They are as funky as their creator. Beads of cerulean blue, fuzzy pink, dusky gold, iridescent mauve, soothing green and a multitude of other gorgeous hues lend a splash of colour to up-and-coming city-based designer Lekha Rajeev's latest collection of jewellery under her ‘Peekri' fashion label.
The collection will be unveiled in the city on Saturday in a one-day exhibition-cum-sale at Club Room 2, Ground Floor, Winter Mist, Seasons Apartments, Kuravankonam, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In keeping with the trend for “contemporary fashion jewellery that makes a statement,” Lekha's handmade collection features some 60 or so chunky necklaces and matching earrings made of non semi-precious beads in a wide variety of colours and styles.
Handmade
“The designs reflect my personal taste in jewellery; what I would wear to make a chic statement or add that extra oomph to an outfit,” says Lekha, a graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Chennai. “I was browsing through a store in England and I came across these fabulous chunky necklaces, all of which seemed to have the ‘Made in India' tag. That got me thinking about starting a line of accessories – jewellery, bags, shoes – in between my other design projects,” she adds.
Buoyed by the encouraging response from family and friends not to mention how quickly orders came pouring in (via word of mouth) for her trendy designs, the young designer decided that it was time to take her line public. “This exhibition is the first step towards a Peekri fashion studio,” says the young designer who claims that affordability is the USP of the collection. “As such I have handmade each piece using only acrylic or glass beads. All necklaces are lightweight and in the range of Rs.300 to Rs.600 while most of the earrings cost less than Rs.100. Those made of glass beads will naturally be costlier than the acrylics,” says the designer whose designs can be found in leading stores in Chennai.
Combination colours
The beads themselves are a wonder to behold for their hues and shapes. With her keen eye for detail and impeccable taste, Lekha has skillfully come up with some great combinations of colours that immediately make you to want to search for clothes to accessorise them rather than the other way around. And to add a quirk to her designs, Lekha has also come up with some feminine names for each piece, that somehow reflect its aesthetics. Abira – an African name that means strong – for instance, has been given to one that makes a statement with bold oranges, golds and greens, vaguely resembling tribal jewellery. Molly, on the other hand, appears to be much more mellow with its pink beads that have been ‘flocked' (with a textile-like velvety finish). Again Junan is bold with huge purplish-maroon and dusky gold beads. Likewise Inga, Galena, Makea, Kyla, Maia, Myrrah, Larissa and many others in her portfolio.
“I deliberately chose to have only a few items for sale because I want to maintain exclusivity. When they see my jewellery I want people to say ‘Oh that's a Peekri,'” says Lekha with a smile.
At the exhibition Lekha will also display 14 of her ‘Art by Peekri' abstract acrylics on canvas, which come in a variety of hues, both bold and sombre juxtaposed against each other. “Like all my designs these paintings are affordable décor with an exclusive touch,” says Lekha as she points to a colourful yellow, green and red one. And if her new collection is anything to go by, it's sure to sell out like hot cakes.
