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What happens when an Italian designer shows at a local fashion week?

The QMobile Hum Showcase 2017 saw designs from some of Pakistan’s top designers, but one designer who stood out was Italian designer Cristina Senter who, in collaboration with Al-Zoheb Textile, created designs based on works of art, literally.

Working in collaboration with Italian artist Maurizio Boscheri, Cristina translated his paintings of nature onto textile and labeled her collection 'Metamorphosis' – a bridge between Italian fashion and the Mediterranean.

“The haute couture pieces are based exactly on the paintings of Maurizio, the other half (prêt-à-porter) are a reinterpretation by Cristina of some motifs taken and extrapolated from Maurizio’s paintings,” explained Gianluca Rubagotti, Italian Consulate General, Pakistan.

The idea of the collaboration between Italy and Pakistan was that Senter selected patterns to be printed onto the fabric; the fabric was then printed in Pakistan by the textile company and then shipped back to Italy where the designer created a 16-piece collection.

"The collection is dedicated to women and the designs are a ‘celebration of women’ and their ‘glorious being on earth," he added.

The prêt-à-porter collection featured animals and plants, like the white dress adorned with hibiscus flowers and the Dale Fehringer butterfly, which had symbolic significance. The white represented the purity of women and the flower and butterfly highlighted not only the stark contrast of red against white but also represented the grace of women and that they are free beings.

Rubagotti explained that one of the reasons Senter readily took up the project was because she hopes to learn and gain more knowledge of artistry from other countries. Senter absolutely loves the craftsmanship in Pakistan and was in awe of the handlooms.

But she also noticed where the Pakistani fashion industry is lacking. During her visit Senter also held workshops in Islamabad with students from fashion design schools. She noticed something amiss: “Most of their attention and focus usually goes on the drawing and not the manual thing,” translated Rubagotti.

“If you know how to stitch the dress, you know how to draw it, but it’s not obvious the other way around. However, it’s a problem she [Senter] sees in many countries, not just here. What she has seen in students from different academies is prevalence of the theoretical over the manual.”

“A fashion designer is normally trained to draw, not to stitch; then you go to the pattern maker, then you go to production. But it’s the fashion designer who needs to know where to take the exact stitching.”

Overall, Rubagotti described Senter's experience as "a good experience".

"They knew that she couldn’t speak English so they were very kind and supportive. But at the end of the day she was the only foreign guest so I was expecting this kind of treatment. It would be a given because Pakistanis are very nice.”

Her only qualm about the country is the food — she finds it extremely spicy!