Making a statement, fashionably
On an India tour, the illustrator and academician wants to put Indian students on the global art map
Small Talk withGladys Perint Palmer
There’s something about India that keeps bringing Gladys Perint Palmer, the famed fashion illustrator associated with Vogue and Christian Dior, back. She was here six years ago on vacation, an experience that stayed with her. Having seen the “colourful” country, she knew she had to “nail it down”. So, when she took over as the executive vice president ofArtistic Development at Academy of Art University in San Francisco in August last year, her first stop was India.
On a month-long tour to the country, with Bengaluru being the last stop, GPP as she calls herself, has been travelling across the country to spread the word about the Art University. And she’s already picked up nuances about the country that may escape the less observant. When we meet her on Friday, Palmer points to her creations, one of which has been created using an ink dropper. “To get a better effect for some portions, I use my fingers, just the way the Indians eat with their fingers,” she says.
Then there are sketches — girls in ethnic wear, a sherwani-clad groom, the plaited hair of a bride — that she did of a wedding that was hosted at the hotel she is staying in. Although coming to India “wasn’t based on any research” and was more of an “impulsive decision”, the cities she is visiting — New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru — have been chosen carefully. “A student back in San Francisco asked me why I wasn’t going to Kolkata. Although I would love to, the cities which I am touring are those where we get the largest Indian students from,” she says. At present out of the 16,000 students in the school, 140 are from India and Palmer believes that number can grow substantially. “There’s such a talent pool that needs to be captured,” she says.
In each of the cities she has hosted receptions and presented highlights from the University’s 22 schools of art and design. In Bengaluru, for instance, she visited Srishti School of Art Design and Technology. “I found the students to be a bit shy, although some of them were interacting about their course and interests. The school is also looking at starting a film department and we were talking about how we could help out,” she says of her visit.
One challenge that most of us will be familiar with and Palmer has encountered during her India visit is the fact that most students interested in pursuing creative or artistic interests aren’t generally encouraged by their parents. “They are controlled by their parents and even if they want to study architecture, they end up becoming an engineer.” It’s an emotion Palmer can identify with.
When she chose to study design, her father worried that she wouldn’t be able to sustain herself. In fact, she reveals how she became a fashion illustrator quite by accident. “After the foundation year, we had to make a choice between sculpture, fashion, illustration, etc. During the summer break, the illustration instructor asked us to come back with our sketchbooks filled with work. But as young students, we had a good time, went to the beach during the holidays and did not have any work to show after going back,” she recalls.
Too “scared” to go back without having done the assignment, Palmer opted to specialise in fashion. Of course, there’s been no looking back since. Palmer was at the helm of Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion for 19 years prior to becoming the executive vice president of Artistic Development.
Now, on the last leg of her journey in India, Palmer confesses that grappling with time differences —working with city colleges during the day, co-ordinating university work post 10 pm, and erratic internet connections, has brought her down “on my knees”. But she’s already making plans to return. “Going by this time’s experience, I’m looking forward to coming back for something more proactive the next year,” she adds.
Small Talk with
There’s something about India that keeps bringing Gladys Perint Palmer, the famed fashion illustrator associated with Vogue and Christian Dior, back. She was here six years ago on vacation, an experience that stayed with her. Having seen the “colourful” country, she knew she had to “nail it down”. So, when she took over as the executive vice president of
On a month-long tour to the country, with Bengaluru being the last stop, GPP as she calls herself, has been travelling across the country to spread the word about the Art University. And she’s already picked up nuances about the country that may escape the less observant. When we meet her on Friday, Palmer points to her creations, one of which has been created using an ink dropper. “To get a better effect for some portions, I use my fingers, just the way the Indians eat with their fingers,” she says.
Then there are sketches — girls in ethnic wear, a sherwani-clad groom, the plaited hair of a bride — that she did of a wedding that was hosted at the hotel she is staying in. Although coming to India “wasn’t based on any research” and was more of an “impulsive decision”, the cities she is visiting — New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru — have been chosen carefully. “A student back in San Francisco asked me why I wasn’t going to Kolkata. Although I would love to, the cities which I am touring are those where we get the largest Indian students from,” she says. At present out of the 16,000 students in the school, 140 are from India and Palmer believes that number can grow substantially. “There’s such a talent pool that needs to be captured,” she says.
In each of the cities she has hosted receptions and presented highlights from the University’s 22 schools of art and design. In Bengaluru, for instance, she visited Srishti School of Art Design and Technology. “I found the students to be a bit shy, although some of them were interacting about their course and interests. The school is also looking at starting a film department and we were talking about how we could help out,” she says of her visit.
One challenge that most of us will be familiar with and Palmer has encountered during her India visit is the fact that most students interested in pursuing creative or artistic interests aren’t generally encouraged by their parents. “They are controlled by their parents and even if they want to study architecture, they end up becoming an engineer.” It’s an emotion Palmer can identify with.
When she chose to study design, her father worried that she wouldn’t be able to sustain herself. In fact, she reveals how she became a fashion illustrator quite by accident. “After the foundation year, we had to make a choice between sculpture, fashion, illustration, etc. During the summer break, the illustration instructor asked us to come back with our sketchbooks filled with work. But as young students, we had a good time, went to the beach during the holidays and did not have any work to show after going back,” she recalls.
Too “scared” to go back without having done the assignment, Palmer opted to specialise in fashion. Of course, there’s been no looking back since. Palmer was at the helm of Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion for 19 years prior to becoming the executive vice president of Artistic Development.
Now, on the last leg of her journey in India, Palmer confesses that grappling with time differences —working with city colleges during the day, co-ordinating university work post 10 pm, and erratic internet connections, has brought her down “on my knees”. But she’s already making plans to return. “Going by this time’s experience, I’m looking forward to coming back for something more proactive the next year,” she adds.
