Christopher John Rogers is Painting the Town in Farrow & Ball
Fashion designer Christopher John Rogers' new capsule collection with Farrow & Ball wants you to invite color into your home.
Christopher John Rogers is bringing his penchant for color from the runway to your walls with Farrow & Ball's new capsule collection, Carte Blanche. Consisting of 12 paint shades—four neutrals and eight colors—and three wallpaper prints, the collection combines a love of expression with a respect for the room.
Rogers, working in tandem with Farrow & Ball's Creative Director Charlotte Cosby, created a color palette that offers a range of comforting shades, spanning almost the full ROYGBIV spectrum. To celebrate this festive series, Farrow & Ball hosted an intimate soirée during New York Fashion Week to kick off the collection's launch.
Ahead of the launch, Rogers and Cosby spoke with L'OFFICIEL about their aims for the collection, as well as their own relationship with the world of color.
L'O: How did this collaboration come about?
Charlotte Cosby: Well, I decided we were going to do it. And then we did it. We called Chris really hoping that he would be interested. Luckily, he was, and from there it was just super easy.
Christopher John Rogers: Yeah, we met over Zoom one day and—
CC: —Bizarrely, we were like two blocks away from each other on Zoom.
CJR: I immediately got the best energy through the Zoom screen. It just felt like it was the right thing to do. I'm such a fan of color, and I've actually always wanted to do a paint collaboration, so it felt like kismet in a way.
L'O: What was it about paint that made it something you’ve always wanted to do?
CJR: I just love color in general, and I feel like it's one of the easiest ways to utilize it in the most impactful way.
CC: The thing with paint is the flexibility of it because you can literally put it on anything. There's so much possibility with it. I find it fascinating and it’s sort of kept me interested for so long. But I think that if you're interested in color, that is something that can just be used in so many ways.
CJR: It doesn't have to just be a wall, you know?
L'O: The particular colors of this collection are very representative of you, Christopher, and your work. What was the inspiration behind this curated palette?
CJR: Initially, I knew that I wanted to have every, almost every color, if not every color of the spectrum present in the collection in some way. I wanted it to be able to be lined up in this sort of rainbow signature way, and that was the initial starting point. And so we started by [me sending] over a few fabric swatches.
CC: When he says it's a few, he means like 40.
CJR: Yeah, like a lot. Then we narrowed it down over time to these 12 colors. And then Charlie also helped with developing the neutrals to help round out the palette, as well, so it really was a true collaboration.
CC: Yeah, it was so fun to work on. And I think when we had a number of colors that we were struggling to make because they were so bright, so we had to go backward and forwards. The thing that I really enjoyed about working with Chris is he's really good with compromise. Where there’s something that we're like, “This color is amazing,” but from an interiors perspective, it probably won't get used that much. So we were like, Okay, well, how do we adjust it? It was just really easy and fun.
L'O: I'm curious what that interior perspective is. What would make a color, while beautiful, not necessarily great for this particular project?
CC: From a wall perspective, particularly when you think about some of Christopher's color choices he makes for clothes, neons are actually quite difficult to live with because the things you really want to have surrounding you are for day upon day upon day, the things that feel familiar. I think the best way to describe it is like a pair of jeans that you've worn in. They need to feel like you've worn them in a bit rather than be so sharp. So we add a tiny amount of black to all of our colors, which just knocks them back that slight amount, which is what we've done here. So they're not necessarily as vivid as you could get away with in fashion. I think that's just how we temper it so it makes it more livable.
L'O: Christopher, what were some of the similarities and differences in coming up with your color choices for this versus for a runway collection?
CJR: With the clothes, there's a lot more space to play with color in a more declarative way, or in a less committal way. Because, you know, obviously, you can change your outfit every day, or you could even do it every other hour if you really wanted to, and really let your mood dictate how you're dressing. And with interiors and spaces, it's much more committal. You're living with this color or this paper or this decision for years or months. So, I think this collection is really about finding a middle ground between things that feel familiar, livable, and comfortable, but also really bold and not sacrificing personality.
L'O: One thing I kept thinking about when I was looking at the palette was, as you were saying, they feel like colors you want to live with long-term and very “quiet luxury.”
CC: That's the dream, that everyone thinks that.
CC: But that's exactly what we're trying to create. If you buy a bag or something, it's finished. It's a finished item and you take it home. With paint or paper, there is still another stage before you have finished it. And the stage where someone decides what to do with it is what I'm fascinated by. Because just like with Christopher’s clothes, when you see everyone wearing them, you’re like, “Oh my God, look at how they put that together.” And I'm sure there are times where [Looks to Rogers.] you're surprised like, “Oh my God, I wouldn't have done that, but how amazing does it look.” And I think with these colors, I'm just so fascinated by what people do. We've tried to make it so that if you want to make something super chic and pared back and neutral, you can do that, even though at first glance, you wouldn't think that because you generally will be drawn to the rainbows. But then equally, you can do a complete color drench in the shallot pink, or it might be that you do something half and half, where you go a little bit of neutral and a little bit of color. But the aim is that you can literally do whatever you want. Take it as extreme or not extreme as you'd like to.
L'O: I think, in both fashion and interiors, there's a lot of freedom. And there's freedom in color.
CJR: Yes, and from a fashion perspective, with the work, sometimes people think that it needs to be head to toe, or it has to be everything at once. I think what I'm excited about with the clothing, but also with this collection, is that you can break it down. You're the author of the story. I'm not necessarily in the business of prescribing people how to do something, it's more about giving them the tools.
L'O: What makes finding the right color so important to tying a room together?
CC: It depends on what you want that space to be. If you have a really hectic job and your home is where you rest and relax and you come in and you've got some hectic, crazy wallpaper everywhere, you're not going to get what you need from that space. It's super important that you pick the right color or pattern for your space and for what you want it to be. Within your home, you have spaces for different things. When you're working, you might want to have something like white. White is a great color for work, particularly for creatives because it's a blank canvas, and that's what really helps you not be distracted while you're trying to think of things. But then equally, if you're in your bedroom, you might want something really calming. It's really difficult for people to articulate sometimes what they want from the space, but that is the key to getting it right and being able to tie it all together.
CJR: I was going to say the same thing. Also how [Charlotte was] mentioning bags, that can be the punctuation to an outfit. Thinking about painting a trim a bright color—or a door. Giving yourself moments of excitement without feeling like you have to commit to the entire space.
