Sakhi Thomas loves the casual look and is “most comfortable” in her favourite pair of jeans and long-sleeve kurtas, most of which she herself fashions out of scraps of cloth. In fact, she meets at the door dressed in a hot pink kurta with tassels that she made out of a jute dupatta. “My personal style suits my work. I am outdoors most of the time and need to travel a lot. So I wear a lot of casual clothes, especially cottons, which keep me cool and comfortable, and full-sleeves keep me from getting tanned!” says Sakhi, with a laugh. But that doesn't mean Sakhi doesn't know how to oomph it up when she wants to, as she proves five minutes later when she turns up for the photo-shoot dressed in a hand-worked navy blue chiffon sari, teamed with a long-sleeve kurta-like silk blouse in ochre, and matching accessories. No surprises there. Sakhi does make a career out of dressing up Mollywood, after all.
And dress them she does. Sakhi debuted as a costume designer in Malayalam with Syamaprasad's Off Season , one of the segments in the portmanteau film, Kerala Cafe (2009). Since then she has designed costumes for the likes of Nayanthara, Manisha Koirala, Prakash Raj, and Sameera Reddy in films such as Elektra , Oru Naal Varum, and Violin . Her latest film is Second Show , where she has styled its hero Lalu (Dulquer Salmaan) and other characters, the costumes perfectly suiting the character progression on screen.
“The feedback I got for Second Show was: ‘What costume? Nothing about costumes was evident!”' says Sakhi, bursting into laughter. “I, however, consider that as the biggest compliment ever! Costumes should fit the scene and never overpower the frame; costumes will stand out only when they are exaggerated. Malayalam cinema is still very script oriented and calls for a lot of realism. Therefore, in Mollywood there is only so much you can do by way of experimentation in costume design. You can give the characters only what people generally wear,” says Sakhi.
Directors' involvement
“It depends on the script, the particular situation, and the involvement of the director. I like it when directors – and cinematographers too – are involved in the process and give me detailed briefs of what they want. In Second Show , I would have gone all out and dressed Lalu and Kurudi (the character essayed by newcomer Sunny Wayne) in suits if not for director Srinath Rajendran's idea of minimalism. In Elektra , director Syamaprasad was specific about the different emotional phases of the characters, and I was able to match moods with colours. For Violin , director Sibi Malayil gave me the freedom to play around with bold colours and styles as befitting an Anglo-Indian family. Syam sir's Arike , which I am currently working on, has a neutral colour palette that most cinematographer's shy away from...,” says the petite 30-year-old. Her next movie to hit the screens is Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty , which is set to release next week.
A native of the city, the jovial youngster graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFT), Delhi, after completing a bachelor's degree in commerce from Mahatma Gandhi College in the city. Subsequently, she worked as a design manager with Arvind Mills in Ahmedabad and Delhi, specialising in knits, ethnic wear, and denims for three-and-a-half years before returning home, where she lives with her parents – mother, Cechamma George ‘Jolly,' a former VSSC employee, and her father, P.C. Thomas ‘Joy,' who retired from the Treasury Department. She then worked on the television as a costumer on reality shows.
Into Mollywood
Mollywood came calling soon afterwards when Syamaprasad, impressed by a gown that she designed for Nandini, the host of Super Star on Amrita TV, chose her for Off Season .
So did her parents object to her choice of a career? “Not really. I think they were okay with it because I work behind the camera. My father raised my brother, Tittoo, and me to be independent and self-sufficient in whatever we do. My mother, seeing the clothes I generally wear, still can't believe I am a costume designer. In fact, she always threatens to show the world, the contents of my wardrobe!”
Although Sakhi now enjoys working in the “hectic, but thrilling world of filmdom” more than she ever liked working in the corporate sector – “Your whole world is limited to the design on a rectangular scrap of fabric called the Jeans pocket!” she explains, with a shudder – it is in couture that she dreams of making a mark. “All the other aspects of fashion design are like a, b, c, d... the basics that you need to learn before stepping into the big league. It's been a dream of mine ever since I debuted my couture collection titled ‘Mahek- e-Khwab – Fragrance of a Dream' for my final graduate project at NIFT. It was inspired by the innocent pink and white dreams of our teenage years. I played around with curves and lines, and all the models looked like sexy fairies! Just like an artist's brush strokes on canvas, couture is a fashion designer's way of expressing creativity. I want to reach a level where I have proper clients for my couture. Ultimately, I want one of my designs on the red carpet at the Oscars!” says Sakhi.
As a first step in that direction, the young designer is reworking some of the costumes that she has created over the years for various films and getting the entire collection professionally photographed. She will also be shortly launching ‘Sampanna,' her brand of affordable casual wear – kurtas and tops – at major retail outlets in Kerala.
