Christopher John Rogers Takes Editorial Designs To The Retail Floor
If you’ve recently ventured to Target’s womenswear section, you’ve probably noticed some bright colored dresses, fun prints, and not-your-everyday construction. Christopher John Rogers, a featured designer in Target’s 2021 Designer Dress Collection, designed these dresses. If you haven’t spotted them in stores, there’s a high chance you’ve seen them on social media, where the 16-piece collection has received mixed reviews. To understand this collection, it’s important to first get to know the designer, so who is Christopher John Rogers?
The African American designer was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was inspired at a young age by black designers such as Lawrence Steele, Ann Lowe, and Patrick Kelley. In a 2019 interview with Teen Vogue, he explained that he’s always been surrounded by people from different backgrounds, making variety a standard for him from the beginning. He graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, in 2016, and launched his namesake brand from his senior thesis collection.
In 2018, Rogers made his debut during New York Fashion Week and described his first collection as “a debutante ball thrown at Stonehenge and illustrated by Dr. Seuss.” The designer’s courageous efforts with bold prints, bright colors, and intricate tailoring all contributed to his winning the 2019 Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund. The following year he was named the CFDA American Emerging Designer of the year, and, since then, has dressed numerous celebrities, including Lizzo, Michelle Obama, and SZA.
Rogers, a gay, Black designer, aims to dress progressive women. He works with emotion and color creating designs that make his wearers feel like their most authentic selves. Along with the plethora of other inspirational women he’s styled, it is only fitting that Kamala Harris wore one of his designs when she was inaugurated as the first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president of the United States.
Rogers’ partnership with Target was announced in April, and he expressed his excitement in the press release: “This partnership is a dream come true – I’ve always admired the Target designer collaborations in the past and I’m excited to be a part of that legacy.” His contribution to the collection includes 16 size-inclusive dresses to make a statement in, with bold, bright colors and patterns that celebrate self-expression. While his designs for Target were highly praised by the fashion community for bringing editorial looks to the world of retail, they have also been the subject of critique by many on TikTok, most notably by Katie Boggs, who’s video making fun of the collection has received 4.1 million views in just under a week. Many have rushed to defend Rogers’ designs, including designer Marcelo Gaia, who explained the significance of the collection, saying, “They’re not ugly, maybe you don’t think that they’ll suit you. They do, in fact, suit probably women of color, or women who just love color, or women of a particular body shape.”
Whether or not you’d wear his designs, it is undeniable that Christopher John Rogers is an extremely talented designer and a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community. His collection with Target marks a new era for retail fashion, highlighting size inclusivity, bright colors, and self-expression.
Article by Katie Harkey, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Isabella Grieco, Graphic Design, PhotoBook Magazine
