What Slump? Issue #40

SOPHOMORE's Chrissy Miller brings back summer

By Stephanie Niedospial
Published: June 1st, 2009 | 12:00pm

Making out in cars, hanging on the beach, wearing in that perfect t-shirt. SOPHOMORE is bringing back the lazy summers of your youth with a breezy line of basics for both men and women. We catch up with Chrissie Miller, SOPHOMORE’s founder and co-designer.

VZ: What inspired you to start Sophomore?

CM: At school, I studied graphic design. A friend of mine and I came up with the idea to make a few graphic t-shirts. Fortunately, another friend of mine, Charlotte Ronson, was opening up a store and decided to put our t-shirts in it. Then buyers started requesting the line and SOPHOMORE was born, expanding from graphic tees into a full line of sportswear.

VZ: When and why did you decide to bring in your partner? How do you work together?

CM: Madeleine [von Froomer] had been designing for Proenza Schouler and was a friend of a friend … she does stuff with jersey that I’ve never seen before. She’s fancier than me. SOPHOMORE is a combination of us both, and it takes on its own life. It’s like a child — it grows, and it has its own identity.

VZ: Your line seems to have a similarity to American Apparel, what makes Sophomore unique?

CM: When you see someone walking down the street you can point out when they’re wearing American Apparel. I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to make pieces that blend more and are easier to mix. Right now, people are wearing a lot of higher end pieces with t-shirts, so if you’re going to do that, the t-shirt needs to be good.

For more information on SOPHOMORE, visit sophomorenyc.com.