Prarthana Kochhar is all set to debut at the Banglore Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019. She will showcase her new collection, Story of Eze apart from two other lines — Red Carpet and Power Dressing. The Bangalore Fashion Week will be held from March 7 to 10 at Hotel Oterra (Electronics City, Phase 1) with Prarthana’s show on March 8 at 3 pm. “My garments, designs, cuts, silhouettes and patterns weave a narrative. My colour palettes, embellishments and techniques are seasonal specials,” says Prarthana “I am excited to make my debut at the Bangalore Fashion Week.”
With a keen eye that caters to evolving sensibilities, the Delhi-based designer says her latest collection is inspired by Eze village in the French Riviera. “The bougainvillea on the walls in Eze create a colour scheme of beige, fuschia and green that finds an echo in my clothes that sport fuchsia-coloured flowers on a beige background. The base design on the outfits is inspired by cobblestones. The silhouette is Indian and Indo-western.”
The fabrics for the summer collection include Chanderi cotton , cotton silk, crepe and georgette. “The Indo-western line has delicate hand embroidery. French knots are used to bring in bougainvillea flowers. Beads and cut-dana embroidery underline the richness of the work. The different cuts and silhouettes are suitable for summer.”
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The other techniques Prarthana has used include 3-D flowers with machine embroidery, augmented by Japanese beads. Prarthana released The Red Carpet collection that she showed at the New York Fashion Week last year, featuring black and gold fused with embroidery that “was a huge draw at the international show.”
For the Power Dressing line, created to salute the entrepreneurial spirit, Prarthana has used white banana crepe fabric and embellished it with gold metal. “It is a metaphor for authority.”
Prarthana was born to a business family and has always been passionate about fashion designing. She studied at the JD Institute of Fashion Technology and the National Institute of Fashion Technology at New Delhi and passed out in 2000. “After working with other brands, I created my home furnishing label, Cushions, and later started designing shoes. By 2017, I decided to have my own brand, Kovet. The underlying belief of the brand is that fashion should cater to diverse tastes and help women reflect their inner self. The relationship between designer and client should be as that of painter and canvas.”
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Since last year, Prarthana has been addressing gender equality. “We have started to address gender dysphoria. To that end we have Jainnu Kanwar, a transwoman as the showstopper. She will be wearing a lehenga made of Chanderi, and the blouse is heavily embroidered and embellished with Japanese beads. A frill organza dupatta will complete the look.”
The Bangalore Fashion Week ,March 7 to 10, Hotel Oterra (Electronics City, Phase 1) with Prarthana’s show on March 8, 3 pm.