Gorgeous apparel and jewellery, essentially Indian in style, make for an ideal and sophisticated look for the Indian woman. An exhibition and sale of apparel by Sooti Se Resham, and StyleAura, based out of Bangalore, will enhance this style.
“Sooti Se Resham will have a range of apparel with chikankari work, appliqué work on silk, embroidery on net, chiffon georgettes, chanderis and khadis,” says Sabrina Mukund, who started Sooti Se Resham with partner Maheshwari Sinha, a year ago. “There will be saris, kurtis, shirts for ladies and dress material fabrics.” She adds that every ladies’ shirt has an exclusive design. “There isn’t one shirt that is like the other. They are all different.”
Sabrina’s research of chikankari is intensive. Her objective of starting Sooti Se Resham was to bring back the often ignored Karigars to centrestage. “Our country is sitting on a range of rich handlooms. We should not just focus on one fabric. At Sooti… besides there being a range of apparel, we work on a variety of fabrics and focus on workmanship. Most of the karigars are in fact women.”
Another aspect of design that Sabrina pays attention to is cuts. “Sometimes the craft maybe good, but the cuts aren’t, so the apparel doesn’t fall on the body well. We concentrate on cuts and styling.”
The apparel is priced between Rs. 800 and Rs. 13,000 for saris, the kurtis are between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2000.
Ruchi Kochhar started StyleAura three years ago. StyleAura specialises in jewellery, Chanderi jackets and kaftans. “I have been into the design field for many years,” says Ruchi. “I studied a merchandise course in the United States.”
At Serenity there will be neckpieces with earrings to go with and select Chanderi jackets. “StyleAura specialises in natural hand cut stones in combination with semi-precious stones. These natural stones are embellished with kundan work, hand painted work and some are even left in their raw, natural state.”
Though the work on the jewellery is traditional, it has a contemporary design. Ruchi, who is a Reiki healer, speaks of the healing stones she uses in her jewellery. “When I design jewellery, I put together energised crystals. Agate is a volcanic stone that absorbs negative energy from the body. Amber is actually a fossil which has tree and plant-extracts embedded in it. These stones are energisers, both at the emotional and mental levels.” The neckpieces are priced between Rs.2,100 and Rs. 5,000 and the earrings are priced at Rs. 399 and above. The Chanderi jackets are approximately priced at Rs.1,799.
The exhibition will be on till August 29, at Serenity, 8/1, 5th Main Jaymahal extension from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 41279127.
