Free News 'Legacy' Spring 2025: Christopher Murphy

Published By.Everyone

Written By. Elyjah Monks

Photographed By. Taylor Villarreal

   Husband, world traveler, interior designer and so much more. Christopher Murphy is an enigma. When we started our search for contributors this season we wanted to find someone who encompasses the idea of Legacy and what the future of By.Everyone is. We were infectiously elated to connect the dots with the eclectic designer. Styled in new garb from our unreleased Spring/Summer collection we sat down with Chris to ask his thoughts on legacy, his most coveted items and what it looks like to have joy in your work.

Elyjah Monks: What pieces in your wardrobe would you like to see passed down to a relative or loved one?

Chris Murphy: So randomly one of my favorite pieces is not a purchase piece; it was my grand father’s Phillips 66 one-piece jumpsuit that he had from a Phillips 66 station in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and um, (he was) not as tall as me, obviously, but it fits okay, and it’s gray with the red Phillips on it, and it’s so chic and so hot. I wore it to the Eagle last week with some Gucci steel-toe boots, Chrome Hearts baseball cap, and some Chrome Hearts vintage jewelry. It was fun for sure. So that is a legacy kind of piece, yeah it doesn’t come out very often as far as some of the bags. Some of the really special Birkins, things that were carried into special events.

EM: Things that have more story for you.

CM: For sure, so okay, not much but I mean it’s all amazing. It can’t all go somewhere right? But it’s archival which is super fun I mean that’s something that I’m so thrilled and I’m so humbled that you are on you got a Gaultier tattoo shirt from 2001 collection

EM: THE collection

CM: Yeah, THE collection. I have the Tom Ford Gucci Zebra Jeans from that collection and a bunch of those kind of things that don’t really fit anymore. EM: But they’re there for the story. CM: Yeah for sure EM: How does legacy inspire your work now

CM: Yeah, THE collection. I have the Tom Ford Gucci Zebra Jeans from that collection and a bunch of those kind of things that don’t really fit anymore.

EM: But they’re there for the story.

CM: Yeah for sure

EM: How does legacy inspire your work now?

CM: It is something I just recently thought about. I’ve never really thought about a lasting impression and I didn’t have anybody to, I mean we don’t have children, we don’t have those kinds of legacies. To pass on my work is my legacy. My ethos, my fashion, my presence is a way but the lasting impressions and the legacy of my creative visions, weirdly (recently) I thought about somebody that could, actually take that on and preserve it and move on with it.

EM: How has your parents legacy extended through your design choices?

CM: I am a product of them, for sure.I’m actually adopted. I was chosen by the best parents anybody could have ever, you know, wished for, whatever. Three days old, so they were the only people I’ve known, but they exposed me to the world. I mean, (my) first trip to Europe at (age) 12, you know, London and Paris. I learned that there was a lot more than the backyard of Lincoln, Nebraska. But my mother also was a stay-at-home mom, but I wouldn’t say she was fashionable, but she was stylish. They threw a lot of parties. I learned how to entertain. I learned how to go to the symphony with her and to Broadway and shows and food and the world again (it’s) about people, so I am a product of them. And so that legacy continues. My father passed away a few years ago and weirdly, we just put my mom on hospice today at 92 years old. So again, my dad was 88 and lived an amazing life with no regrets. I hope I can follow in those footsteps.

EM: When did you first realize you were an artist and/or do you consider yourself an artist?

CM: I do. I do. Everything I do is purposeful. Everything is with an artistic bent; there are no mistakes. EM: When did you first realize that?

CM: My first set of blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, all that because I was literally building it, tearing it down, seeing how we could do it better. I started designing for my parents and doing their design work at 10 years old, picking the paint colors for the house, designing the patios or finding the materials of the finish and the dinner parties with my mom, so it was all encompassing.

EM: Who were some of the first artists that made you want to find a career in the arts?

CM: I mean, the classics, the weirdness of Picasso, the colors of David Hockney. Though as I got a little older, and that California dream, that kind of idea, that again I didn’t want to stay in the backyard of Lincoln, Nebraska, but there was a bigger calling there. Those pool imagery, and the palm trees, those kinds of things for sure. But then the precision and balance of Calder and Bertoia sculptures, the simplicity, but there was so much power there. Even in movies, those types of things really inspired me for sure. 

EM: If you could talk to a younger self, would you give them any advice? And if so, what advice would you give them? CM: Follow your passion. I mean, that’s it. Don’t let anybody tell you anything different. You can do anything you want to do. Believe in yourself.

EM: Fire. How do you incorporate interior design into your own living space? And is it different for your own living space than for your contract clients?

CM: Yes and no. I mean, no in the sense that our personal space is an extension of me and my creative brain, but also the life with my husband. It is a catalog of our trips. It is a catalog of our experiences and shared experiences. From the pieces of art to the littlest thing on a table. We had a big painting when we got engaged in India. To the little bronze that we bought in Helsinki or whatever it is. People walk in and they’re like, you live in a museum. And I say, no, we actually live in our home. It is the things around us that we love and that are our memories. But it’s also a testing ground for my crazy brain. When I dream shit in the middle of the night and people are like, ‘you can’t do that.’ I’m like, ‘watch me.’ Yeah. So it is the realization of my brain and it is what I do for my clients. I had one client say, ‘I’m not for everybody and thank God.’ If you’re willing to go down the rabbit hole with me, we’ll have a great time. Everything and every project is different.

EM: That’s why people want to hire you.

CM: Yeah, for sure. A lot of them anymore, they don’t know what they want. They just want you to do it and that’s a lot. I’d rather, I mean, I want some interaction to, whatever, but sometimes when you get that free rein to do whatever you want to do it’s the best. I had one client text me Christmas night a couple years ago and she said ‘guess what I got for Christmas.’ I said ‘I don’t know, a ski house?’ She goes, ‘I did!’ And I’m like, OK, I was actually kidding. But she said ‘we’ll fly you out to look at it because we’ve never even seen it. We bought it furnished.’ So they picked us up on one of their two jets and, you know, we went out and she’s like, ‘well, none of this can stay can it?’ I’m like, no, she said ‘well just have it ready for next Christmas!’ I mean, literally. Then the husband sends one email when we leave and he said, ‘I suffer from anxiety at altitude. See what you can do about it.’ It’s that kind of shit. I love that. So we added an oxygen system around the sea level and it’s all good. But I mean, during the pandemic we gutted this house in seven months and put six million dollars into it for something they use for these three weeks a year. It was a fantasy and they love it. So, creating worlds that don’t exist, to me, is the best thing. And and seeing the client’s reaction, I mean, obviously, it’s a job and the money’s nice. Right? But it’s that. It’s pure appreciation and joy and love of what you’ve done for them. Sometimes, that’s all I needed. See what you can do about it.’ It’s that kind of shit. I love that. So we added an oxygen system around the sea level and it’s all good. But I mean, during the pandemic we gutted this house in seven months and put six million dollars into it for something they use for these three weeks a year. It was a fantasy and they love it. So, creating worlds that don’t exist, to me, is the best thing. And and seeing the client’s reaction, I mean, obviously, it’s a job and the money’s nice. Right? But it’s that. It’s pure appreciation and joy and love of what you’ve done for them. Sometimes, that’s all I needed.

EM: That’s how I feel whenever somebody walks out with something and I see them in the Streets wearing it! I think we probably might know the answer to this one but, what’s your go-to brand to wear to a gala?

CM: Gucci. They treat me well. I treat them well. It’s super fun. And they, you know, yes, I love their fashion and it’s one of those weird things that I walked into the store in Chicago in 1996. Tom Ford’s beginning. My sales guy had just been there a few months. And here we are, you know, almost 30 years later. EM: That’s such a special thing.

CM: It is! I’ve watched it evolve and change. I’ve evolved and changed. But they’ve always been there for me and I’ve been there for them. They donate to my charities. They are family. Yes, we spend money there, but it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like a relationship and they are amazing people.

EM: What is your most coveted item?

CM: It’s so many things, but, probably my first love bracelet my parents gave me. You know, since 1990, it’s never been off my wrist. The meanings before they were popular. It’s the meaning of love. It’s the meaning of unconditionality. That’s special to me, kind of thing. And who knows how it will come off when I’m gone, but yeah, somebody will get it and things for sure. Things like that.

EM: What’s your go-to home beverage?

CM: So being 20 years clean and sober, uh, I mean, it’s water. 

EM: I didn’t know if you were a tea guy or…

CM: No, no, no. Give me a good Mexican Coke any day. Okay. Sure. You gotta have some sugar. Oh yeah, for sure.

EM: What's your all-time favorite album? what do you keep coming back to?

CM: You know, it changes, you know? Unforgettable fire, Pet Shop Boys, but I love it all. I love all genres of music except country, but I think that’s because where I grew up. Give me classical symphony to rap, to you know, to the gayest pop. I mean, it’s there and I love it.

EM: What’s your go-to fragrance? What kind of fragrances do you wear?

CM: Depends on my mood. I love Le Labo. I love, again, some crazy brands that we’ve bought in Tokyo or wherever.

EM: There’s so many fun experimental brands for sure.

CM: For sure. Monocle did some crazy things we bought in Hong Kong a few years ago. It depends on what I’m wearing. It depends on the mood and all that. Today I’m wearing, I don’t even know the name, it’s kind of a leathery, dark, warm, woody smell.

EM: What is the biggest lesson you learned early in your career? 

CM:The biggest lesson, put your head down, do your work. Don’t get too close to the clients. Be a little bit of an enigma. Just be you.

EM: What skills or hobbies are you still wanting to learn?

CM: Nothing. I’m pretty content.

EM: I love that. What’s the rest of your life looking like?

CM: I don’t know! I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. You know? Every day is different and that is the beauty of being a creative person. Yeah. Uh, people are like ‘you can retire.’ I’m like, ‘look, if I start phoning it in and repeating something, then I’m done. but I love the challenge of every single day. There are some fantastic days and there’s shitty days, but that’s the beauty of it and it makes me feel alive. I mean, look at people my age. You go, oh, you’re about dead! You know? But I don’t feel it. I feel inspired. I feel grateful for the opportunities to create and to be around the people I love and do the things I love and to travel. I don’t know. It’s just, life is good. It has its challenges for sure. Life still comes at you. The world sucks, you know, politics. People suck, but when you surround yourself and when you put out a positive energy and a creative energy, it’s magnetic, truly, and people want to be around it. I think also the beauty of getting older is you can say, you know what, I don’t have to do this. I don’t have to see you today. I can go fucking watch drag race or the British baking show or the real housewives of Beverly Hills. I’m good! There’s something really rewarding about saying no. 

Ahead of our Spring Summer Collection, Chris is styled first edition’s of our thumb hole long sleeve in a jet-black 100% sloughy cotton paired with a military wool trouser in olive alongside Chirs’s private collection Louis Viotton x Timberland Collaboration Boot in camel and finally accessorized in our Rversible Messenger Bag in black Canvas Cotton. Styled by Elyjah Monks.