A popular name with celebs like Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty and Yami Gautam, KoAi by Anugrah Chandra burst into the New Delhi fashion scene in August 2019, just in time for Lakmé Fashion Week that year. The label was an immediate hit in fashion circles and while they initially began as a purely prêt brand, they slowly expanded to festive collections with saris and kurtas. In Chennai for the first time, 32-year-old designer Anugrah says, “We were trying to come to Chennai for the longest time now and we’ve finally managed to do so. KoAi means ‘love child,’ and was a love child of my aesthetic and my obsession with Japan. I am very inspired by Japanese culture and you will often see this in my silhouettes, choice of motifs, fabrics, colour palettes and even in the design and décor of my store in Delhi.”
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Expect apparel that is non-fussy and is meant for daily wear. The silhouettes from KoAi have an international appeal; are all ready-to-wear; but the origins of each piece are kept quintessentially Indian. “I’ve played around with our indigenous and ancient dabu print technique (hand block printing) from Rajasthan. Seven — named so because it is my seventh collection — had me inspired by these patterns and shapes from dabu. The silhouettes are basically long flowy dresses, kaftans, short dresses, shirts and pants — all designed to breathe,” adds the designer who was a practicing lawyer before he began his passion project, KoAi. The collection features silhouettes in chiffon, heavy cotton silk and mushroom tulle in floral pastels like yellow, pink and blue.
INR 4,500 onwards. At Tifara.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal