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HAAT / The Marketplace
Spring/Summer 2012
Lakme Fashion Week, Mumbai
March 2012
HAAT / The market place is
a compilation of stories that make us feel Indian; This collection celebrates India
as the land of irony, of contrasts and contradictions. Through textiles and
garments, this collection attempts to evoke all things that make us feel proud
of being an Indian.
We all like our luxury, our fast
cars, good food and wine but we still go back to loving kulhar-ki-chai and the smell of wet earth during the rains. We might
live in the fanciest of plush homes but we end up vacationing in “heritage
villas” with our cycle or camel rides to experience a slice of the past, of
eras gone-by and of things we dearly miss but fail to express.
Inspired by what people wear on
the streets, uninhibited and untutored by mainstream fashion, this collection is
a collage of visual references from our daily life. The fabrics range from our
very familiar Indian cotton, with its fine weaves to coarser Khadi handlooms in
stitched resist and tie-dyed techniques. Ikats
from Orissa, where the yarn is dyed at the pre-weaving stage, to finer Chanderi,
Matka silks, Madras
checks are fashioned into Indo-western silhouettes like the Kurta, Peplum
summer jackets, to ghera skirts, pajama pants and layered tunics. They spell
comfort clothing for the truly global Indian who is at ease anywhere in the
world. The prints are placement hand-blocks inspired by the 16th
century “chint” motifs from India that
traveled to distant lands during the spice trade. The enchanting “Tree of life” symbolic of India
as the land of plenty, finds its way through placement block-printing on capes,
skirts and kurtas. Embroidery is sparingly used in the shape of delicate buds
and bel-buta.
The silhouettes are a mix of
elements from different cultures and hold an essence that is Indian in its
core. Attempting menswear for the first time, the ensembles in shades of white,
kora to warmer colours like sunflower
yellow, oranges, reds and rust together with grey, black, blue with the
occasional greens are a mix of Indo-western styles, perfect for either a
Pan-Indian or a pan – Asian context.
Somewhere along this
story-telling, the message seems to float: Come home to India.
The LFW show : HAAT / The Marketplace Spring Summer 2012
