Christopher Bevans
Born (1972-12-22) December 22, 1972
Brooklyn, New York City
NationalityAmerican
EducationFashion Institute of Technology
Occupation(s)Fashion designer, creative director
LabelDYNE
Websitedyne.life

Christopher Bevans (born 22 December 1972) is an American fashion designer and creative director. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City and went on to work in the fashion industry like his grandmother. Bevans has won awards from organizations such as Woolmark.

Early life and education

Christopher Bevans was born in Brooklyn, New York City to parents of Jamaican and Belizean descent. He grew up in Rochester, New York. His grandmother was a dressmaker in the 1960s and 70s. Bevans grew up around her business and industry, which caused him to become interested.[1] While doing art, he would ask his grandmother for both assistance and materials.[1] He and his family moved out of the city for a period of time while his father got a job with Kodak.[1] Bevans started as an apprentice to a tailor as a teenager and became the shop's owner at 19. Bevans was the sole owner of a shoe repair shop, which did not do well, with Bevans owing this to his inexperience in running a small business.[2]

Bevans returned to New York City for his education, majoring in textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and working as a freelance tailor in fashion and advertising, including Ang Lee's work for BMW Films and as a dresser at Bryant Park.[3][1]

Career

After college, Bevans developed his skills as a designer for Sean John, where he worked on the CFDA award-winning 2004 collection, and as a senior designer for Rocawear.[4]

Additionally, Bevans created his own line of custom menswear for celebrities, including Prince,[5] Jay Z and John Legend.[6][7]

Bevans moved to Portland, Oregon in 2006 to join Nike as global design director of urban apparel.[7] At Nike, he led the design of the Air Force 1 25th Anniversary campaign, the Blue Ribbon Sports collection, Roger Federer's "RF" logo.[8]

In 2012, Bevans became creative director of Billionaire Boys Club, the clothing line established by Pharrell Williams and Nigo.[9]

In 2013, Bevans was chosen by MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito to be part of the inaugural Director's Fellows program,[10][11] defined by Ito as "extraordinary individuals from a broad range of sectors and geographies to join us in doing collaborative research and to expand our growing global community."[12]

Bevans joined speakers at the Media Lab's first Platform Summit, to address an audience of business and thought leaders in science, technology, finance, politics, education, media, design and the arts.[13] He regularly lectures on mentorship and design, most notably for Cooper Hewitt and Art Dubai's Global Art Forum.[14]

Since 2014, Bevans is working with Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch and Relativity Media to develop the Beast Mode brand, clothing and accessories line.[15][16]

In 2015, Bevans introduced DYNE, his debut line of tailored, technologically advanced sportswear, at Men's Fashion Week in New York City.[17][18] DYNE has been in the work for years, and Bevans cites his love for technology, fabrics, sports, electronics, and tailoring.[1] Bevans partnered with Google Cloud and Bemis Associates to debut their SS19 RTW collection during the New York Fashion Week Men's.[19] DYNE-brand clothing features NFC chips embedded in them to provide information about the clothing and access playlists.[20]

Bevans was the creative director for Milan Fashion Week: Men's in 2019, for which he was praised as a good choice by Fashion United.[21] He also collaborated with sustainable fashion brand "Save the Duck" in 2018.[22]

Bevans created an installation for his fall collection at his alma mater at FIT, being inspired to do so by having gotten his degree from the institute.[23] In April 2019, Bevans participated as a judge in the Fashion Institute of Technology's Future of Fashion show.[24] Bevans has also been a judge at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, an awards show relating to sustainability.[25]

Other clients Bevans has worked with include P. Diddy, Kanye West, Pharrell, A$AP Rocky, Adidas, and Under Armour.[26]

Awards and accolades

In 2017, Bevans won International Woolmark Prize regional final.[27] He was also awarded Woolwork's Innovation Award for his 1980s-inspired snowboard outfit created under DYNE in January 2018.[26] He was given AUS$100,000 as part of this award.[28] One Woolmark Prize judge, Livia Firth, praised as an example of "young designers" who are "changing the conversation."[29] Bevans was named an honoree of the BE (Black Enterprise) Modern Man program.[2] To commemorate Black History Month, Willamette Week listed Bevans among others as examples of black people who have made strides in the Portland fashion industry.[30] He was featured in an article in and on the cover of Women's Wear Daily.[31]

The Council of Fashion Designers of America admitted Bevans to its 493-large organization, which only adds new members once per year.[32] The Root writer Maiysha praised the induction of Bevans as well as Venus Williams as a sign of progress for the organization on admittance of black people.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Higgins, Keenan (September 25, 2018). "Source Exclusive: Christopher Bevans Takes Us "Behind the Seams" of DYNE and His Come-Up In the Fashion World". The Source. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Townsend, Tyrus (May 16, 2018). "BE Modern Man: Meet 'The Designer' Christopher Bevans". Black Enterprise. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  3. ↑ Schoenberger, Chana R. (7 June 2004). "Designing Returns -". Forbes. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Thank You Yeezus! Kanye West Debuts Second Collection of Kanye x A.P.C. (PHOTOS)". Global Grind. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Portland fashion designer's career touched by Prince". KPTV. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Jocheved, Bruria (Nov 2008). "The Swagger of Christopher Bevans". Capital City Courier: 5, 13.
  7. 1 2 McInerny, Vivian (2008-09-17). "Top 20 Most Stylish". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Retrokid (2005). "Breakdown: Blur Ribbon Sports". Sole Collector (10): 20–22.
  9. ↑ Vitale, Colin (12 September 2012). "My Summer Internship With Jay-Z And Pharrell". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Christopher Bevans". MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Morisy, Michael. "J. J. Abrams named MIT Media Lab Fellow". Boston.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Rowan, David (2012-11-15). "Open university: Joi Ito plans a radical reinvention of MIT's Media Lab". Wired UK. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "New Work Platform".
  14. ↑ "GLOBAL ART FORUM 9: CONTRIBUTORS". Art Dubai.
  15. ↑ Baker, Mike (30 January 2015). "Marshawn Lynch's mode: He's just about that brand, boss". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  16. ↑ Rovell, Darren (2015-02-24). "Lynch files for trademark to media-day quote". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  17. ↑ Hughes, Aria (11 July 2017). "Dyne Men's Spring 2018". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Brand-new lifestyle: luxury fashion brands are embracing the athleisure concept". South China Morning Post. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Rashed, Ayana (April 9, 2019). "DYNE Takes Us On An Adventure With Their SS19 Campaign Video". Respect. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  20. ↑ Steele, Chandra (February 13, 2018). "Technology Is in Every Fiber of Your Clothing". PC Mag. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  21. ↑ Fraser, Kristopher (January 16, 2019). "Spyder makes a comeback during Milan Fashion Week: Men's". Fashion United. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  22. ↑ Howes, Aaron (January 11, 2018). "New Project Brings Together Ex-Nike & Kanye Designer and Sustainable Fashion Brand Save the Duck". High Snobiety. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  23. ↑ Palmieri, Jean E. (February 5, 2019). "Dyne Men's Fall 2019". WWD. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  24. ↑ Darcella, Aria (April 17, 2019). "FIT Reveals Details of its 2019 Future of Fashion Runway Show". Fashion Week Daily. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  25. ↑ Wightman-Stone, Danielle (July 4, 2018). "Green Carpet talent competition names finalists". Fashion United. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  26. 1 2 "Meet Designer Christopher Bevans, Winner of the Woolmark Prize for Innovation". Highsnobiety. January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  27. ↑ Yotka, Steff (19 July 2017). "Dyne and Zaid Affas Win the U.S. Woolmark Prize". Vogue. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  28. ↑ Mower, Sarah (January 10, 2018). "Can Young Designers' Ethics Impact the Establishment? The International Woolmark Prize Winners Are Leading the Way". Vogue. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  29. ↑ Press, Clare (December 22, 2018). "Do you know where your fibres are from?". Vogue. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  30. ↑ Sierra, Brittany (February 1, 2018). "How to Make Portland's Fashion Industry More Diverse". Willamette Week. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Dyne". WWD. Fairchild Fashion Media: 4, 10. 2018.
  32. 1 2 Kai, Maiysha (December 7, 2018). "A Seat at the Table: The CFDA Admits Venus Williams and Christopher Bevans". Retrieved April 30, 2019.
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