Tailoring has never been celebrated in a grander way in recent times than voluminous sleeves.
These loose dangling pieces of cloth make the garments look appealing, sensual and create drama on the ramp as seen at the recent LIFW.
Desi designers’ presentation of voluminous sleeves in new fashionable avatars has been influenced by Japanese fashion guru Yohji Yamamoto, whose avant garde tailoring style and silhouettes are becoming an international trend.
Voluminous sleeves are a take off from kimono sleeves. According to designer Sonal Verma, achieving volume in garments is a tricky game.
“The fall, feel, texture and volume of the fabric being used becomes very crucial so as to fit beautifully on the arms without making the wearer look bulky. Technical process involved in creating voluminous sleeves helms from the simple fact that the fabric/material being used is appropriate.”
For Ishanee Mukherjee, the challenge of creating and showcasing loose sleeves was to make outfits strike the right balance.
“If the sleeves are the key element, everything else should only be simple and minimal. While our sleeves make the statement, we have kept silhouettes of other bit of ensemble simple.”
Stress on comfort
The collection was named Kuki which translates to air in Japanese.
“We used organza for our voluminous sleeves, the lightweight of the fabric allowed us to use ample fabric to create the right amount of drama,”
To get that perfect look, Sailesh Singhania of Hyderabad created “handwoven organs of blouses” to go with voluminous sleeves.
Outfit created by Sailesh Singhania
“It is the first time that I experimented with sleeves. Here blouses made saris look elaborate. I wanted to connect Indian garment with European culture and entice young generation.”
Sailesh says: “The only challenge was how to make sleeves comfortable on saris. So I brought about easiness of drape. The inspiration came from texture of khadi. This was translated into Japanese kimono type or innocent Victorian pleated sleeves.”
On using sleeves as part of functional clothing, Sonal says: “A voluminous sleeve too long can be uncomfortable to the wearer while dining or travelling. Too short can make wearer look awfully proportionate from the arms.
So it’s essential to know the right lengths when following trends.”
