Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Evans.
Hi Christine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always had a great interest in fashion design––ever since I was seven years old and designed my first outfit: a set of pajamas with tootsie rolls all over them––I was hooked! (Don’t ask me why I wanted to design tootsie roll pajamas––I can’t explain it but that’s where I drew my seven-year-old inspiration from!).
I wanted to learn everything possible when it came to art and design, taking every course my high school offered––from drawing and painting to ceramics, and even creating my own independent study my senior year of high school in which I designed a class structured to create a 15 look fashion collection as well as sew a garment to reflect this collection. This collection was inspired by the architecture and stained glass windows of the Washington National Cathedral, a national monument in Washington, D.C., as well as the church affiliated with my high school. Additionally, I took fashion design, drawing, and painting classes on the weekends at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. to expand my knowledge further.
In hoping to pursue my passion for design, I attended the Parsons Summer Program when I was sixteen years old, moving to New York City for the summer. Not to sound cheesy but I consider the summer of 2013 as the summer that changed my life because I knew after attending the Parsons Summer Program that this profession was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I made lifelong friends at the program, formed incredible relationships with professors who I still keep in contact with, and learned an abundance of information and resources for a career path I continue to navigate to this day.
I went on to attend a summer program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City the following summer, in addition to a summer program at Central Saint Martins in London, England that same summer. I learned a great deal from each program and used these experiences to inform my decision to attend the Parsons School of Design to receive my undergraduate degree in Fashion Design.
I graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2019, with a BFA in Fashion design, with a brief stint over at Central Saint Martins my junior year, and created a thesis collection consisting of six looks with over 20 garments. My thesis derived from my personal style, focusing on the craft of American Tailored Sportswear, using fabrications and designs that recognize my American heritage. During my time at Parsons, I formed incredible relationships with my professors, colleagues, and fellow students, some of which I was fortunate enough to meet when I attended the Parsons Summer Program—and continued to build upon our relationships in the years to come. I was also able to learn a great deal through interning at several fashion brands throughout my time at Parsons, including Under Armour, Tory Burch, Oscar de la Renta, and Michael Kors, to name a few.
Since graduating from Parsons, I have had the privilege of designing for brands such as Kate Spade and Ralph Lauren, all leading me to where I am now, designing women’s knit and activewear at Vineyard Vines. Each of these opportunities taught me so much about the fashion industry, from forming relationships within the industry to learning what makes a good quality product and even what the next trend will be. Through each of these experiences, I have learned valuable life lessons for a craft I care deeply about.
Throughout my entire professional career, I have consistently created my own garments, more as a side hustle and as a creative outlet. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I co-founded a T-shirt brand, Data Based Fashion, with a friend and former co-worker, Devon Dagworthy. We created this small business to raise funds for the American Red Cross during the pandemic by selling t-shirts with Dr. Fauci’s face on them as a “Fauci Gucci collab.” The T-shirt gained quite a bit of traction and popularity, having been worn by celebrities such as Olivia Wilde and Sophia Bush. I learned a great deal about running a small business from this side hustle, for which I am incredibly grateful. As I continue my career, my ultimate goal (I have had since I was seven) has been to create my own brand under my own name: Christine Evans. I am working towards this goal as we speak and have continued to create garments, such as hand-painted custom shirts as a way to express my creativity, personal style, and design ethos. I intend to create a womenswear brand that speaks to my American heritage, drawing influences from my upbringing and my family history.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m fortunate enough to say I haven’t encountered too many struggles along my journey, however, that doesn’t mean the road was completely smooth. I grew up attending an all-girls private school in Washington, D.C. that I adored. The institution was known for having a wonderful art program but not so much for sending girls to design schools. As mentioned prior, I was fortunate enough to realize I wanted to pursue design as a career path at a young age. When I presented the idea to professors, they simply told me that was not really an option, which at the time was disheartening. When presented with this outcome, I did what my high school taught young women to do when facing obstacles: overcome said obstacle at all costs and to not take ‘no’ for an answer. With the help and support from my art teacher, Catherine Batza, and my family, I was able to apply to the top design universities in the country and pursue my passion, despite the initial pushback.
I would say overall most people have been supportive of my career path, however, there have been a handful of people that I have had to convince that I am passionate about what I do, that I know what I’m doing, and that I am serious about what I do. I have found myself overcoming this skepticism throughout my career, whether it be in job interviews or even in casual conversations. It can be challenging at times to convince others of my capabilities, however, my work and passion speak for themselves. Without the skepticism, I wouldn’t be able to continue to push myself to become the very best version of myself possible. Every experience I’ve encountered, whether positive or negative, has been helpful to me as long as I continue to learn and grow from those experiences.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love creating American sportswear (not to be mistaken with athletic-wear!) that has a unique feel to it. I also love exploring the relationship between fashion and politics, and yes, I do believe there is a dynamic relationship between the two topics! I grew up in Washington, D.C., where both my parents worked in politics. Despite all efforts to escape anything political, I came to realize that a majority of my work tends to have political undertones to it and/or some sense of Americana influence. I would say at the moment, I’m most known for creating quirky political T-shirts (as mentioned earlier: the famous “Dr. Fauci/ Gucci” T-shirt). I also specialize in creating more unique custom pieces that pay tribute to personal moments in my life as well as my clients through painting on vintage button-down shirts.
My favorite part about designing is when I’m able to take quintessential moments from my upbringing and use them as inspiration for a piece. Whether it’s taking a current events figure, like Dr. Fauci, and using his face as a playful graphic on a T-shirt to promote getting vaccinated or painting on shirts as a creative outlet (i.e., using inspiration as simple as getting an ice cream cone on the boardwalk at the beach––a core memory from when I was young––Or painting several flowers from American States that have meaning to close friend onto a shirt), I like to integrate my hobbies, interests, and personal experiences into my work. I would consider my art and designs to have that Americana influence but with a little whimsical, playful touch. They bring my love of politics hand-in-hand with clothing I would wear and are something that feels fun and packs a punch!
Most notably, I am proud of producing work that is not only meaningful to others but also acts as a visual representation of myself. My work encapsulates my personal experience of “the American dream.” Through my work, I intend to create a brand that captures the American spirit that is playful, fun, nostalgic and makes anyone wearing my clothing feel confident and comfortable and like they have a sense of purpose. This, however, is just my personal experience growing up in the nation’s capital. I feel that each person has a unique experience in the United States and I intend to collaborate with other designers who will share their own experiences and stories through their clothing, as I will do with mine. I feel clothing is a way to express authenticity and who we are externally––almost like visual storytelling. The more storytelling we can do, the better we get to know each other and learn about each other’s experiences and what better way than through creativity and clothing?
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
With regard to the fashion industry, I see bigger, more corporate companies continuing to produce high-end runway shows as they have. I’m not sure exactly how much runway will change; some ideas that come to mind could be amplifying shows to feel more elevated by exploring new venue locations in remote areas, having shows feel more interactive and accessible to all, or continuing to explore the idea of the virtual runway. I hope that larger brands continue to produce beautiful collections, and I hope they are more thoughtful about how they are producing these collections with regard to sustainability and environmental awareness. The Fashion Industry is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet and I think it is very important that big brands really try to focus on becoming more sustainable and actually implementing a plan to establish a green footprint rather than hopping on the “greenwash” bandwagon as many companies have, more so for trend and consumer appeal rather than actually caring about the environmental impacts of this industry.
What I am very interested in watching over the next 5-10 years are the smaller designers and the work they produce. I have noticed designers with smaller collections tend to produce more thoughtful, original, and unique bodies of work. Their concepts feel more fresh and innovative and more in touch with using thoughtful, sustainable materials. I foresee designers continuing to practice their craft through methods that feel more traditional such as handknitting, crocheting, hand painting, and beading––methods and techniques that have been around for centuries yet continue to enable designers to have a unique voice today, and a sense of individuality and expression, based on how they apply these techniques to their own identity. I feel that in the next 5-10 years smaller designers will continue to produce fresh new ideas with a sustainable impact that actually makes a difference, especially as Gen-Z designers continue to establish a place for themselves in this industry. I feel the upcoming generation in fashion has established a strong voice for themselves, that they’re outspoken, driven and passionate about the topics they care about: craftsmanship, individuality, the environment, and current events being some of those important topics. I, myself, being considered a “Zillenial” (millennial-Gen-Z cusp), am excited to see how new generations take the current climate we are living in and use that as inspiration for their collections through new technologies and materials to articulate their creative visions.
I see fashion moving into a more digital platform as we continue to advance technology as well. The most important thing about fashion, for me, is the storytelling that fashion can create through clothing and expression. I feel this key thread of storytelling will advance even further through digital fashion. As we continue to develop our technologies, the fashion industry has already begun to play around with the dynamic between fashion and technology. I see fashion becoming even more advanced on digital platforms such as the Metaverse, through NFT sales, and via other virtual worlds that haven’t even been invented yet. Luxury brands, such as Gucci, Balenciaga, and even Ralph Lauren have all been exploring the relationship between fashion and technology and all the possibilities that these two industries have to offer. I feel digital fashion will give more access overall to those that have access to technology, such as the use of a smartphone, enabling designers to share their stories with a larger audience on a greater platform. In all honesty, I am still learning a great deal about this fashion/technology dynamic and how they relate to one another. As we continue to advance technology within these online worlds as well as actual technological functions that could manufacture and produce new ways to create garments and even new materials for fabrication, I feel that the relationship between fashion and technology still has a great deal to be explored––and I am excited at the prospect of seeing where these new technologies will take this industry!
Pricing:
- Custom Painted Shirts- $200-$400
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christinemarieevans.com/
- Instagram: @christineevansart
Image Credits
Image 1: Photographer: Fernando Osorio Model: Gabby MacIntosh Image 2: Photographer: Fernando Osorio Model: Gabby MacIntosh Image 3: Photographer: Fernando Osorio Model: Gabby MacIntosh Image 4: Photographer: Fernando Osorio Model: Gabby MacIntosh Image 5: Photographer: Fernando Osorio Model: Gabby MacIntosh Image 6: Designer + Photographer: Christine Evans Image 7: Designer + Photographer: Christine Evans Image 8: Designer: Christine Evans Photographer: Olivia Wilde Image 9: Photographer: Alexandra Sapp Model: Ella Kingston Image 10: Photographer: Alexandra Sapp Modela: Ella Kingston + Erika Su Image 11: Photographer: Alexandra Sapp Modela: Erika Su Image 12: Designer + Photographer: Christine Evans
