In late 1980s Kavita Bhartia stormed the fashion world with her visual narration. Her eye for detailing could be seen in heavily embroidered traditional outfits like lehengas and kurtis. Cut to 2016, Kavita continues to use embroideries but in a subtle, understated way. And her creations suggest that less is in.
“When I began my journey, I lavishly used block printing and ikkat. Earlier outfits were heavy, had exaggerated motifs and difficult to carry. Earlier embroidery was done in the old school way. It still holds good for the trousseau market. For fashion weeks I work in a restrained manner as far as embroidery is concerned. So I combine textures, block printing and lace. Indian elements are used but I ensure that my clothes are stylish and fun looking. We have to understand that the design language has to alter with the times. Today, my label identifies with modern women,” says Kavita,
who showcased Route’d Iznik, her collection, at the just concluded Amazon India Fashion Week.
She has interpreted motifs used on Turkish pottery in the collection. “I brought beautiful potteries from Istanbul but did not look at them as items for my collection of potteries. I looked at the design elements like contours of fish and ships. Taking inspiration from tulip based designs I created and used flowers on my outfits. Interpretation was done in the Indian way. So resham, zardozi and pearl work was teamed together. I have been going to Turkey, which like India is an age old civilization and this time Izmic pottery of the small Turkish village worked for me.”
Her fascination for flowers also goes back a long way. Shapes and sizes of Turkish flowers were redesigned into floral motifs to create magic on the ramp. “Little flowers from Turkey like tulips, daffodils were used on kurtas, jackets and skirts. Again, they were done in the Indian way. Like in a skirt I showed white on white resham work and teamed it with a jacket. Flowers were completely created by hand. In some outfits they were first made by hand and then machine was used.”
Design is a very fine art as one has to careful that it does not become over the top yet relate to contemporary times.
“Nowadays people want to wear smart. Tisca Chopra, my showstopper, suggested that she could wear my jackets with sari. Jacket has similar motifs language but a lot of handwork like zardozi has been done. Western silhouettes appeal Indians. We teamed jacket with a skirt for the fashion week. But for the festival market I would team the same jacket with sharara or lehega. Each piece is very functional; so we have a skirt which can be worn with a jacket which has Isnic motif language but also has block printing.”
While one half of the outfit is full of aesthetically pleasing designs and motifs, the remaining part is simply plain. And the look is Western although all the work right from preparing a khaka to giving the finishing touches are done by her loyal team of artisans in her factory in Noida.
“We have combined block printing and lace like effect on pure fabric . Each dress is A-line and has double layered feel, which can fit any body type and not just a slim model. The focus is on functional and funky clothing which is easy to wear. People enjoyed my show because they could imagine what they would like look like on them.”
