anyone wants and that’s the beauty of our work.

*Aaron’s jewelry can be combined in near-infinite ways—a lock and pulley are among the elements here*

What did you think of the final show?

I absolutely loved it. The clothes are one thing. The jewelry another. And when the models put it all on and turn it up as only models can do, it’s next level. The fact that it was in the extraordinary former home of Elizabeth Taylor with Janet Jackson sitting front row, was “chef’s kiss!”