We're in the jet-age, where food, travel, communication and even clothes come fast, what with the technology that caters to mass production in every field. But here is one designer – Padmaja Krishnan – who prefers to step out of the rat race and take things slow.
That includes even the clothes that she designs. Instead of catering to the colours of the season and coming up with a collection for every mood, and season, she prefers to work at her own pace, doing everything from the cutting to the stitching, to create something that is “all hand made”.
Padmaja lived in Kolkata most part of her life before moving to Mumbai four years ago.
She says she is influenced by the culture of Kolkata “in terms of aesthetics and fabric. I use a lot of khadi as I have grown up seeing it. Colours are not the typical neon-bling stuff but I prefer more of hand-crafted and embroidered or katha work. In fact, most of my designs are hand stitched,” she says.
It was during her teens that she learnt the art of cutting and sewing from a Punjabi neighbour and started making her own clothes. It was only after seeing her style that her sister “insisted” that she study at NIFT.
“I had no confidence at that time. But today I am comfortable making clothes for men and women,” says the designer who has skirts, kurtas, dresses, trousers, jackets for women and short kurtas for the men.
The collection that she has brought to Bangalore for an exhibition-cum-sale at Vermilion House had a very worn out rugged look. And her collection was called “Slow and useless”!
Does it not have a negative connotation? “The ruggedness is my style. It's called ‘slow' because anything that is created slowly means it is created with intensity. And the word ‘useless' comes because, no matter what kind of fabric I work with, I always end up with a lot of waste. Instead of throwing them off, I use that waste material to create pretty clothes,” explains the designer.
With every collection that she works on, she keeps a huge carton that collects the waste or scrap, including threads and buttons and fabric. “When I have collected enough I start working with the scrap,” she adds.
Then she picks up a rugged jacket and says: “This one has all the pieces patched up together on silk to be made into something new. It's completely made from scrap. The specialty is that it's unique and cannot be remade. People are always looking at exclusivity,” she says.
Then there is a beautiful black skirt that has no prints, but the way the fabric is joined together creates the image of a tiger or a lion's skin. “This is made from leftover chudidar scrap. ‘Slow and useless' is a summary of my varied explorations. I also try and use fabric as it is. This is called a slow movement in fashion. Where the designer is just the opposite of the ‘fast and furious fashion' world but will take time to create something that is long lasting. Such designers, I believe, will also be concerned about ecological balance. This process gives me more joy by creating something, and the wearer has more joy wearing it.”
Padmaja also feels that style is timeless. “In traditional India that was how fashion was. People are concerned about how they look and what they wear. As long as there is a section that wants to wear beautiful, timeless clothes, I will work at this slow pace,” she smiles.
Padmaja can be contacted on >www.transitdesign.in/blog .
