Christopher De La Cruz is a gender fluid designer from New York City currently studying knitwear at Central Saint Martins in London. Starting at the young age of 17, Christopher gained his styling skills by working for Vogue. He recently just finished his collaboration with Perfect magazine and Tommy Hilfiger.
What is your design approach? How do you normally get inspiration?
My inspiration usually first comes from myself. Then, I like to relate that to secondary research. For example, I did a project inspired by a poem: a love letter from Beethoven to his “Immortal Beloved”. “Ever thine, Ever mine, Ever ours”. But that all came to me from growing up watching Sex and the City. I do have a romance approach but usually my approaches are quite primary and the process of designing is quite fluid and joyful. Even though sometimes the topic can be a bit gruesome or even quite political, I always like to turn my design into a brighter one.
Can you tell me a little about your definition of gender fluidity?
Gender fluidity is essentially non-binary. Clothes shouldn’t have gender. Even though male and female bodies are built differently and require different technical aspects of garment construction, clothes are clothes. As a kid, I always was quite feminine. I identify with “he” but people use “she” all the time and that’s perfectly fine. I remember myself going to the women’s section, looking at a shirt and being like, “Why can’t I have this shirt? Why isn’t this shirt in the men’s section?” Even if there was a version of this shirt in the men’s section, it’s usually a lot more expensive. Why would I spend double the money in the men’s section to get the exact same shirt? This situation clicked with me: growing up in the most liberal city in the world but still having to decide whether I need to shop in the men’s or women’s section. Why is that a thing?
You worked at Vogue at such a young age. Can you tell me how it all started?
My first ever job was as an intern at an art gallery. During my time as an intern there, something happened and they needed extra hands. Being an intern when you’re just 16 usually involves just cleaning up trash and doing trivial tasks. But I was determined that I could solve problems and proved it through hard work. The art gallery ended up hiring me as a PR manager and marketing assistant. That whole experience gave me courage to do PR assisting work for New York Fashion Week, which involves going backstage and having multiple jobs at the same time in order to get some special opportunities. That’s exactly what happened to me.
One day when I was working in a showroom, Vogue stylist Bernat Buscato needed help for the following day because his assistant dropped out at the last minute. He then thought, “Why not Chris? He’s the best we have and he’s only 17.” That’s how it happened. It all turned out well and the next thing you know, he sent me a message saying I did the job perfectly and wanted me to be his new assistant. That led to me working for Numero Arabia, attending the Saint Laurent show and meeting fashion influencers. I met André Leon Talley, who convinced me to go to Central Saint Martins rather than stay in New York. Overall it has been an amazing experience and I still work for him now.
Do you think your styling skills help you with your design process?
Yes, for sure. My tutor once told me, “The world is realizing that when you’re creating a look, you’re creating a narrative.” That’s exactly what styling is. You’re trying to embody an image from a moment in time and capture it in a frame. Clothes have stories. While designing clothes, you’re also trying to capture the moment and express it to customers. For example, when you design a sweater, you think about the customers and when they will wear it. They probably buy the sweater on days when they feel insecure or down or simply just want something to snuggle up with. Or maybe they buy a blazer for them to feel amazing during a job interview. Designing with that in mind makes me go further in my career.
Do you think genderless fashion is still in the beginning phase?
It’s definitely in the beginning phase, because unlike other people’s point of view, I don’t think genderless fashion is only a trend. I think it’s a movement that other designers need to think about. It’s also something that we can start in education. Although I still support our education system distinguishing menswear and womenswear with different focus areas (usually menswear focus more on tailoring, while womenswear focus more on the silhouette), maybe we could change the name of menswear and womenswear design and be more vocal about what that means.
On the topic of general fashion, there are designers who are starting to be more inclusive with their menswear and diversify with more than just a bunch of black suits. Because of that, more people have an interest in men’s fashion, with more people wanting it. Now I even see girls coming to the men’s section. Back in the day I remember my gay community would go toward a women’s section. However, it’s changing and should just be one section.
How do you think we can accelerate genderless fashion?
Fashion brands in Paris can start making the change by hiring more gender neutral designers into their womenswear and menswear categories. This will have a major influence on production. And at the end of the day, whatever happens in Paris influences fast-fashion. For example, if there is a purse from Louis Vuitton showcased on their runway, fast- fashion brands will make very similar purses the next day.
The younger generation already don’t care what gender is. I see little boys running around in dresses and nails and genderless Tik Tok dancers. It’s amazing how each generation changes and I feel that we are already on the right track. We just need to take these movements to the industry. In my opinion there’s only one major gender fluid designer in the industry now who the world has accepted as a gender fluid designer. We can’t just have one. We need more designers to form a movement.
Tell me “Something New”.
Well, let’s just say there are a lot more collaborations coming ahead.
What are your ideas around collaboration?
Collaboration not only opens more doors but also teaches you. I did a collaboration with Nike and the Chelsea Football Club. I don’t play football but during the collaboration I had to make myself understand it. It was a learning experience and that’s what collaboration should be. It should make you grow and the work should benefit both parties. So I’m perfectly down for collaborations. For instance, I love my recent collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger in Perfect magazine.