Christian Siriano, From the Bay To 'Runway'

As a teenager, fashion designer Christian Siriano left an Annapolis Mall hair salon for London and dreams of making it big in the industry. Tonight, if he can edge out two other designers, he'll win $100,000 in the season finale of Bravo's hit reality show "Project Runway."

Siriano, 22, is known to "Runway" viewers as the pipsqueak who flits around the workroom declaring his own clothes "fierce" and everyone else's "a hot mess." Some love him (he won this season's fan-favorite award), some hate him ("nails on a chalkboard," according to one finalist), but everyone notices him -- and not only because his hair defies gravity.

The Annapolis native survived 12 rounds of design challenges to compete tonight against Rami Kashou and Jillian Lewis. And his trajectory from shampooing hair at Bubbles to showing his collection under the tents of New York City's Bryant Park has all been by the seat of his skinny, well-sewn pants. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, he moved to London to attend American InterContinental University and landed jobs with edgy designers Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.

We chatted by phone last week with Bravo's boy wonder about his plans, his reflections and the "fabulous divas" of Annapolis.

-- Rachel Beckman

Some people say you're arrogant. Are you?

No, I don't think I'm arrogant. I am confident and I work so hard to be confident. If I wasn't talented, then I wouldn't be as confident. I'm young and I have a lot of experience and I learn quickly.

How does your upbringing in Annapolis, land o' boat shoes, affect you as a designer ?

I mean, luckily -- it is really preppy -- but for me, I can take that creatively. Being in Annapolis with all the boating stuff, the yachts, the netting, that's really inspiring.

But I'll tell you, the funny thing is there's so much money that a lot of the people travel around the world. They're so cultured. It's not a Podunk town in Kentucky. There are sophisticated people, so that helps a lot. Trust me, that diva woman is out there in Annapolis.

How does your hair background influence your fashion designs ?

Working in a salon, you look at trends all day long. You're looking at color all the time, what new products are coming out. You're a part of the fashion industry, especially if you're working in a higher-end salon. There's no judgment there. You can wear whatever, be whatever, do whatever you want. You can be so creative and never be penalized for it.