While florals might be the most common spring-summer motif we see all across the globe, a good reimagining can surely bring back excitement to this oft-repeated theme. And that’s exactly what Anavila’s latest edit, Kaas, does. Inspired by the Kaas Plateau or Kaas Pathar — as it is more commonly known — this Southern Indian version of the valley of flowers (though here a plateau) in Satara, Maharashtra, comes to life every August and September and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We caught up with designer Anavila Misra to find out more about the spring-summer edit that is now in the city. “On one of my trips to Kaas before the pandemic, I was inspired enough to decide to theme one of my edits on this beautiful plateau. Post the monsoon, the plateau transforms into a carpet of beautiful flowers in myriad hues and is picture postcard perfect abuzz with butterflies and birds and the most beautiful sunshine, ever! The blues, purples, yellows, pinks and greens come alive with a dazzling shimmer as the sunlight reflects off the wet surfaces, glistening and magical,” explains Anavila who began the eponymous label in 2011. The edit focuses on several special colours including a begonia pink; a shade of yellow inspired by orchids; and a shade of blue inspired by the clear skies of the Kaas plateau.
A favourite with actresses like Konkona Sensharma and Kalki Koechlin, the label is known for their focus on eco-friendly and sustainable fabrics in silhouettes that do justice to women of all shapes and sizes. “To emulate the glistening of the sunlight that I saw at Kaas, I’ve incorporated a touch of zari into my linen and silk creations and taking inspiration from the orchids that bloom on the plateau during the season, I have also incorporated satin in a few pieces. Other than our kurta sets in newer fabrics like satin, we’ve also done shirts, ombre saris, sleeveless blouses, shorts and ombre kaftans in silk and linen too,” the designer adds.
Next up, the designer plans to launch a much-delayed natural-dyed khadi collection that they’ve been working on for the last three years. “We began the collection as a capsule before the lockdown happened. But the launch got postponed as we wanted people to touch and feel the collection rather than just seeing it online — this was after all a brand new fabric for us. Then for two summers the launch got pushed. But we hope we can finally release it. It’s quite a large edit and so we will launch it as a full collection now,” Anavila concludes.
INR 19,500 onwards. At Amethyst.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal