Christopher Shannon is an English fashion designer specialising in
menswear
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion ind ...
.
Early life and education
A
Liverpudlian
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, Shannon graduated from
Central Saint Martins
Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...
with an MA in Menswear, studying under
Louise Wilson
Louise Janet Wilson (23 February 1962 – 16 May 2014) was a British professor of fashion design. Louise Wilson was based at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London, where she was the course director of their MA in Fash ...
.
Career
After working with the designers
Judy Blame
Judy Blame (12 February 1960 – 19 February 2018) was a British fashion stylist, accessories designer and punk iconoclast.
Early life
Judy Blame was born Christopher Barnes in 1960 in Leatherhead, Surrey, and grew up in Spain and Devon. He ran ...
,
Kim Jones,
William Baker, and the fashion label
Helmut Lang Helmut Lang may refer to:
* Helmut Lang (artist) (born 1956), Austrian-born fashion designer and artist
* Helmut Lang (athlete) (born 1940), Austrian Olympic sprinter
* Helmut Lang (fashion brand)
The Helmut Lang fashion brand was created by A ...
, he launched his business at the end of the first decade of the 2000s with sponsorship from NEWGEN MEN, a programme launched by the
British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...
and
Topman
Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...
for supporting up-and-coming British menswear designers.
[ When Shannon presented his Spring/Summer 2011 collection at Men's Day at ]London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...
in September 2010, the fashion journalist Charlie Porter
Charlie Porter (June 12, 1950 in Massachusetts – February 23, 2014 in Punta Arenas) was an American mountaineer and climate change scientist. He is best known for his bold first ascents in Yosemite (particularly on El Capitan), Canada and ...
named him as one of the two key designers of the day for his contemporary, colour-blocked streetwear
Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...
-influenced pieces. His work combines elements of masculine sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical sport-specific garments ...
with unexpected details such as traditionally feminine frills, folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
influences, or patchwork
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...
and embroidery.
Along with Nasir Mazhar
Nasir Mazhar is a British fashion designer. He is best recognised for his inventive approaches to sports caps and headwear. Lady Gaga has worn a few of Nasir Mazhar's hats.
Biography
Mazhar was born in East London and brought up in Leytonstone, L ...
and Michael van der Ham, Shannon was asked by Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
to design costumes for dancers in the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the pr ...
.
In additional to his mainline collection Shannon has consulted for and collaborated with many brands including Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
, Colette (boutique)
Colette was a French high fashion, streetwear, and accessory retailer. The three floor concept store was located in Paris and contained an exhibition space, bookshop, and a "water bar" serving more than 100 brands of bottled water. It closed ...
, Opening Ceremony (brand)
Opening Ceremony is a fashion brand founded in 2002 by fashion designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The brand designs and creates its own products and also retails other emerging fashion labels. Opening Ceremony is known for exotic runway sh ...
, Eastpak
Eastpak is an American worldwide lifestyle brand founded in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and distribution of a range of products including bags, backpacks, travel gear and a ...
, Cambridge Satchel Company
The Cambridge Satchel Company is a British company that produces satchels and other leather goods.
The company was founded in 2008, in Cambridge, England, by Julie Deane and her mother Freda Thomas as a way to pay private school fees for Deane's ...
, Kickers
Kickers is a youth brand created in 1970 in France that produces a wide range of footwear and clothing. Kickers was bought in 2007 by the Royer group.
Kickers are primarily popular amongst British school children, with Kickers 'Lo' style shoe ...
, Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. (stock symbol CAT) is an American ''Fortune'' 500 corporation and the world's largest construction-equipment manufacturer.
In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 65 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list and number 238 on the Global ''Fo ...
, Zippo
A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter produced by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the nine decades since their introduction, including milita ...
, River Island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...
, Topman
Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...
and in 2017 launched his first fragrance with Mark Buxton and Verduu. He has also contributed in a styling capacity to magazines such as Arena Homme Plus, i-D and Man About Town.
Recognition
Shannon was the recipient of the inaugural BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, supported by Vertu, in June 2014. He has been nominated for the Emerging Menswear Award at the British Fashion Awards
The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...
and the LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
Young Fashion Designer Prize, and been involved in the innovative MAN, NEWGEN and Fashion Forward sponsorship schemes.
Celebrities who have worn his designs include Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
, Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
, Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
, Rae Sremmurd
Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Drummers Ear" spelled backwards) is an American hip hop duo originating from Tupelo, Mississippi, formed by two brothers, Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee. In 2013, they signed a record deal with Mike Will Made It's EarDrummers impri ...
J Hus
Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 27 May 1995), known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre afroswing. He is currently signed to Black Butter Records. He gained popularity in 2015 follo ...
, Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
, Stormzy
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...
, Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, ASAP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...
, Olly Alexander
Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is a British singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of Years & Years and for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series, ''It's a Sin''.
Early life
Alexander w ...
, Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...
, Iggy Azalea
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...
, Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...
, and Mabel.
References
External links
*
*
English fashion designers
Living people
Alumni of Central Saint Martins
Artists from Liverpool
Menswear designers
1978 births
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