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Pacific jaunt

Catch up with designer Sonam Dubal, all set to participate in Australian Fashion Week

EASTERN APPEAL A model in a Sonam Dubal creation

Sonam Dubal is one of the leading names that would be missing from the ramp at the forthcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. The reason? The designer is flying out to Melbourne to participate in the Australian Fashion Week 2007 where he would be showcasing a trans-seasonal collection. Sonam has been selected along with Narendra Kumar and Nandita Mehtani by IMG from Lakme Fashion Week.

Known for bringing the Oriental flavour to Indian fashion, Sonam would be playing to his strength - designs that are soothing. "I have always believed that we should try to make our local traditions global rather than the other way round. With a significant aboriginal culture, I feel Australians will respect the feeling. Then there is a strong Asian community living in Australia as well," says Sonam.

The inspiration

Inspired by 1920's, the jazz era and personalities like Marlene Dietrich, Matahari and Coco Chanel, Sonam says his collection depicts the ethos of that period. "I have used lots of peaches and pinks with black. Then there is interesting use of dabka on eri silk from Assam bringing in the Oriental charm. Little flower motfis and ample use of tie-dye technique, interplay of textures are some of the other highlights."

A graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Sonam says it's his mixed parentage that helped him in providing an insight into different cultures. "My father is a Maharashtrian and my mother is from Sikkim." The outfit to look out for is a shell sherwani for women matched with wrap pyjamas. "Then I have used the map of the 1920s as the leitmotif in some of the outfits. It is in the form of washes, so it makes a subtle presence. The intention is also to emphasise the importance of lack of boundaries."

He shares that he has tried a new silhouette, which takes the shape of a cocoon. "It manifests in the form of long kimono wraps and kaftans."

Sonam stresses though his creations have a mystical aura to them, all of them are practical. "I work with the artisans and advise them to mould their craft to suit today's fashion." But in the same vein, he adds, "Conservation and development should go together, not at the cost of one another. We should understand certain traditions are meant for the sustenance of the local communities and not for the use of the outside world."

He points out that certain tussar and monga silk weaves need immediate attention.

"Also the industry is not paying attention to the dying crafts of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland."

ANUJ KUMAR

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