- Words by Laura Goldstein Photography by Jamie Mann

Designer, entrepreneur and unabashed romantic, Christine Morton is reminiscing about her illustrious career in lingerie from her 4,500-square-foot showroom and workshop in East Vancouver.

When big hair and exaggerated poses of pouting models epitomized 1980s magazine spreads, 香蕉视频直播渋t was a bit naughty advertising lingerie on real models back then,香蕉视频直播� she laughs. 香蕉视频直播淏ut, you know, I was never afraid to take risks.香蕉视频直播�

Risk-taking, an innate ability to reinterpret sensual beauty into sumptuous lingerie enjoyed by every age, as well as a dedicated, loyal workforce香蕉视频直播攎ore like family than employees香蕉视频直播攁re the secrets to her success, as she enters her 50th-anniversary year.

香蕉视频直播淚 call it slow fashion,香蕉视频直播� she adds, 香蕉视频直播渨ith incredible attention to details amid this era of mass production.香蕉视频直播�

That香蕉视频直播檚 an astounding feat for any business in these uncertain times.

Inspired by the films and fashions of femme fatales in the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema香蕉视频直播攍ike Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert and later Lauren Bacall香蕉视频直播擟hristine took note when they murmured, 香蕉视频直播淟et me slip into something more comfortable.香蕉视频直播�

(Ironically, she once received an order directly from Lauren Bacall for Coco Silk Pajamas in the 香蕉视频直播�90s!)

Realizing there was an untapped niche for high-end lingerie made in Canada, Christine says, 香蕉视频直播淚 feel like my business has now come full circle. It started as a cottage industry in my home basement in West Vancouver in the 香蕉视频直播�70s, and I still depend on many home seamstresses, some of whom have worked for me for almost 40 years.香蕉视频直播�

She adds, 香蕉视频直播淥ur managing director, Raymond Lee, has been with me for six years and is the key to the future of Christine Lingerie.香蕉视频直播�

Looking back on her 50 years in business, she recalls the early days of her career.

香蕉视频直播淚 had always collected lace (now vintage) from France and Switzerland, hand-made rosettes, and loved the feel of 100 per cent silk on the body,香蕉视频直播� she says, without a trace of her once-Scottish burr.

香蕉视频直播淚t was very early days in the 香蕉视频直播�70s, but I decided to take my small collection of silk teddies and tap pants to New York. I walked in the back door of Henri Bendel and I saw all these designers lined up like a cattle call. I just walked past everybody, and the buyer had never seen anything like my pieces. He thought they were 香蕉视频直播榚xotic香蕉视频直播� coming from Canada and even displayed them in the Bendel windows!香蕉视频直播� laughs Christine, who was instrumental in starting a comeback of those styles popularized in the 1920s and the precursor of the bodysuit.

We can thank Madonna for kick-starting the trend in the 香蕉视频直播�80s of wearing lingerie as outerwear as early as her first starring role in the film Desperately Seeking Susan. That trend endures to this day, as Christine so cleverly cultivates. Her use of exquisite silk charmeuse (light in weight with a high sheen) drapes beautifully, and she uses it to create kimonos, caftans, pajama sets and slip dresses equally popular as glam cocktail, evening and resort wear. She has also had several brides wear her silk ensembles as wedding gowns.

It wasn香蕉视频直播檛 long before film and TV costume designers came calling: from the casts of 香蕉视频直播�70s mega hits, like Dynasty and Dallas, to the recent Netflix series Firefly Lane and Virgin River, both shot in BC, to name only a few. Celebrity devotees of the Christine Lingerie brand include Oprah, Jane Fonda, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Lovato and Chrissy Teigen. Several Saudi Arabian princesses have apparently discovered Christine Lingerie online.

Christine adores colour and we watch as a pattern cutter unrolls undulating fabric to lay out swathes of silk.

Her 50th Anniversary Collection features 95 mix-and-match pieces in themed combinations that include: Geisha, a stunning silk kimono, robes and caftan printed in exquisite pastels and Japanese motifs; Sakura, a vibrant mixed floral and geometric print in Italian silk that can be paired with solid saffron-coloured silk crepe and French Calais stretch lace separates; and the enchanting Amelie Collection, including loungewear, robes and slip dresses in black polka-dots printed on pink stretch silk or silk chiffon with black Italian embroidered lace. Magnifique!

香蕉视频直播淏ut it香蕉视频直播檚 time to spoil the men too,香蕉视频直播� says Morton emphatically.

The Morton For Men Tranquility & Spa Collection features mix-and-match loungewear, robes and boxers in 100 per cent silk waffle and silk charmeuse.

Christine still designs and sketches by hand and, in addition to her regular collections, also creates one-of-a-kind elegant pieces for department store Neiman Marcus in New York.

The world香蕉视频直播檚 refugee problems and community charities in support of women have always been and remain a big part of Christine香蕉视频直播檚 (and her late husband, David Farris香蕉视频直播檚) life. They sponsored several 香蕉视频直播渂oat people香蕉视频直播� escaping from Laos in 1983, and one of those people, Alina Chang香蕉视频直播攁 skilled seamstress香蕉视频直播攃urrently heads up the production department at the company.

Says Christine, now a first-time grandmother: 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e been so blessed to love what I do and be able to sell it! Family, defined in so many ways, is what gives me the most joy and happiness in my life.香蕉视频直播�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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