National Design Awards

October 12, 2021

Thank you to the Cooper Hewitt and the Smithsonian for awarding Chromat the 2021 National Design Award in fashion design!

Very honored to have our work recognized, which goes so far beyond the work of founder Becca McCharen-Tran alone. Chromat is a huge community of collaborators, and has been from the beginning.

Thankful for the opportunity to work with so many creative people, including #ChromatBABES Tourmaline, Christine McCharen-Tran, Nadia Wolff, Diana Eusebio, Katlyn Le Leal, Ben Ritter, Tolu Aremu, Alyse Schriefer, Fatima Thomas, Gilleon Smith, Eda Levenson, Anna Kikue, Michael Potvin, Bearcat, Maya Margarita, Anastasia Garcia, Priscillia Rabenda, Helen Pena, Gabriela Gabrielaa, Dana Scruggs, Hatnim Lee, Margo Hannah, Xena Brar, Shalyn Webber, Basit, Darren George, Johnny Pizzolato and Virginia Craddock at International Playground, John James Muller, Jordan Bogigian, Yonina Isman, Starr Williams, Kathryn Formoso, Sin Kim, Milan Garcon, Leyna Bloom, Kien Hoang, Rajni Jacques, Mecca James Williams, Edda Gudmunsdottir, Jan Martin Tordby, Denise Bidot, Kapono Chung, Nadia Lung and the Combo team, and so many more. 💙💙💙

About the National Design Awards

First Lady Jill Biden serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards. Established in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards bring national recognition to the ways in which design enriches everyday life.

Cooper Hewitt connects the public with award winners through free virtual talks, workshops, resources, and more throughout National Design Month in October and beyond.

Learn more about the National Design Awards here.

Becca McCharen-Tran is a fashion designer, cultural worker, and the founder of future-forward bodywear line Chromat. In her design practice, McCharen-Tran interrogates the cultural hegemony around representation and inclusion. A Forbes 30 Under 30 pick for “People Who Are Reinventing the World,” McCharen-Tran is creating a world that empowers women, femmes, and nonbinary people in fashion and beyond. McCharen-Tran delivered a TED Talk on the urgency of racial, gender, and disability justice in fashion and has lectured at SXSW, Parsons, MIT, CFDA, Pratt, FIT, and MICA. She also staged the “Queer Joy” exhibition at MoMA PS1, a series of performances and installations celebrating the LGBTQ community. Chromat has been profiled in major publications such as Vogue, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and has collaborated with Intel, Disney, Reebok, MAC Cosmetics, MIT Design Lab, and Equinox.