It was a cold day, which in Ballarat is not a surprise, when
I got the call from Chitra Magnma. She was her usual whirlwind self on the
phone when she asked me ‘I would like you to be face of my final collection,
would you be willing to?’ Her question excited me so much I was stumped for
what to say for a few moments before I bumbled something that told her I was
willing.
The first time I met Chitra in person was at her shop in
Brunswick during one of her wild fashion shows. It was a winter collection and
she had invited me after she found my blog online.
It was one of the first
times I had been invited to a fashion event through my blog and I was terribly
nervous. I rushed to the event after work and searched out her little shop on
Sydney Rd in the dark.
The clothes were delicious! They were curve loving,
classic and feminine. When Chitra came across me after the show she led me to
the change rooms and started tossing outfits at me.
It’s hard not to fall in
love with every item she makes, but one particular purple suit swept me off my
feet. She tailored it to fit me and I collected it a week later. The love
affair began.
Have a look at previous posts about Chitra’s collections
here and here.
Since then, I have gradually become more involved in her
shows and clothes. Photographing and blogging the events, then becoming a
catwalk model for her, and finally the phone call asking me to be the face of
her final collection.
This opportunity has given me a more intimate viewpoint
to watch her work on her collection and see how she crafts her pieces.
What do you expect from a designer for her final collection?
I remember she pounced on me once a few years ago when I came into her store to
help her check the fit of her sample dresses for the collection she was working
on at the time. Even for myself who knows so little about clothes, I know that
it’s damn hard to make a dress low at the front AND at the back, without the
shoulders falling off from lack of support. I slipped on one of the season
dresses and can recall spinning from the mirror to face her and asking in
amazement ‘it fits so comfortably and the shoulders and still snug! How did you
do that?’ She just chuckled mischievously and said ‘it took me three tries to
get the pattern right.’ This dedication and daring to be different has always
made a distinctive stamp on her collections. It is something her clients adore
and a hard thing to top. I asked her recently ‘how do you know so much about
how to make clothes ‘work’?’ She chuckled and said ‘you’ve never been to
Thailand have you?’
The day I went to her shop to try on the clothes for this season’s
photo shoot Chitra unveiled clothes that I could not stop smiling at. A bright
pink suit, long cardigans with stunning necklines, polka dot shirts, floral
dresses, and a beautiful long and graceful polka dot dress.
She took the above snaps
on her iPhone to give her clients a preview of what to expect from the
collection, but at the time I didn’t know she was holding one suit back.
On the
day of the shoot, I arrived at her house (at some indecent hour of the morning)
and saw The Suit for the first time. Bright yellow. Bright, sunflower yellow. A
yellow blazer, coloured, mismatched buttons and a skirt in bold, large, sunflower
print. I stood transfixed.
She saw me staring and said ‘oh that one. I’ve
wanted to do that one for a long time, but I’ve never been brave enough. I do
everything I want for the final show.’
Everything including incorporating her
favourite car, the Volkswagen Beetle into the theme of the show called The Love
Bug.
Everything, including an idea we have shared for a long time: to bring her
show to Ballarat.
So with this bombshell, I will leave you. Plans are being
made, and I promise you will be the first to know.
Stay in touch xx
Up next… A Day in Front of the Camera: Chitra’s Closet SS12
Photo Shoot
