A bright hand-painted dupatta cascades daintily on a mustard floor-length kurti . A stylish knotted back kalamkari blouse rests on a rich vermilion red sari. More saris and yardage in chanderi, chiffon, Mangalagiri, linen and kalamkari occupy half the space at CP Art Centre.
On the other side of the room are trendy western silhouettes — cigarette pants, tunics, shirts and dresses with cowl necks, collars and asymmetrical hemlines, in neutrals such as beige and olive. There are a few kurtis too, with cold shoulder and slit sleeves.
A treat for handloom lovers, the Airloom exhibition featured collections by designers Puja Sahney and Sarvamangala Chavali. After designing independently for 25 years, the duo from Hyderabad decided to join forces six months back, and that’s how Airloom came about.
“While we are yet to create a line that combines our expertise, for now, we are presenting creations from our own labels — Anagha by me has ethnic wear; and Navika by Sahney includes western silhouettes,” says Chavali. She brings out four new collections every year, and the present one is in subtle earthy shades with a good measure of vibrant pink, red and blue thrown in.
While Chavali offers blouses in seven sizes, Sahney offers 16 sizes. “When I started my label, I recorded measurements and weights of nearly 2,000 women, and based on that data, I offer these,” says Sahney. Pants start at XS size, which fits women in the 50 kilograms category and go upto XXXL that suits persons who weigh around 115 kilograms. The size for tops starts at 32 inches and goes up to 46 inches. She suggests block cuts for busty women. “Anti fits work best for those who have thin limbs but carry most of their weight in the middle of the body. This fit is worn by almost everybody the world over. It’s often not understood by Indian wearers.”
Other than researching on sizes, Sahney also likes working with new unusual hues. “I got some fabrics dyed mocha that’s a mix of dusty violet and beige. I also like using Harlequin green, sepia, calamine, tea stain, cinnamon, cumin, katha and kora,” she adds. Both their collections are fuss-free and practical. Sahney uses pre-shrunk cotton and says that some of her clothes are perfect to be thrown into a bag for travelling because they have the crushed look. She picks out a flowy beige knee-length tunic to emphasise her point. “These clothes last long. Chances are you will get bored of them before they wear out. One of my clients has tops that have lasted her for 13 years,” smiles Sahney.
For details, log on to their Facebook pages — anaghadesigns and navikaindia.
