Oprah Winfrey Surprises the DNC—and Christian Siriano, Who Had No Idea She’d Be Wearing His Design

Oprah Winfrey could be the great unifier of this country. The media mogul’s supply of wisdom and inspiration over the years has been as plentiful as her lung capacity and her surprise speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night in Chicago was no exception—the trademark scream that accompanied that six-second hold on “Kamala Haaaaariiiiiiiiiiissssss!”

And when Oprah presented on “the best of America,” she wore perhaps her best outfit of the night, a monochrome purple Italian silk suit with wide-leg pants and a blazer with a corset-like waist, a style created especially for her by Christian Siriano. By the way, Siriano had no idea Oprah would be wearing his designs, she didn’t even know she would be speaking at the DNC, he recounted. Vanity Fair.

“It’s always funny: I’ve been dressing Oprah for a very long time. I’ve done a lot of things for her, suits and dresses,” he said. “And her stylist, Annabelle Harron, “Someone I love so much, she didn’t even tell me what it was for. I had no idea…. But when Oprah called and asked to buy a suit, like, I really didn’t care if she went to the grocery store or not.”

Oprah Winfrey arrives to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images

He only realized what was happening when his phone started ringing with messages Wednesday night, and he rushed to the DNC livestream to listen to Oprah’s speech. “I missed the opening walkout, and then I had a bunch of people asking me if I made this suit,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I made it, I really did!'”

“I was obviously glued to her talking, and I almost forgot that I was even making that look because I was listening to her talk, which was amazing and amazing,” he said.

The mysterious call from Harron came late last week. “It was really quick,” Siriano said. “We basically did it on a Friday.”

Harron sent Siriano a few designs that she and Oprah liked, with the directive that whatever he created had to be purple, and the designer got to work.

Working with Oprah has always been “really easy,” he said.

“She’s probably one of the easiest people we’ve ever made clothes for, which is funny, because she’s also one of the most famous people we’ve made clothes for,” he said. “It’s amazing to see, and that’s my favorite part about making clothes for her. That’s why, literally, I have no idea what it’s for, and I don’t really care, because I know she’s going to wear it, and she’s going to feel comfortable wearing it, and that’s why we do it.”

Many people have made the decision for Oprah to go all-purple, completely committing to the color, from her thin-framed glasses and eyeshadow, to her jewelry, her suit, and her heels. Siriano says no one directly referred to the color as a symbol of political unity, and the mix of Democratic blue and Republican red was evident in the speech, where Oprah told the crowd that “this election is not about us and them” and that “you’re looking at a registered independent who proudly votes time and time again. Because I’m an American, and that’s what Americans do.” He sees it as a continuation of her press tour for Purple, and choose a shade that feels “more formal.”