Last year, inspiration was drawn from Persia, Shahbanu to be more specific and Islamic architecture to be exact. This year, it was all about Rajasthan, its royal women’s love for handcrafted work and haveli’s intricate craftsmanship, to be precise.
For Reynu Taandon, India Couture Week is special as it gives her once a year opportunity to showcase her creativity on clothes. She likes playing with gota patti just like an artist does with colours on canvas. “Gota patti gives me unbridled joy. The sheer power and magic of this embroidery is creatively so fulfilling when one works with it. My love for gotas is shared and enhanced by women of royal family of Rajasthan who even these days make it fondly with their hands. They like working with their hands, cutting and folding ribbons into flowers, patti (leaves) and then assimilating them to create motifs.”
As part of this collection, it was essential for Reynu not only to show her craftsmanship but also to show royal women’s expertise for this kind of work. “The idea was to ensure that gota work done behind close doors comes out of the homes of royalty and is embraced by brides.”
On the reason behind naming the collection “Kamangari”, Reynu says: “The word fits appropriately for royal women of Rajasthan who demonstrate their hand skills for the sheer love of craftsmanship. And the work they do is also bought by the local people. So the title relates to today’s women, who is independent, self reliant. Rajput women have been making them even when their fathers and husbands were rulers of princely States. So this aspect came out beautifully.”
Reynu claims, “Even my showstopper, Divya Khosla was an independent woman, who is into acting, direction of films and music videos.”
Divya was dressed in red velvet lehenga with multi coloured thread with dardoji work. Orange net dupatta with gota border work with tassels made her garment look like an archetypal Reynu Taandon outfit.
Reynu’s creations epitomise a great deal of spirit and energy with the colours and embellishments, brings out a flamboyant perspective to colour and contour. With clean, clear silhouettes, the hallmark of her design is elaborate draping, exquisite construction and immaculate finish.
Every silhouette reflected Rajasthan’s ethnic heritage ranging from meticulously handcrafted foil printing to usage of block prints on vibrant Chanderi fabrics. While the imprint of craftsmanship of the desert State was palpable on lehengas, anarkalis, the cuts, colours, fabric and crafts gave outfits a dash of modernity.
“This time I decided to look for an inspiration that was closer home. I chose Rajasthan, where I went for a fortnight with my friends recently, as its unique architecture urges me to unleash my creativity on garments. It has two kinds of architecture – Islamic and Rajput. Since I had covered Islamic architecture in India Couture Week last year, I decided to explore the architectural heritage and culture of Rajasthan, which was patronised by Rajput kings.”
Royal ladies’ homes or rather havelis was also a motivation as Reynu took inspiration from masonry work done on these well maintained structures, which retain old world charm. And she used Rajasthani motifs in lehengas and saris. “Intricate craftsmanship of jaalis used in havelis is simply mind blowing. For instance, I picked motifs from jharokha, (overhanging balcony) in sari, whose border had gota and mirror work. On blouse hand foil print has been done with pure gold patra. Then there is Rajasthani choli. I used techniques of Khari and foil printing, gotta and thread work on Chanderi. We used multi coloured fabric.”
Reynu’s experimentation with foil printing was laborious yet interesting. “Using gold ka patta on fabric is difficult as it is very fragile. One has to be careful while putting it on the fabric. It is like the thin layer of silver used on phirni. As I was doing it for the first time, I experimented it on diverse fabrics like georgette, velvet and silk. It did not give me the desired look on silk. Finally, I found that it looked the best on Chanderi. The intent was that khoobsurati (beauty) of foil printing should come out in an enchanting way. If gold foiling is used on the wrong fabric it becomes dull and appear like copper.”
