On Christian Cowan’s over-the-top runway, there were collaborations with Giuseppe Zanotti and Eugenia Kim. But an off-the-runway collaboration is really about to steal the show. Cowan, a longtime American Dad fan, is guest starring in an episode of the show set—where else?—at his fashion show.

“I have watched the show forever,” says Cowan. “I’ve always said my dreams are to dress Elton John and Roger from American Dad.” For the uninitiated, Roger is a bulbous alien who lives with the show’s central family, strutting around Langley Falls, Virginia, in feather boas, sequin suits, and other looks of similar fabulosity. “Roger the character is larger than life; he has this whole plethora of crazy outfits. He’s the full fashion fantasy, really,” continues the designer.

Designing for a pear-shaped gray alien wasn’t much of a struggle, Cowan explains, noting that the animation studio did a fantastic job bringing Roger’s Christian Cowan looks to life. They also created a 2-D Cowan, complete with green hair and his signature logo hoodie. “The animated version of me,” Cowan begins, laughing, “I think it’s hilarious.”

What makes American Dad, a satire about a Republican government-adjacent family, the ideal match for Cowan’s glam designs? “I think American Dad and I have a similar outlook on life, in the sense that there’s a lot of serious and stressful things in life and there are many ways to comment on that. My approach in life is to find a humorous way to process the information that’s going on in the world,” says Cowan. In times like these, a little tongue-in-cheek comedy goes a long way.

Read More Vogue Runway Stories: