Christian Siriano Wants You to Read the Britney Spears Memoir in His New Robe

The One Thing

Our series The One Thing is a Sparknotes version of the products, rituals, and moments your favorite celebrities and influencers swear by—their go-tos, must-haves, and can’t-live-withouts. So go ahead—take a brief, intimate peek into the lives of your favorites through the things (and people, and moments) they hold dear.

In case you were unaware, Christian Siriano leads an incredibly busy life between working on new collections and red carpet looks, his role as a mentor for Project Runway (which he won back in 2008), and countless other projects. This jam-packed agenda makes self-care especially important during the holidays and all year round—and the designer is an expert at this, with a full set of beloved traditions and low-key activities he enjoys with loved ones. A warm and friendly presence by nature, he's also committed to helping all the rest of us feel relaxed and pampered at this time of year, which is why he's partnered with OLAY to create a capsule collection inspired by the brand's Super Serum. You can shop the full collection on November 14, but in the meantime, keep reading to learn all about the collaboration process, Siriano's holiday favorites, and how the new serum has transformed his skincare routine.

About His New Collection with OLAY

The whole idea is that we're doing this really cool holiday drop. We made three fabulous items that I think are obviously great gifts, but they really can be also for self-care. I wanted people to know that if you're buying the Super Serum, you can also buy [a companion piece] that's really cool and feels stylish and fashionable but still affordable and unique. We did this really cool dopp kit, which is covered in pearls, a beautiful robe that’s very fabulous, and these really chic plush slides. We had a blast, and I hope people fall in love with these pieces, and hopefully they really use them. We definitely want that.

The serum and its bottle and packaging already are stunning and beautiful. It's kind of pearlescent, with a unique color, tone, and silhouette. That was already very inspiring, and we wanted the collection to feel in that world, something glamorous and pink and playful and beautiful. Whenever I'm creating anything, I want to make sure that people feel like they're getting something unique and quality, but for a good price.

I don't pay attention to skincare enough during fashion week and when we're really busy (like during awards season), so partnering with somebody like OLAY—a big brand that's been around for a long time and knows a lot about products—was nice because I feel like I learned quite a lot in this process. I've worked with a lot of beauty brands, but never really making products for something that already existed. It was a fun challenge to try something different that I've never really done.

The One Skincare Product That Transformed His Routine

I'm pretty simple [when it comes to skincare]—I don't do a lot. My boyfriend's a big skincare lover, but I just have never made the time. I've also always had really oily skin, so I got really nervous about things. I use the micro sculpting cream from OLAY—I've used that for a while—but other than that, I never really did much.

It's funny—when I decided to partner with OLAY, I'd never even used a serum before, so I definitely got to try [one out] for the first time [with the Super Serum]. Now, I understand why people become obsessed with beauty products, because you try something and then you keep wanting to see more and more of what it would do. Using this new serum, it was fun to try it and see what the difference is, which is now kind of a game to me and I like playing it.

His Number One Priority During the Holidays

[When the holidays come around, my priority] is literally just actually taking a break. My self-care is laying around, watching a movie or something. It's nothing wild. I think that that's the most important thing, actually taking time for yourself to do things you love. I used to collect old-fashioned magazines and I'll look at those and revisit things from when I was growing up and things like that. Just taking the time for myself, which hopefully lots of people are doing.

The One Show He's Been Watching

I've been watching The Morning Show. It's so good. And I'm like, wow, I can't believe Jennifer Aniston. She and Reese [Witherspoon], they look so beautiful, it’s crazy. We need to know their skin regimens. I also just started watching this show called Surface on Apple TV. It's very good and you really have to watch. There's so many good things, it's hard to catch up. This is what you do during the holidays: You have time, you get a break, you watch your shows.

The Hero Piece of His Holiday Uniform

I mostly wear a lot of really old band T-shirts. They're super comfortable. That's probably my favorite thing, finding good vintage tees. Vintage tees are the best and the softest: They've been washed a thousand times. And hopefully people will wear my new robe because it's very fabulous. I told my mom and my sister, “When this comes out, I hope I see you at the holidays in this robe around the house. Don't forget.”

The Fall Rituals He Loves Most

[Fall activities] are pretty important. We have a house in Connecticut. I live in the city, too, but it’s really beautiful up there, so we always go and do all the fall things and go to the farms and things like that. And we cook a lot, which is nice. I actually think it's so interesting: In the fall season, we cook at home 10 times more than we do any other time. In the summer, you just go out to eat and you're outside, especially in New York. But then in the fall, you want to be at home with your family and friends, and it's nice to cook more.

His Favorite Recipes for the Holidays (or Any Time)

Over the years, my sister used to make a lot of casseroles—very interesting things that she would try. Some of them were good, and some of them weren’t. My mom is pretty classic, so a lot of her recipes are pretty simple. We came from a pretty big Italian family, so we cook a lot of pasta and we make our own sauces. Things like that are fun. Also, a lot of my friends are vegan now, which is interesting. I've been playing around with that too, which has been exciting. Alicia Silverstone, who's a really good friend of mine, has two really good cookbooks, and the food is actually really amazing. Her vegan pizza is incredible.

His Top Tip for Holiday Self-Care

It's about taking the time. We hope that people love these pieces that we made for our collection. I hope that people are finding time to lounge around in a fabulous robe or whatever they want. We want people to do that and take the time to do things like catch up on that book that you haven't read. We all need to read Britney [Spears]'s memoir. That’s my holiday tip: Everyone read Britney’s memoir!

Up Next: 7 Essential Style Lessons I Learned From Christian Siriano

Read the original article on Byrdie.