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 16^th 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

GOOD NEWS TAB : February 2013 

 

 

SANONDA PARBONI : ABP Publications : January 2013 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HINDU : MAGAZINE Sunday November 18, 2012

Article of "Design for Development" .
"From practical school furniture to tribal crafts to regional garments and fonts, Indian entreperneurs are employing design for increasingly worthwhile causes, says Jessu John .

.....Paromita Banerjee, also one of this year's YCE (Young Creative Entrepreneur Awards, under the British Council ) nominees, has featured regularly at Lakme Fashion Week, since 2009. ...every garment of her label is exlcusive, reflecting regional distinctiveness. .....Says Paromita, " As a label, we have tried to connect design with what is naturally and abundantly available to us. From the start, we have worked with a set group of weavers who produce handwoven fabric....... "

TIMES LIFE : Sunday , August 12th, 2012

"Fashion for a green world"

MARIE CLAIRE , June 2012

GRAZIA : ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, April 2012

 Awarded in the "Indi-cool" category.

We've all heard the adage: beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. But, more often than not, the elusive quality of beauty transcends outward appearance and holds more than just one smitten beholder in its sway. We speak to some popular and acknowledged Bengali beauties and find out about the look they like to sport. They also tell us what their idea of perfect beauty is, how they maintain their beauty and, its constant companion, health.

INDIA TODAY: SIMPLY KOLKATA
"Pretty women"
Sarbani Sen
October 29, 2009

click on image to enlarge

The TELEGRAPH, Kolkata

Metro, Metro March 2009
by Smita Roy chowdhury

                                  

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The Telegraph,Kolkata T2
Thursday , February 26 , 2009
By Shradha Agarwal

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Fashion forward
Fifty-three designers applied for the GenNext show at Lakme Fashion Week. Five out of the chosen eight are from Calcutta. t2 unveils the fresh faces

Name : Paromita Banerjee.
Age: 25.
Design school: NID (Ahmedabad) 2006.

First call you made after making it to LFW’s GenNext: A “special” friend.

Take on trends: “Fashion is not about trends. It is an individual’s choice that makes the best and most stylish statement. If fashion was all about trends, we would all look like clones of each other!”

Design strong point: Colour sense. “The way I mix my colours.”

Design weakness: “My silhouettes have scope for improvement.”

Best stage of creating a collection: The initial chaos of the collection.

Internships: Bandhej, Ashish N. Soni and Anamika Khanna. “While doing my final project at Ashish’s I realised designing is what I want to do.”

Greatest lesson learnt: “Impossible is nothing.”

A designer you would like to dress: “All my ex-bosses, if they are willing!”

A designer whose career graph you love: “I want to create my own career graph.”

Bollywood or international fashion weeks? ? “Not aiming for anything. Whatever comes my way first.”

If not a designer then what: Something else that is arty. Or else a professor.

LFW collection

Myriad visual images were kept in mind while designing this collection. The garments are inspired by the original trend-setters, like Rajasthani women or even bartanwalis who don’t know how fabulous their fashion is!


DNA, Mumbai.
Sunday, February 22, 2009 23:22
Kolkata calling to the fashion conscious





Mumbai: "Kolkata is quickly turning into the latest hub for the fashion conscious. We aren't just saying so, there is adequate proof. Recently the Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) received about 97 applications -- 53 for GenNext; 36 for Emerging designers and 8 accessory designers from 20 cities across the country, among which the city that was shining the brightest was Kolkata!

In the GenNext category Gopal Roy, Paromita Banerjee, Shweta Chhawcharia, Tuhina and Parul Shukla, Vinit Agarwal and in the Emerging Designers there was Neha Agarwal and Rimi Nayak.

So has Kolkata become the new hub of fashion? Paromita, one of the Emerging Designers says, "Kolkata has an edge in terms of creativity, also I think it is very artistically inclined." She further adds, "Also I think when we have designers such as Sabyasachi and Anamika Khanna hailing from the same city, it is a boost."

Alka Nishar says, "Earlier I think Delhi was the breathingground for design because there were quite a few established names there. Also a lot of fashion design institutes. I think now, Kolkataites are simply waking up to design, the city has become very fashion conducive. Maybe its post-Sabyasachi fever."


MID-DAY Mumbai, 30th March 2009.
Genext show: 8 designers debut
By: Shweta Shiware

"....................
Paromita Banerjee: The maturity in her craftwork was commendable. The collection was subtle with beautiful neon embroidery on dark-coloured garments planted in the bottom half of the outfit, or making a surprise appearance on the shawl. Predominantly dresses were showed and we especially liked the jacket dress worn over shorts, or maybe another inconspicuous dress......"


Idiva.com,31st March 2009.
Future fashion
By Jahnabee Borah, Team iDiva

"Two factors ruled day 3 at Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) fall-winter 2009/10 - easy-to-wear garments and dresses. The day began with Levi's Gen Next show of eight budding designers mentored by the maestro of minimalism Wendell Rodricks. It was good to see that the house was full with designers of the fashion fraternity cheering the new breed of future fashion. Among the upcoming designers Atithi Gupta and Paromita Banerjee's collection were well applauded. Most designs were inspired by indigenous colours and fabrics and the focus was primarily on the wearability of a garment."


TIMES OF INDIA, Mumbai.
Tuesday, 31st March, 2009
Young and haute
Vinod Nair

"One of the things that Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) has pioneered over the years is the Gen Next show where talented young designers get a platform to showcase what they have to offer to the fashion industry. And it is always a pleasure to watch the mint-fresh collections hitting the fashion runway season after season.

This time too, I was pleasantly surprised to see an extremely well-put together and highly creative collections, especially by Atithi Gupta (minimalist lineup with long stylish puff sleeves, narrow pants), Gopal Roy (his dresses with zig-zag fabric tapes patterns), Paromita Banerjee (black dresses with contrasting blue embroidery) and Tuhina and Parun Shukla (layered dresses with unfinished edges). Others who showcased included Vinit Agarwal, Tanvi Kedia, Shweta Chhawchhara and Sonam Mehta.

Congratulations! ........."

MARIE CLAIRE, India
May 2009