The display racks and mannequins twinkled in the sunlight that streamed in through the wide glass windows. The Healing Garden, the latest collection by mother-daughter designer duo Jamila and Seema Malhotra of the Bangalore-based bridal studio Shimmer, made its debut at Collage in Chennai over the weekend.
“The collection takes inspiration from nature; I strongly believe that nature has the power to heal and nourish both body and soul,” said Seema, who was in the city for the launch. Drawing from the beauty of the Mughal Gardens, and being from the Garden City, she added, helped reinforce this influence in their clothes.
From pale pinks and peaches to soft beige and ivory, the colour palette also includes summery greens, reds and yellows. Seema said, “I love playing around with translucent fabrics, which adds an aura of mystery to the clothes. So the collection features a lot of georgette, net, chiffon and lame, covered in intricate embellishments in floral motifs. “We try not to stick to one kind of embellishment; we fuse pearls, kundan and lucknowi work to create unique designs,” she explains.
Designed keeping the sensibilities of the modern bride in mind, the collection features contemporary silhouettes: long jackets paired with palazzos and shararas, anarkalis with textured tone-on-tone embroideries and elegant saris. While the clothes are suitably embellished to be bridal wear, they are not over-the-top. “We have a lot of people who walk into our store just to pick up the embroidered jackets. They go very well with any contemporary Indo-Western look, and that’s what we aim for,” said Seema.
The former Miss India contestant is a self-taught designer, and joined her mother soon after she finished college. “I always had a passion for clothes, fashion and design. My mother was a big influence and it’s great working with her,” she said. Together, they have also been part of the costume team for movies like Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love . In 2008, along with another mother-daughter duo, Nafisa and Nikhath Noor , they launched Shimmer as an exclusive bridal boutique. “We do have a large customer base from Chennai, and hope that we can continue to showcase our work here,” said Seema.
The Healing Garden bridal collection will be on display at Collage, 153, Greams Road, till June 3.
