Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I think Seattle has a great sort of luxury and comfort sensibility, which I oftentimes think is lost in fashion for fashion's sake.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I often feel like Facebook is a giant friend portfolio, and sometimes it can be a much more socially appropriate way of contacting a person as compared with texting or telephone. And never mind the fact that it's integrated into the iPhone. Makes me crazy in a super good way.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

The best part of fashion is the interns - having them or being one.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I love how New York as an idea is less a paradigm of manifest destiny and more a romance for the social orphans of the world. We live here to be among the towers and the crowds.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

Life in New York is one of succumbing to a tidal wave of control and direction, of numbing oneself to emotion.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I have a fleet of Rimowa Topas aluminum suitcases! They're all covered in stickers from around the world.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I always knew I wanted to start my own line. Nights and weekends, I would work on my business plan.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I used to sit in bed at night and flip through design-school catalogs. I found out that Parsons accepted a small number of high school juniors, so I applied my sophomore year and got in.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

Growing up in Seattle, I was always that kid who didn't subscribe to what everyone else was wearing.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

Designers and musicians are primed to keep thinking forward. Once an album or collection launches, you can only think about doing the next one.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I feel like girls should dress down a little bit on the holidays, even though the instinct is to get really dressed up.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

There is a lack of humor in fashion. To me, it's always been the fun, cool industry to work in, and I always wanted people to be on my side and see how much fun we really have behind the scenes.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I feel like everyone should dye their hair a weird color. If you hate it, you can just dye it back.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I have no problem with being underdressed.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

While at Parsons, I interned at Marc Jacobs, which was great. When I graduated, I went to work at J. Crew; that was also really great.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

As a designer looking to the future, you don't want to get lost in the archives.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I'd call my work 'instinctual design.' I like to find the spirit of a piece that defies time, age, and occasion. My clothes give the wearer the chance to develop their own voice within a wardrobe, and I think of them as curators of their personal style.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I'm always inspired by all of my friends. I aspire to make clothes that my friends would want to wear, that they would gravitate towards anyway.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I love the challenge of taking colors that are totally disparate and making them work together in an interesting way.

Chris Benz
Chris Benz

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it's all about being comfortable. I try to bring that undercurrent to what I do. It's great to have beautiful, dressed-up clothes that still feel casual.