Beauty of imperfection
Having appeared in seven fashion weeks, Pallavi Singhee is not new to the hullaballoo associated with the events. This time, the young designer charges ahead with a brand named ‘Verb’. “The collection takes you back in time and celebrates both glory and melancholy found in passing time. It tells you to embrace yourself, accepting your faults. It celebrates the beauty of imperfection and the profundity in earthliness,” she says about her collection.
Her mantra has been to ‘make wearable fashion, affordable fashion’. While the cuts are breezy and feminine and the vibe is bohemian, the line has chiffons, laces and crepes with vintage floral and checks prints dyed in hues of pinks and blues. “This collection is inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of beauty Wabi Sabi - the beauty in imperfection. It takes a mind quite enough to appreciate muted beauty, courage not to fear bareness and willingness to accept things as they are - without ornamentation. Wabi Sabi celebrate the ability to slow down, to shift the balance from being to doing, appreciating rather than perfecting,” she explains.
Pallavi is thrilled at the fashion diversity emerging across the country. “Our designers are very global and well travelled. And with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, fashion is not proprietary anymore. Every newcomer is very aware of the surroundings and is constantly trying to create an individualistic collection, which is well blended with the global market. There is no insecurity; every designer tries to create his/her own space,” she avers.
When newcomers compete with veteran designers at fashion weeks, is there an added pressure? “Not really, the vibe of the newcomer is so fresh and market is totally different,” she shares. With her label available in seven countries worldwide, she has plans to expand. “Now, I am looking to giving it a new lift by participating in shows and trade fairs abroad,” she signs off.
Creative zeal
All eyes are on city girl Jayanti Reddy as she showcases her collection at Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016. “I am both excited and nervous,” laughs Jayanti. Interestingly, her cousin Shriya Bhupal is also making a debut at the fashion week. Jayanti’s collection is called Siaa. “It’s all about re-imagining the past,” she states and adds. “The rich details and structured silhouettes make my collection unique. They represent a woman who is Indian, yet modern.” In organic cotton, woven silks and naturally dyed prints, her collection has shades of intense red, rust, indigo blue, mustard and beige and the zardosi handwork brings in the shimmer.
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Jayanti Reddy was a management student but always had a keen interest in fashion. “It was my passion for clothes and love for creativity that inspired me to enter the field of fashion. There was no looking back ever since,” she smiles. Her label ‘Jayanti Reddy’ was launched in 2011 and since then her focus has been to make her creations wearable. “With no formal training, it was initially challenging to play with cuts and silhouettes. However, I am self taught and this has honed my technical knowledge in design,” she recalls. With a keen sense of observation, her surroundings boosted her creativity. “Be it travel, people or even art…everything around me seems to bring out the creativity in me.”
Jayanti affirms how youngsters like her bring in a new zeal and freshness to the ramp. “We attract a fair amount of curiosity to begin with. Being in this generation, I feel we have a clear understanding and perspective about current trends and fashion,” she states. Jayanti, who wants to work more with Indian textiles and weavers adds, “I think competition to a certain extent is healthy. If there’s an added pressure, it’s the pressure to work harder.”
Edgy and flowy
Young Naga designer Asa Kazeingei pays a tribute to Mother Nature with his collection. Hailing from Lunghar village, Ukhrul district in Manipur, Asa entered the industry in 2008 and has made a mark for himself. For spring-summer 2016, he has worked with gowns. In a series of evening gowns, he has managed the right balance of sensuality and romance. With a choice of net, satin, lycra and lace, he has played with layering and textures. “Its uniqueness is the fresh natural colours and textures, which is just perfect for this season,” states the youngster. The colour palette includes green and touches of orange, red and black. “My inspiration is nature. Her creatures exist in harmony and balance. I was drawn specially to the beautiful Iguana (reptiles), both behaviourally and aesthetically,” he points out. His designs are edgy, sharp and structured on the upper layer and flowy at the bottom. “As for this season, I have focused more on the colours and textures. It is enhanced and is more edgy and flowy,” he adds.
Since his debut in 2012 in Lakme Fashion Week, he has participated twice. Asa also tries to highlight his region’s uniqueness in his design sensibilities. “It is the beauty of the hand woven and colour combinations embraced in the shawl which is unique. It has also given me a thought that we can create anything by experimenting,” he says.
Recently actors Varun Dhawan and Hrithik Roshan were spotted wearing Asa’s collection. “It makes a lot of difference in terms of publicity when actors wear our clothes,” he smiles. Bolstered by his experiences, Asa says youngsters like him bring in the wow factor. “A designer like me will always bring liveliness and make the sessions invigorating. I want the audience to enjoy and have fun,” he says. Asa is determined to make his dreams come true and not follow the herd. “I love to go high, keep experimenting with new designs which are out of the box. Never give up, no matter what the challenges are.”
Bundle of nerves
“I am too excited. I can’t really sleep at night,” laughs Shriya Bhupal. The city youngster gets a privileged start as she makes a debut with her label ‘Shriya Som’ on April 2 at the Lakme Fashion Week 2016. Her collection ‘Ebb and Flow’ has been inspired by the life and death of a flower. “I start off my prêt line with the blooming of the flower. There are a lot of pastel colours and then in the evening wear, a lot of deeper, darker tones appear. It is contradicting in the sense that I use a lot of embroidery,” she points out. The brand is an ode to her father, who passed away from cancer a few years ago. Shriya will be showcasing 16 garments in the show. “Initially I had hoped to present 40 but now I can focus only on the evening wear.”
Shriya didn’t realise her love for fashion until she got into college. “I was experimenting with different fields like graphic designing and animation. I don’t know what's really intriguing in fashion because it was sort of comparing what you see a woman’s body in, a completely different form or a different way. That an approach of how you put a silhouette can change, is what I really liked,” she states. She started the label two years ago and it took her six months to realise what her first collection was going to be. Her mentor has been Tarun Tahiliani with whom she interned while studying abroad. “Unless you work, you won’t know how to communicate with your tailors or embroiders. I feel like I learnt so much from him,” she adds.
Shriya did a couple of capsules for Angasutra and a few brands. Before concluding, she jokes how her family has been her biggest critic. “I have grown up with a lot of luxury around me and will be facing the real world now. My biggest critic I feel is my family. They travel and buy a lot and compare me to the bigger brands. It is a big push.”
