Chris Benz
Chris Benz
Chris Benz is an American fashion designer. He gained early recognition as a recipient of a CFDA scholarship while attending Parsons School of Design. Benz interned with Marc Jacobs in college, then worked at J.Crew, before launching his own collection in 2007. His signatures include use of color, texture and prints, as well as subversion of traditional dressmaking codes and techniques. His collection is available in stores throughout United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He was inducted...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFashion Designer
Date of Birth18 November 1982
CountryUnited States of America
I have specific playlists for arrivals in different cities. Tokyo skews new wave, Paris more jazz, and New York is Top 40.
I used to sit in bed at night and flip through design-school catalogs. I found out that Parsons accepted a small number of high school juniors, so I applied my sophomore year and got in.
I think Seattle has a great sort of luxury and comfort sensibility, which I oftentimes think is lost in fashion for fashion's sake.
While at Parsons, I interned at Marc Jacobs, which was great. When I graduated, I went to work at J. Crew; that was also really great.
Growing up in Seattle, I was always that kid who didn't subscribe to what everyone else was wearing.
I'd call my work 'instinctual design.' I like to find the spirit of a piece that defies time, age, and occasion. My clothes give the wearer the chance to develop their own voice within a wardrobe, and I think of them as curators of their personal style.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it's all about being comfortable. I try to bring that undercurrent to what I do. It's great to have beautiful, dressed-up clothes that still feel casual.
Life in New York is one of succumbing to a tidal wave of control and direction, of numbing oneself to emotion.
I'm always inspired by all of my friends. I aspire to make clothes that my friends would want to wear, that they would gravitate towards anyway.
I have a fleet of Rimowa Topas aluminum suitcases! They're all covered in stickers from around the world.
I feel like girls should dress down a little bit on the holidays, even though the instinct is to get really dressed up.
Designers and musicians are primed to keep thinking forward. Once an album or collection launches, you can only think about doing the next one.
The best part of fashion is the interns - having them or being one.
As a designer looking to the future, you don't want to get lost in the archives.