It was definitely a grand finale, complete with disc jockeys and drummers, dancers and lasers, and Bollywood’s latest queen, Kangana Ranaut. Designer Namarata Joshipura presented her new collection, ‘elecTRON’, at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2014, bringing the five day event to a beautiful, stylish and exciting wrap.
Tell us a little about the collection, and its conception.
I have two major fascinations in life. Very often my collections revolve these two subjects. One is the outdoors and nature. And a lot of that love comes through into my clothes and collection. The other fascination is with sci-fi. For a very long while now, I’ve been very interested in sci-fi films, just their sheer production quality. Usually, when I do my presentations, they involve a lot of play of light and laser, which is due to this interest. This time, I’ve brought it into my collection, and the show.
It’s called Electron. It’s a result of my never-ending fascination with technology and science fiction along with the digital world, brain mapping and Artificial Intelligence. The collection has used patterns from Artificial Intelligence and brain mapping. I had wanted to do not just florals. I love flowers, and they are there in this collection, but they are slightly more digitised. The mood and the feel of the show is also very digital.
And how has this idea translated into the clothing? Is the look futuristic?
No, it’s not really a futuristic look. It’s a very modern look. I have played along with shapes this time, shapes that I have not worked with before. Of course, the collection includes my standard body suits, camisoles, styles which my customers like. Designing those is in my DNA, so that’s there. Besides that there is the red carpet look, which our label is known for. But even within these looks, we have worked with our motif placements and made them what you can call a slightly more sensual Artificial Intelligence.
There is also a lot of play of pattern and texture in this collection. We’ve used innovative texturing methods, where we have taken fabric, cut it into strips and woven it into fabric again, so it gets a beautiful textural effect.
You are the grand finale designer, and it’s the last day of a very packed five-day event. Tell us a little about the experience at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2014?
It’s been a good week for us. And business wise too it’s been good. We’ve opened a few more accounts. I have had a long association with Wills Lifestyle and FDCI. I’ve been showcasing with Wills for 10 years. I also look forward to having my range at Wills Lifestyle stores. I feel that the event is growing in quantity and quality both, and I am honoured to be the grand finale designer at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week.
Have you noticed a change in the audience, and the buyers? Do you see the styles and demands altering?
I think people are slightly more contemporary, and are turning more to western wear. Older women are wearing more western clothes, and I’m always most comfortable designing those. Having said that, I’ve just started working on an Indian line, which we launched last season. It is also a take on my contemporary clothing. It’s based on the same sensibilities. But I won’t use the word fusion because I feel like it’s a hybrid word, it doesn’t fit anywhere.
Do you see this Autumn-Winter collection working for Delhi winters?
Oh yes, I have two retail stores in Delhi and a huge part of my client base and buyers are in Delhi. I do a lot of jackets, shorter jackets longer jackets, that is something very important since my customers look for that. This collection includes those pieces. It’s an all out winter fall collection.
