Monthly Archives: November 2009

Arjun Saluja

He creates designs that always deal with amazing construction…

Rimi Nayak

Her label has an Indian soul in Cosmopolitan Styling with sophistication and minimalism. Rimi Nayak’s personal style of work draws its roots from her philosophy of free thinking, innovation and a rebellious streak inside her thereby weaving a bridge between wearability and avant garde fashion. Her forte lies in looking at mundane objects from a different perspective, giving it a fresh twist and a novel approach.

The illustrious woman also manages to bridge the gap between creativity and the business.“As the famous saying goes, design is where science and art break even. It’s a delicate balance that I try and achieve to quench the thirst for creativity and keep the show running at the same time.”

Rimi’s love for all things creative began early. “Though it sounds very clichéd, yet ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be a fashion designer”.  Her journey towards the profession started with convincing her parents who were completely against her career choice and then clearing the entrance examinations of NIFT. She Graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kolkata in 2007. In the same year she bagged an award at the prestigious Lineapelle International Young Designers Competition, Italy. She then launched her women’s wear line under her eponymous label at the Lakme Fashion Week in 2008.

The fashion industry is ruthless. So how does she keep going? “I believe a tough time doesn’t last but a tough person does. Hard times are a part of life and I take it with a stride. My love for this profession keeps me going through all the ups and downs.” she says. The designer also believes that it is high time fashion fraternity come together for the cause of fashion. “I believe that the Indian fashion industry needs to reunite in future. Instead of having so many fashion weeks in every city its better to unite and make a stronger body in order to make a mark in the global fashion map.”

Its bollywood calling now for the designer as she says “In the future, I would also like to diversify into accessories and lifestyle products and get into styling for movies because I feel that’s the best way to reach out to a great number of people with my work.”

She currently retails at premier stores like Ensemble, Kimaya and Just around the corner in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

You can get Rimi at:

5E Cornfield Road, Kolkata 700019

Web: www.riminayak.com

Nidhi & Divya

For them the journey has just begun; the road has not been easy but surely interesting. Each passing day has been more creative and challenging making the ultimate goal clearer. The desire to splurge beauty in each piece that Nidhi and Divya make, to have people dressed up fashionably held the reins of creating their label, Walnut. Since then they have successfully been a part of Lakme Fashion Week for consecutively four seasons now.

After studying Fashion from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, they worked as a costume designer for Bollywood flick, ‘Bunty aur Babli’ under the guidance Designer Aki Narula, and styled film stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee.

From there, Divya moved on to work with designer Varun Bahl, and Nidhi styled models for prestigious brands like International Wedding magazine, Asiana Weddings and various other fashion labels, like Globus.

  • concepts and innovations vary from Indo-western to western

  • the brand runs into prêt, diffusion and couture

  • makes a rare attempt to let woman experiment with various concepts and innovations to go bizarre

Nidhi says, “The fashion industry is increasing day by day and there is soo much to offer from various designers that you can’t really define fashion and thus we don’t know the future of fashion but we do know where we are heading to. Till now WALNUT has been known for designing for a perfect body by creating basic soft structured classic silhouette, emphasizing more on the surface which add a value to the garment. But now we want to experiment with more easy silhouettes for varied body sizes of Indian women. So you might see an easy fit dress to a floor trailing evening dress or may be a new twist with some drapes.

Their first collection was named ‘Spring’ was designed for a fashionable New York girl who races ahead of time. The creation offered great options in western wear that were eminently wearable. Creations that was capable of transforming any evening into that special, magical one. With basic silhouettes to maintain options for wearability, the garments were exceptionally detailed with the use of cordings and prints. Presently, Walnut retails through various multi brand stores in India, Chamomile, Aza, Re and Amara in Mumbai, Aura in Nagpur, Anonym in Hyderabad, Soh-Koh clothing in Chandigarh to name a few.

You can get Walnut at:

http://walnutthefashionstudio.blogspot.com/

Arjun Saluja

Achieving a unique and exquisite mix from his inspiration stemming from an emotional connect with his kin and home in India and his life in New York, Arjun Saluja creates designs that always deal with amazing construction and mix of colours and fabrics for both men and women. His label Rishta launched in New York in 2000, seamlessly combines the best textile and design elements of Indian, Japanese and Western, and churns out traditional and contemporary garments which are inherent to its ethos. Going by his own description, Rishta is for a woman with a sense of style who narrates her own statement with a series of different elements. 

Saluja learnt the art of fashion and design from the Philadelphia College of Textile and Science from where he graduated in 1998. He then came back to India to find inspiration in his home soil but returned soon after to New York where his label, Rishta was born. There, he was widely applauded for being one of the frontrunners in bringing Indian cultural elements to the global arena of fashion. 

His determination and cutting edge work gave him an immediate success by selling to stores like Henri Bendel, Anthropologie, Barnets Japan and various high-end boutiques like Tootsies. Women Wear Daily has covered him as the emerging talent and his clothes have appeared in different magazines like Harpers Bazaar Spain, Vogue England and Lucky US. Arjun has also presented his work at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai where he was received very well by critics and buyers alike.
 

Art with a cup of Coffee

The youth today turns the table according to their comfort factors or you can call it the ergonomic designs. So no one wonders at the rising number of concept coffee stores springing up in the city. Mocha ArtHouse is yet another passion driven coffee rendezvous that brings two conflicting spheres of interest Art and eating out together. The place opened doors on the 16th of November at the ground floor of DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj.
 
Mocha ArtHouse is a space for consumption of creativity in all its forms ­— Art, Culture, Food, Drink, with a prime focus on the space being a Gallery first and a café later, in its L shaped zone. A definitive platform for new and emerging talent in the fields of Art, Sculpture, Music, Dance, Books, Comics, Travel, Theatre, Films, Poetry, Photography, Fashion etc… The purpose is to showcase the underground, urbane and young art community in all its experimental, untamed and energetic glory.
 
The restaurant lays emphasis on experiential dining which is supported by visually appealing presentation and innovative methods of cooking as it put together a whole new gastronomic experience. The menu is substantially divided into various sections to include health food, raw food, one pan meals, salads, pies, desserts, bagels and panini, 18 different types of coffees from around the world, wholesome yoghurt smoothies, fine hot drinking chocolate other gourmet dishes and also an exhaustive spirits list.
 
The artist expression in the gallery inaugurated with artworks of Kapil Das’ possessed by vernacular India; Pixel Art by Oomleo from Indonesia, action script and degenerative art by Mark Knol and sketchbooks of food, places and people by Susan Rudat. The art selection plans to be refreshed every month. The curators of the art gallery are BOX Designs and BLOT with the Mocha ArtHouse being an initiative of the Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Private Limited.
 
The music here is also an inevitable part of the culture imbibed as mocha hosts live music performances of sitar, guitar, drum and bass, dubstep etc. by renowned as well as young talents from all over the globe.

Samsaara winter Soir

Luxury redefined started their winter celebrations at Samsaara, the abode of fashion, with designers like Preeti Chandra, Nandita Mahtani, Aditi Wasan and Priyali Chopra at its South Extension, Delhi store. The evening welcomed the crème de la crème of the society and fashion fraternity.
 
The winters at Preeti Chandra eludes in jumpsuits, easy silhouettes trousers and shift dresses. She has used an exotic palette of colours like spicy ginger, midnight navy, toxic violet, root brown along with muted shades of oyster grey and pearl white. Metallics remain strong in her collection, with the season’s burnished gold, bronze and copper, however buffed down and tonal. The fabrics used are vast right from the wooden tweeds to luxurious velvets, flowing chiffons, silks and georgettes. Prints that are abstract and geometric and modern paisleys are used in monotones. Animal prints have also been used very effectively. “My design inspirations are in constant quest for change, wear ability being the prime concern. I don’t construct something that I won’t be able to wear”, exclaims the ordinate designer.
 
Aditi Wasan coming from one of the giants in high fashion leather exports Wasan group induces the same exquisite quality and supremacy of design in a burst of unpredictable colours and unconventional stylish cuts in leather jackets. She previews her pioneer with glittering new sumptuous fashion wear for ladies, which are exquisitely designed and meticulously crafted to bring out the best in every woman. Each piece in the collection is an epitome of tremendous and superb craftsmanship. The creations cut from the finest leather and designed by the best couture designers are excitingly innovative and refreshingly different. Aditi has brought snug jackets, diverse colours, drapes and with her leather’s taken a fashionable turn this season or can be defined as a stylish comeback. Vibrant colours, impressive drapes, chic styling helping leather shed its biker grunge look.
 
Priyali Chopra’s new collection of footwear resonates in range of wedges, thongs and mushroom-toe flats to choose from. Her creations incorporate the eco-friendly components with least use of leather. Each pair is handcrafted and studded with Austrian Swarovski embellishments and metallic finishing.

 

The Seductress

Versace introduces a jewellery collection infused with exclusivity, total originality and skilled craftsmanship spilling ostentatious luxury. The collections have been conceived and created to reflect the traditional values of the Maison.
 
The exuberance comes alive with the Dafne line in shades of gold, red, yellow and white of the perfectly set deep coloured amethysts and dazzling quartzes.  The collection reinterprets the shapes and sizes of cocktail rings from the Fifties in a contemporary way. The gems impart a magically hypnotic and feminine allure to the geometric designs.
 
The design of the Ghea collection is driven by the flowing wave effect that forms a sculpture perfectly moulded to the body, dressing it with light and colour. The rings are available in rose, yellow and white gold with coloured precious stones, pearls or paves of diamonds.
 
The Versace logo and Greek fret motif continues to evolve as the decorative emblem of the Maison’s most prestigious jewellery line as confirmed by the new collection of Iconic rings. The three revolving rings, often considered the ideal wedding band, create a precious twirl effect and explore variations in yellow, rose and white gold that combine harmoniously with radiant pavés of diamonds or, in the more opulent versions, with a diamond solitaire.
 
Then comes the Meandros, it identifies it as a tribute to the unmistakable emblem of the Maison. The new and refined treatment of the Greek fret motif, alternating with other recurrent decorative elements, unites the classic essence of the line with the contemporary style of the finish. The pendants are suspended from thongs or light chains of adjustable length, the rings, the gorgeous necklaces and bracelets in ultra soft mesh – all emphasise the opulence and elegance of the collection.
 
Jewels of substance, the collection leads momentous promise, individuality and delightful seductiveness dedicated to the art of dressing.