Creative Mind: Christopher John Rogers
Using volume, color, and confidence as guiding principles, the fashion designer creates clothes that give the wearer a sense of freedom
Volume, color, confidence—these three words seem to be the guiding principles that have made the fashion career of Christopher John Rogers such a staggering success. Although he launched his collection only in 2018, when at just 24 years old, his designs have been worn by Rihanna, Michelle Obama, and Kamala Harris, who donned a coat and dress from his label for her swearing-in as vice president. What attracts all these women—as well as the judges for the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which named him its 2021 American Womenswear Designer of the Year—boils down to the freedom he gives each wearer.
“Color is the starting point for any collection,” says Rogers, whose command of the spectrum has led to a paint and wallpaper collaboration with Farrow & Ball along with fabrics for Irish furniture maker and fellow Creative Mind Orior.
Personal style: “I like to think of there being no aesthetic hierarchy. You can wear a bright color and be quite declarative while still being the most intelligent person in the room. I like to provide people with the tools to self-express as opposed to restrict who they are.”
Mixed mediums: “I’m equally inspired by draping in an 18th-century oil painting as a trash bag. To me, Christian Lacroix is just as interesting as the Muppets.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.