Christopher Bates counts winning the 2019 Canadian Arts and Fashion award for Menswear Designer of the Year among his proudest moments.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARA COUTTS
What do Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle, Formula 1 driver George Russell, and NBA star DeMarre Carroll have in common? Christopher Bates has dressed them all. Now it’s your turn to view the designer’s luxury threads during his Fashion Week El Paseo debut — and you can even join the ranks of Cheadle and the gang with a personal fitting at Bates’ pop-up store.
“It may sound simple, but there is a plethora of ugly, ill-fitting ‘fashion’ on the market now, so a clean approach to design feels quite refreshing,” says Bates, who will present his collection on March 23 at Fashion Week El Paseo followed by a pop-up store on March 24.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, the designer studied fashion in Milan. In 2014, he opened a studio there where his collections are crafted to strict Italian standards. “I’m inspired by contemporary Italian tailoring, Scandinavian minimalism, architecture, anatomy, and geometry,” he shares. “I like to employ clean lines, interesting shapes, micro-textures, and proportions designed to flatter and enhance the natural human shape.”
Bates will send two collections down the 100-foot runway. Anchored by core tones of white, sky blue, and navy, his spring/summer 2022 men’s and women’s collection was inspired by seaside vacations on the Mediterranean coast.
Meanwhile, his Top Gun capsule collection, licensed by Paramount Pictures, is a nostalgic (unisex!) throwback to one of his favorite flicks of all time. Both collections exemplify Bates’ contemporary “athluxury” style.
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