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NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Ashley Graham and Christina Hendricks were among the stars who attended Christian Siriano's New York Fashion Week show Saturday. The 28-year-old model and 41-year-old actress sat front row, along with actresses Pamela Anderson and Jaimie Alexander, as the 30-year-old designer sent his spring 2017 collection down the runway.
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Siriano showed off several bold looks, including a tangerine-colored jumpsuit and a turquoise dress with cutouts and thigh-high slits. The show was also notable for featuring several plus-size models.
"I think [other designers] can [make great plus-size clothes]. I just think it's a lot of time and a lot of work," Siriano told Elle at the event. "We found the time and we put in the effort because being a label that different women can wear is really important to us."
"Honestly, I think the 'trick' is you have to really want to do it. You're embracing more of the world," he added. "The models in the show who are 'plus size' ... they're not wearing differently styled outfits. They're just beautiful girls who are in the show, like normal."
Graham and Hendricks have been praised as plus-size fashion and beauty icons, although both women reject the label. Graham said in the August issue of Cosmopolitan that she simply considers herself a "model."
"Just because I'm not calling myself plus-size doesn't mean I'm not representing a woman who is," she qualified. "I'm giving curvy women a seat at a table that we've never been invited to before -- a table with high-end fashion people who have never considered us beautiful."
Siriano is known for winning Season 4 of Project Runway and for dressing Leslie Jones for the Los Angeles premiere of Ghostbusters. He created a glamorous floor-length gown for the actress after she revealed that no designers wanted to work with her.
