Birdsong and a stiff wind in the towering trees welcome visitors to RAHEL, a new experiential retail space in the heart of the city. A 100-year-old gracious house at Museum Bains Compound has been painstakingly restored over the past three years by leading designer Alan Alexander Kaleekal to house his curated collection of saris, ready-to-wear garments, jewellery, home décor products and artefacts picked up from all around India and abroad.
Spread over 4,000 square feet, the white- painted house with nine rooms, furnished with exquisite antique furniture inherited or collected from different parts of Kerala by Alan, showcases a diverse range of saris, each sourced from weavers in India. In pastels and vibrant shades in all the colours of the rainbow, each is a work of art lovingly woven by traditional handloom weavers. It is hard not to touch and feel the different textures of the saris, as Alan guides you through the myriad weaves, designs and yarns that create these six yards of art. So there are delicate, gossamer saris representing various weaving traditions of Bengal and organic tussar saris woven out of Ahimsa Silk from Assam by tribals of Jharkhand.
RAHEL in Thiruvananthapuram
Then there are robust Maheshwari saris in modern geometric colour blocking, super-fine chanderis in contemporary motifs, traditional ikats from Pochampally and Puttapakka, flamboyant jacquards from Benares and natural Indigo saris that have been hand-dyed by artisans in Kolkata in the traditional way. Each, says the designer, has a story to tell, of the weavers’ struggle, livelihood and craftsmanship honed over generations and handed over from one to the other.
“RAHEL, which, incidentally, is my grandmother’s name, is my dream of developing a concept store that brings the idea of everyday luxury and sustainable living to my hometown, Thiruuvananthapuram; an experiential space where one can buy curated threads for you to wear and home decor products for your house,” says the 30-year-old designer, who put his electronic engineering degree in deep freeze to pursue fashion designing in Paris. Making a name for himself and his eponymous label KALEEKAL, Alan’s use of untarnished Balaramapuram cottons with a new raw finish and minimalism have won him a top place among designers in India.
“It took time to find the right place for my store as I wanted a space that had a lot of character and a story to tell and not something that was too commercial and right on the roadside. The idea is to develop a clientele that would respond to a slower-paced consumer culture and would like to spend time here at the space that we have carefully curated. I took time to do up the space the way I had envisioned it since I had to manage it alongside my national and international fashion shows and travels,” he adds.
Although the floods in August did create logistical problems, RAHEL already has an enviable collection on display. The delicate handblown pieces in glass were picked up in Italy and Austria while the fine china was sourced from Turkey, metal works from Poland and ceramics from Japan. The fine pieces of designer jewellery have been made by Kochi-based designer Celia Palathinkal, a friend of Alan’s. Garments with western silhouettes and minimal embroidery are a collaboration with the brand Manvi by Sujata Seth. The products are aesthetically arranged without cramming the place, keeping in line with the minimal aesthetics of the store.
So where are Alan’s own designs and creations? He laughs and says: “The idea was to have a store that retails designer wear from across the country and artefacts by other designers. But, this is something I have designed,” he says, showing a classic sari in grey and black, shot with deep red and edged with a gold border. A sari to wear for all times and everywhere! To help the weavers look beyond the customary cream and gold, Alan persuaded them to weave saris with threads procured by him.
“Their artistry and skill have to be preserved and they should be able to earn well. So, they have to broaden their range and not stick to the cream and gold alone. Although it took some persuasion, they have come around and soon a couple of them will be weaving linen and silk as well,” says Alan with justifiable pride.
Alan has also worked with Kannur weavers to create winter clothes that vanished off the shelves as soon as they hit the stores. Again, Alan tweaked the traditional weave and pattern just a little to give the textile a contemporary look and feel.
“Many use the Kannur cottons with their typical stripes or checks pattern as bedsheets or bedspreads. I requested them to give me the material in a unique weave that had two different colours and textures on either sides of the fabric and I used that to fashion winter clothes that were a winner in West Asia and Europe,” explains the designer.
He says more city-based designers and Kerala-based designers like Bodha, Mantra, Anka, Rouka and national-level designers like Arunima Mahji, PELLA, VineetRahul and so on will be showcased in his store. The accent is obviously on Kerala cottons. His vision is to have a store that encourages handmade, sustainable products and art. He envisages a win-win situation for the creative artistes and for RAHEL.
Eventually, Alan wants RAHEL to be a one-stop place for fashion, art, literature, interiors and luxury living.
Looking around the tastefully landscaped vast garden with grand old trees, he explains: “I hope to have a small cafe, a book shop and a library space to sit and look around or read. I plan to throw a few chairs and tables around under these trees where people can spend time and, from time to time, hold small events such as theatre, book readings, music sessions and so on.”
