Fashion Week Perfect Pair: Chris Benz & Alejandro Ingelmo

By Nandini D'Souza
February 15, 2011

Alejandro Ingelmo, Chris Benz

Alejandro Ingelmo; Chris Benz

It’s the age-old tale of opposites attract. One top fashion designer is known for his all-American, colorful, optimistic clothing. The other designer for his sleek, sophisticated, uber-sexy footwear. Together, it makes for a fashion mélange that has fashion magazine editors and fans of both top designers giddy with shopping anticipation. The first Alejandro Ingelmo for Chris Benz shoe collection hits stores any day now and proves that two points of view can be better than one.

Both fashion designers launched their businesses around five years ago. Chris Benz quickly charmed crowds with his feminine, brightly-hued clothes anchored in American classics. Alejandro Ingelmo turned heads for his signature hyper-femme shoes with slim heels. As different as their fashion trend visions are, they shared a similar inspiration—family. For clothing designer Chris Benz, it was rummaging through his grandmother’s attic for 1950's treasures. For shoe designer Alejandro Ingelmo, it was staying true to his family’s traditions—his great grandfather was a cobbler in Spain before the family moved to Cuba at the turn of the century and opened a men’s shoe factory that turned out handcrafted styles in the family tradition.

They are each others’ complement. Alejandro Ingelmo, who has also created shoes for the Kimberly Ovitz and Cushnie et Ochs shows, had his coming out with Chris Benz for Spring 2011. His sky-high, swooping mule shoes and stilettos in florals and colorful wovens toughened ups Benz’s wistful romantics, while Chris Benz added a softness to Alejandro Ingelmo’s ultra confident dames. Yesterday afternoon, their second go-round, top fashion designer Alejandro Ingelmo did mule shoes again—this time in more subdued heights and colors, adding skinny straps and a smokey tie dye print for interest. The Alejandro Ingelmo shoes were the perfect platform—literally— for a Fall 2011 fashion collection by Chris Benz that infused Southern gentility with a quirky wink.

For a shoe-lover, it’s the best of both worlds. The Inside Source caught up with top fashion designers Chris Benz and Alejandro Ingelmo on the eve of yesterday's show to talk about the shoe trends of the season and collaborating.

The Inside Source: How and when did you meet? And what drew you to each other’s fashion designs?

Alejandro Ingelmo: The two of us met the first time at a movie premiere and became friends. We later ran into each other at the CFDA new members event and discussed a possible collaboration. In the end, Spring 2011 was our first collaboration.

Chris Benz: Alejandro and I met have been great fashion friends. It’s such a nice notion to have familiarity with other people in your industry that are at like stages of business as you are. Alejandro’s aesthetic is much more severe than mine traditionally has been, which leans toward more colorful Americana. The marriage of our two styles really creates an electricity in our collaboration.

The Inside Source: What's the inspiration behind the Fall 2011 designer collection?

Chris Benz: The fall 2011 collection is inspired by Savannah, GA, and its haunting, provincial style. I have been spending a lot of time in the south recently as a mentor at Savannah College of Art & Design, and I have become enamored with its peculiar, romantic style which blends Antebellum decorum with spunky art-school creativity.

Chris Benz Presentation Fall 2011 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (Photo by Thomas Concordia/WireImage)

The Inside Source: Alejandro, what was it like channeling the style vision of another top fashion designer?

Alejandro Ingelmo: I was excited to work with Chris because his aesthetic is quite different from mine. It really challenged me creatively to find the middle ground in our designs in order to have a true collaboration. It was a fun, creative challenge to have his vision meet my aesthethic. The two mesh greatly and this point of difference complements my shoes and his collection.

The Inside Source: What's the process of translating what Chris Benz is doing with ready-to-wear to Alejandro Ingelmo's shoe designs?

Chris Benz: It’s always very organic, and the inspiration boards are always the starting point. Alejandro and I spend a lot of time reviewing textures, prints, fabrication and details so that the shoes really feel like an incorporated, thoughtful extension of the collection.

Alejandro Ingelmo: A lot of back and forth from his studio to mine to get ideas and inspiration from one another. He showed me his mood board and fabrics. I took it from there. It was an easy pairing.

The Inside Source: Tell us about the fashion trends that are in stores now, for your Spring 2011 collection.

Chris Benz: The Spring 2011 shoes were the jumping-off point for all the Alejandro Ingelmo for Chris Benz shoe collection. We introduced a last [a shoe mold] for which we spent a lot of development time, one that was very high but comfortable, that spoke to both of our aesthetics but really stood on its own. It was very important for us to launch with a very specific silhouette that we could carry forward as classic, identifiable shoes.

spring collection

spring 2011 collection (all images provided by Chris Benz)

The Inside Source: What are some of your favorite styles from your spring 2011 collaboration?

Alejandro Ingelmo: The floral mule, for sure. It was so different from anything I have ever done in my own collection.

The Inside Source: Shoes and accessories are such big business. Chris, will you be expanding in all categories?

Chris Benz: Of course with every season I love to experiment with different categories. The ready-to-wear collection is definitely where the most of my attention lines, but everyday we brainstorm about future extensions of the Chris Benz Collection. 2011 is shaping up to be a very important year for us, and as we move into our fifth year of business, really a milestone in our development. We have very special alliances not only with Alejandro Ingelmo, but with Patricia Underwood for hats, as well as Lancome and Redken for makeup and hair.

The Inside Source: What else can we expect from Chris Benz in 2011?

Chris Benz: A huge part of where I feel fashion is at right now rests in the relationships we have with our customers, both retailers and literally the customer in the dressing room. For 2011 we are planning even more face-time with our customers around the world. We are constantly refining the collection and our message to build on the foundations we’ve created with classic, colorful American sportswear.

The Inside Source: Chris, I know you're an avid eBay searcher. Do you find inspiration there?

Chris Benz: I worship at the alter of eBay! It is such a wonderful of inspiration not only for vintage fashion, but also for interior design (loads of stuff in my apartment and at the studio have been found on the site).

The Inside Source: What you searching for on eBay online auctions now?

Chris Benz: Now that you can have more than 200 items on your watch list, my eBay world has expanded exponentially. Right now I’m searching for Sascha Brastoff 1950s ceramics (one of my many ongoing collections), Curtis Jere sculptures, antique military uniforms, Memento Mori jewelry, and out-of-print design books.

Shop eBay like Alejandro Ingelmo

Mid Century Modern 1950s Butterfly Coffee Table

(buy it now price, $625)
1960's Danish Modern Surfboard Table

(buy it now price, $237)
Late 1800's English Walnut Roll Top Desk

(buy it now price, $3,200)
Victorian Walnut Tambour Roll Top Desk

(starting bid, $4,875)
Arredoluce Mid-Century Modern Italian Table Lamp

(buy it now price, $2,750)
1950s Mid Century Modern Flying Saucer Lamp

(buy it now price, $299)
Sister (Parish) Grand Dame of Interior Design

(buy it now price, $29.99)

Alejandro Ingelmo: I love all things Mid-Century modern. I recently won an 1800's roll-top desk. It’s very similar to one my grandfather used in Cuba. [My other searches]: tables, 1950-1964, Mid-Century modern; lamps , 1950-1964, Mid-Century modern; and rare design books.