Christian Siriano aimed to give “the modern working girl a bit of Cleopatra’s drama” with his Egyptian-inspired Fall 2009 collection. Expect gold, chocolate brown, and dark turquoise in bold shapes and cuts. Intriguing styles include a satin high collar, puff sleeve blouse with sculpted front petals, a sleek vest slipped over a cashmere cowlneck sweater, and a number of hard metallic pieces suggestive of the sacred scarab beetle.

One can never have too many coats in the fall, and Siriano provides a wide range of flattering silhouettes, from the classic peacoat with gold zippers, to outerwear with cinched waists, bell sleeves, and tuxedo pintuck details. There were also several one-shoulder ruched dresses, but Siriano does especially well with his grandiose gowns, complete with a daring headdress, gathered train, and hammered satin layers. The gold lips and those fetching, fringed bangs brought a nice costume effect.

Siriano also debuted his shoe collection for Payless.  The gold pyramid heels, stacked chains, and subtle hieroglyphic print complemented the Egyptian theme, but would make the transition marvelously onto city streets.

– Tiffany Chang

See more photos from the Christian Siriano show below