Chromat is an American fashion label based in New York City. The label was formed by Becca McCharen-Tran in 2010. Drawing from Becca McCharen-Tran's background in architecture and urban design, Chromat focuses on empowering garments for all bodies.Valenti, Lauren. "Why the Anti-Chafing Thigh Bands on the Chromat Runway Are a Body-Positive Win" (September 8, 2017). Vogue. Accessed June 26, 2026.Kahn, Mattie. "Chromat Designer Becca McCharen: Diversity in Fashion Is a Choice" (March 28, 2016). Elle. Accessed June 26, 2026. In early 2025, McCharen-Tran shared that the spring 2025 collection would be Chromat's last collection for the foreseeable future.Cooper, Leah Faye. "Spring 2025 Will Be Chromat’s Last Collection—At Least For Now" (April 17, 2025). Vogue. Accessed June 26, 2026.Martinez, Alexandra. "Plunging Into Bex McCharen’s Trans Queer Atlantic" (February 16, 2016). HyperAllergic. Accessed June 26, 2026.
About
Chromat began in 2010 as an extension of McCharen-Tran's degree in architecture design at University of Virginia School of Architecture. It was originally a collaboration with fellow architecture student Emily Kappes."Couture Construction" (Winter 2009). University of Virginia Magazine. Accessed June 26, 2026; archived February 21, 2014. Chromat's structural language is the foundation of each garment: from the simplest bikini to the most complex 3D printed dress. Chromat swimwear, lingerie, and signature architectural cages are all designed in New York City.
Chromat has designed custom pieces for Beyoncé's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, Super Bowl XLVII halftime show (2013), and performance at the 2014 MTV VMAs.Horowitz, Stephen J. "THE Q&A: How Chromat Brought Wild Style to Beyoncé's World (August 30, 2013). Myspace. Accessed November 10, 2014. Chromat garments have also been worn by Madonna on her 2012 MDNA World Tour,"Chromat: Madonna's bondage bra of choice" (November 7, 2014). Billboard. Accessed June 26, 2026. and in her "Girl Gone Wild" music video; by Nicki Minaj in her 2011 Femme Fatale Tour and Powerhouse 2014 performances;"Nicki Minaj: Cage Bra, Gladiator Boots" (May 29, 2014). Steal Her Style. Accessed June 26, 2026. and by Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora's backup dancers at their 2014 Wireless Festival performance of "Black Widow."Peterson, Jessie. "Chromat Only Had 4 Hours To Make Beyonce's VMA Performance Masks" (August 26, 2014). MTV News. Accessed November 14, 2014. Chromat clothing and accessories appear in music videos including "Seekir" by Zola Jesus; "Wet" by Nicole Scherzinger; "King of Hearts" by Cassie; "Tear The House Up" by Hervé; and "Cool for the Summer" by Demi Lovato.Kilkeary, Alanna Martine. "Demi Lovato's edgiest music video looks" (October 10, 2016). Billboard. Accessed June 26, 2026.
Celebrities who have been styled in Chromat clothing include FKA Twigs,Soo Hoo, Fawina. "Chromat Celebrates Diversity on the Fall 2015 Runway" (February 14, 2015). Fashionista. Accessed June 26, 2026."Chromat". Arcane. Accessed June 26, 2026. Teyana Taylor,Cichowski, Heather. "CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Show Red Carpet Roundup" (October 26, 2017). Red Carpet Fashion Awards. Accessed June 26, 2026. Amandla Stenberg,Krauser, Emily. "Ab-Tastic Behavior: Stars Show Off Their Toned Bods" (January 16, 2020). ET Online. Accessed June 26, 2026. Tyra Banks, Zendaya, Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid,Harris, Greg. "Gigi Hadid Shows Us How to Pull Off the Newest Street-Smart Trend" (October 19, 2017). Vogue. Accessed June 26, 2026. Joseph Culp,"Joseph Culp by Christopher Hench for Fiasco" (September 10, 2011). The Fashionisto. Accessed December 9, 2014. Ellie Goulding, Ronda Rousey,"Tom Tom 'Leans In' to Increase Female Entrepreneurship in Charlottesville, Allows Founders Summit Attendees to Send Complimentary Tickets to Women" (November 9, 2018). Charlottesville Tomorrow. Accessed June 26, 2026. Azealia Banks,Tolentino, Jia. "How Becca McCharen of Chromat Makes Money By Building Sexy Cages" (January 8, 2013). Billfold. Accessed June 26, 2026. Grimes, Hayley Williams,"Hayley Williams: Crown Headband, Silver Top" (November 19, 2013). Steal Her Style. Accessed June 26, 2026. Ariana Grande, Sky Ferreira, Natalia Kills, Charli XCX, Kelly Rowland, Kanye West, and 50 Cent. Chromat has collaborated with Intel,Safronova, Valeriya. "This dress knows when you're nervous" (September 11, 2015). The New York Times. Accessed June 26, 2026. Reebok,Rashed, Ayana. "Chromat Spotlights Reebok’s New 'Energy Return' Sole at New York Fashion Week (September 9, 2019). Respect Magazine. Accessed June 26, 2026; archived September 11, 2019. Misfit,Kapfunde, Muchaneta. "Chromat x Misfit, Committed to Innovation in FashionTech" (January 2016). Fashnerd. Accessed June 26, 2026. and MAC Cosmetics.Jensen, Emily. "M.A.C. teams up with Chromat on new collection" (June 15, 2017). Fashion Network. Accessed June 26, 2026.
Chromat's New York Fashion week collections include: Superstructures (Autumn/Winter 2013), Mathletes (Spring/Summer 2014), Bionic Bodies (Autumn/Winter 2014), Formula 15 (Spring/Summer 2015), Mindfiles (Autumn/Winter 2015), Momentum (Spring/Summer 2016), Lumina (Autumn/Winter 2016), Hyperwave (Spring/Summer 2017), Buoyancy (Autumn/Winter 2017), Serenity (Spring/Summer 2018), and Wavvy (Autumn/Winter 2018)."10 Years of CHROMAT Runway." Chromat. Accessed June 26, 2026."Chromat SS14 Mathletes" (2014). Chromat via Vimeo. Accessed June 26, 2026."Chromat AW14: Bionic Bodies Runway" (2014). Chromat via Vimeo. Archived April 15, 2014."Chromat SS15 FORMULA 15 RUNWAY" (2015). Chromat via Vimeo. Accessed June 26, 2026."CHROMAT AW15 MINDFILES RUNWAY" (2015). Chromat via Vimeo. Accessed June 26, 2026.
Chromat has been featured in magazine editorials and features, including Vogue Italia,D'Annunzio, Grazia. "Shape-up Sport Style" (June 7, 2014). Vogue Italia. Accessed December 9, 2014; archived July 13, 2014. Vogue Deutsch,"Vogue Germany March 2014: Black or Blonde by Mario Testino" (March 2014). VOGUE Germany. Accessed December 9 2014; archived November 6, 2014. Galore,"Cover Story: Maroes Horst on being a professional beach babe" (June 12, 2014). Galore. Accessed December 9, 2014. V, Elle, Nylon, Vogue, Dazed, New York Magazine and Numéro. McCharen has been profiled by The New York Observer (2012),McCarthy, Megan. "Episode 8: Becca McCharen of Chromat – Fashion Built By Design" (December 21, 2011). The New York Observer. Accessed June 25, 2026. The Wall Street Journal (2013),Symonds, Alexandria. "Mixing Math With Fashion" (February 5, 2013). The Wall Street Journal. Accessed June 26, 2026. and Out Magazine (2013),"Out100: Becca McCharen" (November 13, 2013). Accessed June 26, 2026. and was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of "People Who are Reinventing the World" in 2014.Elliott, Hannah & Adams, Susan. Forbes 30 Under 30. Forbes (6 January 2014). She was nominated for the RACKED Young Guns Award in 2013,Price, Leslie. "Chromat's Becca McCharen on Design And Dream Client Björk" (June 20, 2013). Racked. Accessed June 26, 2026; archived March 4, 2016. was a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2015,Satenstein, Liana and Barnhill, Trace. "Introducing the 2015 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists" (August 26, 2015). Vogue. Accessed June 26, 2026; archived July 26, 2015. and was runner-up in the same contest in 2017.Yotka, Steff. "Telfar Wins the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund 2017" (November 6, 2017). Vogue. Accessed July 19, 2018. Chromat was awarded the Tumblr Fashion Honors in 2016.Street, Mikelle. "chromat celebrates tumblr fashion honor with an nyfw art party" (September 15, 2016). I-d. Accessed July 19, 2018.
References
External links Chromat Official Website