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By José Criales-Unzueta

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Christopher John Rogers’s charisma was on full display last night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the designer sat down in conversation with journalist Alina Cho. It’s the latest in a banner 18 months for the designer that kicked off early last year when he dressed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidential inauguration; appeared in the pilot episode of HBO Max’s Gossip Girl; designed a successful—and viral on TikTok—collaboration with Target; created costumes for the New York City Ballet; and won the 2021 CFDA American Womenswear Designer of the Year award. Rogers also features in the Costume Institute’s current exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” “I’m still screaming, both internally and externally,” he told Cho about how he feels being included in the show.

In his first-ever live interview, Rogers showed the significance of being able to witness a designer describe his work and path in his own words, enthralling the audience with his nuanced and astute choice of words and provoking laughter with his quick wit and everyday slang. (At one point, Cho jokingly mentioned how much she was learning about the younger generation and said she’d have to adopt the word iconic into her vernacular.)

Rogers also spoke candidly about what Cho described as his “meteoric rise” in the industry, his signature aesthetic—which he describes as pragmatic glamour—and his hopes for what is next for his eponymous label.

Here, some highlights from his conversation with Cho.