On Tuesday, stans and fashion lovers took to social media to anoint a new holiday in honor of Christopher John Rogers’s tenth runway show: #CJRDay. Online and IRL, fans swooned over 010 Playdough, a rainbow-colored collection presented at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In person, the venue served as a stark background to CJR’s Sarah Jessica Parker-approved color palettes and exuberant print combinations, reminding attendees that in darkness, there is always light. Karlie Kloss opened the show in a monochromatic look, stomping down the runway to the beats of longtime CJR collaborator DJ Skype Williams. In attendance were friends of the designer including Raul Lopez of LUAR, Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, Peter Do, and the legendary model Bethann Hardison—as well as some new faces like Kid Cudi and Whitney Peak. Before the function, guests were advised to be mindful of their footwear, given the industrial setting, but in true New York fashion, everyone showed up clacking their heels. To hear more about our new favorite holiday, we caught up with Rogers for a quick chat about his inspirations and plans for the afterparty.
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ERNESTO MACIAS: What’s running through your system right now besides joy?
CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS: Exhilaration, I just feel good.
MACIAS: A lot has changed since you and I last talked before the pandemic. You had a CFDA win, a Target collection, and the Met Gala with Sarah Jessica Parker. How do you feel after experiencing all that and doing a runway show in person?
ROGERS: Going into this function, I wasn’t really thinking about what other people thought or all of the weight that these moments potentially place on the collection. I really just wanted to focus on the things that made me and my team happy, and the things that my customer is expecting from me. I also wanted to push myself to do things that I’d never done before.
MACIAS: There were a couple of bustles and Gilded Age–type silhouettes. Was there a through line in your mind when you were designing this?
ROGERS: The building blocks of a wardrobe: the shirt, the jacket, or the cutting of the trousers. It’s more about cutting clothes than a theme. The things that were sort of bustled felt a bit more trash bag to me than Gilded Age. I wanted to have things that felt familiar but make them a little bit foreign.
MACIAS: This is your 10th collection. What was the inspiration behind it?
ROGERS: I wanted a palette cleanser and to really show the intention I have for the brand.
MACIAS: Your brand has an amazing digital community on Twitter. You are very active online as well. What role does the digital world play in the CJR fantasy?
ROGERS: I think connection and expansion. Showing people that so many things can be true, the idea of multiplicity.
MACIAS: Who is this collection dedicated to?
ROGERS: Myself!
MACIAS: Who do you want to make proud?
ROGERS: Myself!
MACIAS: Who do you want to prove wrong?
ROGERS: Myself!
MACIAS: Describe tonight’s beauty look in three words.
ROGERS: That fucking girl.
MACIAS: There are so many eyes on you at this moment in your career. How are you dealing with that?
ROGERS: I’m just trying to push it to the side.
MACIAS: What would you say to your 10-year-old self?
ROGERS: Just do you.
MACIAS: You’re part of a new legion of American designers, what does the future look like for CJR?
ROGERS: I’m trying to live in the moment.
MACIAS: You teased the after party on your Instagram, what’s the 4-1-1 on that?
ROGERS Dancing! Celebration!
Kid Cudi backstage.
Gigi Goode.
CJR fan backstage, 010 Collection Hairstylist Naeemah Lafond’s daughter.
