American designer and musician Christine Storm is now all set to shake up the Indian fashion scene. It might sound a bit premature, but mention this to Storm, who has been sharing her creativity, knowledge and expertise with Indian artisans in factories of Noida for almost a year, and she only smiles to say, “I am happy to create a storm here, a pleasant one though.”
When did she discover the magic of Indian textiles? “Last October on my maiden trip to India, I visited the Taj Mahal. After enjoying the beauty of magnificent monument, I came across indigenous artisans doing such fantastic block printing, handloom techniques and other intricate work. I immediately decided that this was what I wanted on my golf and resort wear. I have always believed in reshaping old things into new,” says Christine, synonymous with her label Clubwear.
Indian motifs
On how she proposes to take her Indian foray forward, Storm says: “Right now we are working with Indian artisans in cotton and silk and other embellishments. Silk is coming from Bhagalpur, whereas printing is being done in Delhi, NCR. On outfits we will have hand embroidery, thread work and beads. Golf and resort collections would be launched in India and the US in Spring 2018.” Christine Storm’s collections are sold globally but she now wants to have a seamless collaboration where Indian motifs are central to golf wear. “I am making slight alterations. Once we discovered the beauty and productiveness of Indian cottons, we shifted to outfits with different and new lines and more breathability. The garments are interchangeable; a woman can easily make a switch from a glamorous party wear to a golf event. There is elastic stretch for golf collections and basic fabric with bead work and hand block printing for resort wear.”
Has Storm given native artisans carte blanche in design interpretation? “Being an artist myself, I have let them bring their flavour to the table. I don’t micro manage them,” she says. In the US also, Storm was fascinated by that very Indian of birds, the peacock. And that has translated into her clothes. “The inspiration is the peacock, which is found in abundance in India. I will be bringing alive its beauty and symbolism on outfits. So you would see shimmery golf clothes inspired by peacock’s feathers. And there would be motifs of peacock on clothes.” The designer is also game for unisexual fashion. “There is no better fit than men’s jeans and T- shirt. Personally I wear them and if a man wants to wear my clothes I am okay with the idea. This is a fabulous example of people in fashion who think out-of-box. But we are going to keep it separate as we are targeting women for now. Menswear would come later.”
Comfortable clothing
Model in an outfit created by Christine Storm
Explaining her transformation from a recording artist to a fashion designer, Storm says: “In Las Vegas style shows, I would work alongside costumers. I would see fabulous lines on different women body types. I thought why not make couture clothing which would be comfortable for all body types. Even in those days I was doing my own clothes, with embellishments and I’d get complimented for my dresses. During the shows I would come across women with boxy clothing which was not very flattering. In those clothes, everything stopped below the ribcage and made women look twice as wide than they were. So when I launched my collection we eliminated those lines and made the silhouette narrower. I wanted to give women something better in the golf world so that they feel confident and look stylish.”
On how she would dress up Indian women, she says: “Indian women are incredibly fashionable and not afraid to use colour or bling. And that is what our clothes like big colour tops, flared tops, T-shirts and golf wear would offer. Transitional active wear would enable a lady to just change her shoe and go for an evening out. If she wants to go for a vacation she doesn’t have to pack too many clothes in her suitcase.” Should fashion be realistic or spectacular? “Fashion starts every day,” says Storm. “The kind of clothes that people dress up in reflects their psyche.” Fashion and music have a correlation, says Storm. “Since art is a universal language, you can link fashion with sculpture. What is fascinating about fashion is that it is interchangeable.”
