What's Brewing With Christine Alcalay

What's inspiring you creatively right now?

Creatively, what's inspiring me most is finding ways to work against what's trending. I think we've all felt the urge to return to the tangible — people, experiences, flavors, things you can actually touch. I just came back from three weeks in Vietnam, and what inspired me most were the ordinary moments, the simplicity of the things that truly make us happy. I don't know if there's a word for it — those small, quiet human moments where the ordinary happens and somehow brings joy. The way the grass blows in the wind. Friends sitting together over a meal, in conversation. These are the moments that have slipped into the crevices of our busy lives, and I think they're the ones that need to be noticed and magnified. The inspiration of sitting still and watching life itself.

Does tea play a role in your creative process?

Tea is like meditation. Whenever my life feels like it is moving too fast to be sustainable or attainable, I always reach for tea. Tea is an immediate breath of air, an inhale and exhale combined. My process for design is pretty rigid when it comes to routine. My mornings need to be set up for clarity and space for the kind of creative flow needed to do work that is free. Having a cup of tea and the process of making tea usually grounds me, whether it is in the morning or if I’m working late. It’s the most calming ritual I have and I’ve become quite dependent on it for its forced warmth and slow down.

What's the connection, if any, between making tea and making clothing?

You can’t rush it. Good things take time, process and patience.

Your F/W 2026 collection is titled Duyên. For those unfamiliar with the word, what does it mean to you, and why did it feel like the right title for this collection?

I love this Vietnamese word because inside it isn't just a definition but an entire world. Duyên can mean different things. It can mean charm, a magnetic presence, the quality of being charming. It can also mean fate, destiny, chance. And it's the invisible thread that links people together.

For me, my design is that literal thread. It’s the one thing that connects me to whoever wears it. Invisible, but I feel it. Like the game kids used to play with two cans and a string stretched between them, talking across the distance. I believe the wearer of my work can feel my intention through it.

If Duyên were a cup of tea, what would it taste, smell, or feel like?

Green Jasmine, the smell of uncooked Rice, pandam with a lemongrass lift.

Dona's Rising Green is one of your favorites. If Rising Green had a soundtrack, which songs would make the cut? 

Oooh. Good question. It’s so earthy yet light and since it is my favorite tea, it would make sense it would have some of my favorite songs…

Dos Gardenias but version by Isolina Carrillo, Marina Viotta

Solo Violin by Rafael Krux

Un anni d’amore by Mina

Yumeji’s Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi

What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life by Rolf Kuhn

What's a daily ritual you never skip?

Telling my husband and children that I love them every morning and every night.

What's the first tea you reach for in the morning?

Matcha for the slowness and beauty of the ritual.

Loose leaf or sachet?

Loose and home and sachet at work

Hot or iced?

I drink my tea hot but a iced green is also the perfect answer for a hot day.

What kind of conversation is best shared over a pot of tea?

Any but my favorite conversations of tea are always about finding out more about the person in front of me. Tea has a way of allowing people to open up.

If you could share a pot of tea with anyone, living or passed, who would it be and why?

I would love the chance to share one last pot of tea with my late sister in law, Binty. I often have dreams that we are having tea once more.