Visualise this. A typical Chettinad sari with bands of vibrant colour imaginatively enhanced with pavadai -like pleats in Kalamkari fabric cut from a dupatta! It isn't easy to integrate intricate pleats below the knee in a way they not only drape well but also make the usual seem unusual. Prabha Narasimhan believes in giving such original, can't-go-unnoticed touches to her designs.
After a three-decade whirl in the airlines industry, Prabha decided to let her passion for design take flight. A few years into the fashion world, and Amrita, her studio in Nungambakkam (ph:42043630), has become a destination for complete design solutions for the cognoscenti. “My mom knew I had it in me. I always added my own stuff to garments and saris even while zipping across the globe in my previous jobs with SITA Travels and Singapore Airlines,” smiles the svelte Prabha.
Custom-made choices
From fancy cholis and exquisitely detailed saris to casual kurtis and architectural gowns, Amrita is about custom-made choices. “I work from scratch, taking into account the client's personality, preference and pocket. Today, everyone is looking for the ‘what's new' factor in design. My job is to deliver that.”
A lover of crafts and textiles, Prabha departs from the purists' route, and prefers to mix, match and tweak embroidery and textile traditions, and come up with something different every time. So, if you see aari romancing French knots, zardosi sharing space with appliqué, or Kalamkari getting too close to kantha, don't be surprised. “The challenge lies in marrying diverse influences without a jarring note. Full credit to my talented group of artisans, who painstakingly pull off every creative challenge. Some of the pieces take over a month to complete. Saris get sold on the embroidery frame itself!” she smiles.
Trousseau, her forte
Talk about trousseau, one of her strong points, and Prabha blushes: “Clients come to me for the complete look. Sometimes, we start with the shopping! Besides the rich embroidery on saris, we create cholis with intricate work, drawing inspiration from the jewellery the bride will be wearing. So it's a well-coordinated look. Today, brides are not just demanding, they are willing to experiment as well. And, that goes with my design philosophy.”
Prabha, who has designed costumes for dancer Anita Ratnam's productions and school annual day shows, is not keen on retail, though. “My hands are full. I'm not for doing huge volumes. I like to stick to deadlines. Retail would mean many compromises. I'm not capable of that.” However, she's launched her own label of jewellery recently. Called Abharan, the beads-with-whatever-you-like line too smacks of Prabha's inventiveness. “It's priced at Rs. 1,500 upwards. I've mixed-and-matched beads and used metal motifs, etc., to perk up the look,” says Prabha, adjusting a stunning multi-strand piece on her neck.
As she swerves from ethnic and contemporary silhouettes and woven cottons to diaphanous techno-savvy fabrics, Prabha says her success, be it in the airlines industry or in design, is because she's “not a clock-watcher.”
