Calm, cool, and collected. Hardly
the first words that come to mind when asked to describe the expected atmosphere
at a designer’s studio the week before his very first Toronto Fashion Week
runway show. Yet, as I enter Christopher Paunil’s bright, serene, open concept
studio in the Artscape-Regent Park neighbourhood of Toronto, this is exactly
what comes to mind. The studio is spacious and sunny, with a table of plants
and succulents surrounded by comfy chairs, a large drafting table, a lone
intern at a sewing machine and several racks of the very gowns that have earned
their place in the prestigious Kleinfeld’s Bridal Boutique.
With a philosophy as clean and
simple as his work space, “meticulous
design and production for the contemporary woman”, Christopher Paunil,
established in 2010, was “created to make women feel their most beautiful and
powerful, from their big day to any day of the week.” Paunil achieves this feat
by putting himself in his customer’s shoes, asking himself what he would want to wear, what features he
would want to accentuate and others he may want to conceal. He finds
inspiration in designers like Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier,
and Victoria Beckham’s early designs that helped define her brand. From his bridal
collection and ready-to-wear line to the custom gowns and evening wear he
specializes in, Paunil’s designs are classic, the silhouettes flawless, and the
details as meticulous as promised. Using laser-cutting and figure-flattering
shapes with movement, Paunil’s designs are fashion-forward, while remaining
elegant, classy and undeniably “Christopher Paunil”.
Paunil
achieves this high level of quality by doing all of the pattern-making himself,
remaining extremely hands-on throughout the entire production process, though
not without the help of a small, but mighty, team surrounding him. Paunil has
two interns and a business partner, Chalo Barruta, who is with him every step
of the way. Paunil is quick to praise Barruta as a true partner, without whom,
he would not be where he is. Barruta is very hands on with the financial and
business side of things which is, admittedly, Paunil’s least favourite part of
the job. His most favourite? Viewing
the finished product, and seeing a satisfied customer looking and feeling great
in one of his designs, which is particularly special when that piece happens to
be a wedding gown.
Growing up, Paunil
watched his Grandmother sew, until his mother eventually taught him how to use
a sewing machine. Though he was a natural, sewing remained a hobby until the
end of high school when he was still unsure of what to do next. Always
interested in fashion, he decided to apply to school for design, the only
problem being his lack of portfolio. In a move that can be described as somewhere
between MacGyver and Lagerfeld, he began to deconstruct and take apart pieces
of clothing from his own closet, using them as pattern pieces to make his own
clothes, which he showcased and used during the application process. A graduate
of the George Brown Fashion Design Program, I ask him what the most important
thing was that he learned at school. “Pattern-making would be the most
important technical skill I learned, but I also learned the importance of sticking
to deadlines. Deadlines are really
important in the real world. If you have an order worth $10,000 and you don’t
have it ready in time, you’re out
$10,000, they will cancel the order and you have now ruined a business
relationship because, chances are, they will not be placing another order with
you again.” After his first semester, Paunil’s GPA was not where he felt it
should be, which he saw as a wake-up call to pull up his socks and start taking
school more seriously. He stopped missing classes, worked hard and made sure he
met deadlines, ultimately graduating with an impressive GPA, and ready to take
on the world. Deadlines are equally important day to day, as there is always a
team waiting for you. If Paunil does not produce the designs and patterns on
time, the team cannot grade, cut, and sew, which throws off the entire
production schedule and can affect the buying season and trade shows.
Even in the
face of deadlines, stress, and adversity Paunil is measured, unruffled, and
relaxed, the kind of person you would want in charge and running the show. He
does not demand respect, but rather commands
it, with his logical and rational outlook. “Getting stressed and freaking out
is not going to fix anything or make the situation any better” he says
reasonably.
So if the last
minute preparation for his inaugural runway show at World Mastercard Fashion
Week is not enough to get a rise out Paunil, what does? Interestingly enough, the topic comes up at the very end of
our interview. I ask Paunil what else he wants the public to know about him or
his line. He thinks for a moment and responds, “I don’t want to get too
political, but the lack of diversity in the fashion world makes me angry. We
had a model casting with about 150-200 girls and there were barely any
ethnically diverse women. Bring me women of different backgrounds and I am more
than happy to cast them, and do!” He adds that this is simply his own personal experience
of flipping through magazines and being disappointed by the inherent lack of
diversity, “I flipped through a 400 page bridal magazine counted exactly two
black models, and one was from my
campaign.” From lookbooks to runway, it is important to Paunil to show a
diverse group of models, at his debut show in fashion week more than half of
his models are ethnically diverse, and he is committed to doing whatever he can
to ensure we see a range of more relatable faces in fashion.
I, for one, will
be sitting in the front row, watching this game-changer change the face of
fashion in Toronto, and eventually the world, one…well…face at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment