Chris Benz: Fashion Mixologist

Growing up in Seattle, Chris Benz always had an eye for style. He recalls to Teen Vogue Magazine that he refused to conform to what was considered the norm or fashionable. He remembers skimming through fashion magazines during late nights until he discovered that Parsons accepted a small selection of high school juniors into their program, he applied and was accepted at age seventeen. 

His initial inspiration and teacher was American fashion designer, Marc Jacobs (with whom he interned during his college years) and J. Crew (which is where he worked after graduating college). These positions provided him with the learning tools he needed to figure out what worked and what sold as well as what he could offer to the fashion world.

In 2007, Chris Benz broke away from being the “right hand man” to being the leading man as he came out with his first line of clothing. He claims that he likes “American sportswear” to but his designs go above and beyond what you would find at J. Crew or Gap. He brilliantly mixes colors and textures with furs and hats, creating elegant and sophisticated works of art that are also very relaxed.

He works to create an entire outfit, from top to bottom all the way to the accessories. When Chris has a vision, he works hard to complete it and to make it a well-polished masterpiece. With just a glance at his portfolios and fashion lines, you can see that his outfits are very well organized and he has a liking for jackets. The jackets, coats, and vests that he pairs with his dresses and suits are essentially the main focus of his designs as they bring together all of the wild colors and textures within each outfit.

Due to his hard work and success, he was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2009, and since then his clothing has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Glamour and other fashion magazines. In addition, as a promoter of education and hard work, Chris Benz joined the mentoring staff at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in order to encourage students to become educated before jumping into the world of fashion.

He’s currently working on a new fashion line that will focus even more on his passion and intrigue of vintage-style pieces, more specifically based on the Parisian fashion of the 50’s and 60’s which is his favorite era of fashion. Chris likes to keep a pad and a pen near him at all times because at any moment a song or a vision might inspire him. We can hope to see his latest creations in his 2011 Fall/Winter fashion lines.

For more information: http://www.chris-benz.com/

-Golda Steinberg

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