Chris Benz is an American
fashion designer and interior decorator. He gained early recognition as a recipient of a
CFDA scholarship
while attending
Parsons School of Design. Benz interned with
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...
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 into the
CFDA in 2009.
Eric Wilson, fashion reporter for The New York Times, singled him out among fashion's "newest darlings" and said the collection "may be the best example of the heightened level of sophistication that is expected of new designers today."
Benz's clothes are frequently featured in ''Vogue'', ''Elle'', ''Glamour'', and other publications. In addition to his own fashion line, Benz has partnered with
Moscot, the eyewear company, to design a line of frames, and
Lancôme to design the "Chris & Tell" Lipstick. He also has a partnership with
Redken.
Benz has made numerous television appearances, included among them as a guest judge on
Bravo's
The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection and an appearance on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
's
How to Make It in America. Benz also appeared on Gossip Girl. Chris Benz also had a role in Wes Anderson's 2018 movie Isle of Dogs.
He is also a regular columnist for Fashionista.com.
Benz also created the clothes for the 2012 Barbie for President doll in the Barbie "I Can Be..." line.
Benz collaborated to design character costumes for the animated movie
EPIC in 2013.
On October 30, 2014, Benz was appointed Creative Director of Bill Blass which plans to relaunch during the spring of 2016. Benz as Creative Director of Bill Blass is "...planning an e-commerce push, collaborations with up-and-coming designers and established artists, an accessories range and, possibly, a line of home goods." An article republished from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' on October 6, 2020 states that Benz has left the company.
References
External links
*
*
Guest Judge of Bravo TV's 'The Fashion ShowAsk Chris column at Fashionista.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benz, Chris
1982 births
Living people
American fashion designers
Fashion designers from Seattle