“I’m not sure which is more crazy?” contemplated Christian Cowan, a voluminous green puffer jacket/dress combo in one hand, and a cascading silver gown with a train of over-sized sequins in the other.

For the 2018 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, minimal is not part of the vocabulary.

This is increasingly apparent after taking a tour of the designer’s studio, a fourth floor walkup in in Kips Bay, where the designer also resides.

On display: A classic baseball cap with a triple-layered brim, a short lilac dress with a streak of feathers across the bodice, and a black leather cutout heel with a golden watch band as a strap from his collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti (Cowan cold-reached out to the shoe legend after being connected through friend and stylist Patti Wilson).

The Cambridge-born designer definitely has a flair for the dramatic. You may have noticed his designs on supermodel Alek Wek for her PAPER Magazine cover, or on the album cover of  Cardi B’s infamous Invasion of Privacy. His vibrant designs have the ability to command attention, and although he only made his NYFW debut last year, he quickly managed to put himself on the map as one of the most exciting emerging talents in New York.

“I’m inspired by people around me and their celebrations in life,” Cowan said, as he guided me through his studio.

Although the green-haired designer is only 24-years old, he’s certainly no newcomer. He was still a teenager when Lady Gaga modeled one of his earliest designs, and it wasn’t long after that Miley Cyrus and Rihanna came knocking at his door. While still at London College of Fashion, Cowan worked away at creating custom looks for global superstars.

“I used to get kicked out of the workrooms for working on celebrity commissions that weren’t school projects,” he recalled. “One time, I got in trouble because all of my final submission pieces were sent to Lady Gaga. They weren’t living for the excuse”.

Now, he’s ready to take his career to the next level. For the Cambridge, England-born designer, the Fashion Fund is an essential step to achieving his goals.

“You see so many talented people have gone into this program, and it’s helped them realize their dreams and full potential,” he said. “When moving to the States, it was always something number one on my list – I have to get in to this.” To date, one of the key lessons of being part of the fund has been about creative vision.
When Anna [Wintour] came here, she told me to always stick to it and never overly commercialize,” he said. “That was so refreshing for me because I’ve always done crazy things. To have someone tell me that’s okay – especially Anna – mean so much and it’s really resonated with me.”

As for his future, he is looking beyond the red carpet.

“I don’t want to design just for woman on stage or in magazines,” he explained. “Now, it’s about making my clothes accessible to all of the women across the world that I admire. I want them to be a part of Christian Cowan.”

For our full interview with the 2018 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist, check out our Question Time Series exclusively on our IGTV Channel.