It was nearly two years ago that Christopher John Rogers was last on the runway. He had been showing on the resort schedule, in a bid to gain attention and book orders at a time of year when retailers tend to have more budget. But the economic headwinds buffeting fashion hit him hard, as they have other emerging designers. Having opted to rejoin the New York Fashion Week calendar, he landed the headliner spot on day one, and despite the chill in the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Agger Fish Building, there was a buzz in the air at his show: the usual first-day-back sense of reunion and an excitement about having one of American fashion’s most promising young names in the mix again.
Backstage, Rogers betrayed not a hint of nerves. “I’m actually the most relaxed I’ve ever been before a show,” he said. “I’m saying less, maybe, but it’s the right things. It’s just 38 looks, which is the smallest show we’ve done.” One project that kept him busy during his time off the runway was a J.Crew collaboration. Maybe the process of delineating his point of view for the mall brand played a part, or maybe it was the growing up he did—he’s just turned 30. Either way, Rogers has returned with a clearer sense of what he wants to say and the confidence to act on it.
Right from the start, he had a gorgeous sense of color, but his last three collections all began with an all-white look, almost as if he was fighting his own instincts. Not tonight. Fitted to the upper thighs and blossoming below them into a full skirt, the striped dress that opened the show mixed chartreuse, bordeaux, and coral. The unlikeliness of the combination made it all the more striking, and he returned to that formula for other looks as the show progressed. Stripes, as usual, played a starring role—on his collectible knits and silk taffeta party dresses, and, most novel, on trenches stitched with rows of different grosgrain ribbons at their hems.
In the past, Rogers’s exuberance got the better of him from time to time. This show was more disciplined but never boring. Beyond those signature stripes, he experimented with slinky knit dresses; masculine tailoring (cooler than the more feminine suits with shawl lapels and peplums); and casual, oversized shirting and trousers that got appreciative nods from the crew in my section. Along with the fuzzy wool coats in bright shades of lime and salmon, those shirts and pants are a legit way to wear CJR every day. Still, Rogers doesn’t have a reputation for a big event dress for nothing. The biggest of the bunch this season was color-blocked in Japanese cotton and silk taffeta: indigo blue, claret red, and forest green, with touches of white.
“Now that was a fashion show!” a neighboring editor exclaimed. The New York fashion community has always rooted for Rogers, but the cheers were louder than ever this season.
