Three designers from the city make their way to the 39th Lakme Fashion Week for the first time 

From Thasneem of Rossbelle, who experiments with Tencel fabric to Parvathi Dasari, who works with handloom weaves to Vaani Ragupathy’s digital prints on fabric, here’s what you can expect  
Rossbelle
Rossbelle

It has been a spectacular start to Lakmé  Fashion Week, which saw stalwarts from the industry along with fresh new talent showcase their best designs. While Mumbai-based Gaurav Gupta opened the show, designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil will present the grand finale. We shine the spotlight closer home with  three designers from Chennai — from three different schools of design and thought — on the ramp this time. From Thasneem of Rossbelle, who experiments with Tencel fabric to Parvathi Dasari, who works with handloom weaves to Vaani Ragupathy’s digital prints on fabric, here’s what you can expect from their LFW debut.

Tunics in Tencel

Sustainable material, deadstock fabric and repurposed vintage fabrics — these are just some of the raw materials that Chennai-based brand Rossbelle uses to make their designs. After learning that the fashion industry produces a lot of waste, Thasneem Masood, a design student decided to start Rossbelle in 2016. Cut to 2019, and the brand just made their debut at the Lakmé  Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2019 yesterday. “The whole process has been challenging for my design team. Especially for them to visualise and come up with a concept for the show,” shares the 30-year-old designer.  Rossbelle’s 
collection named Enduring ’90s was an ode to everything from the ’90s — dramatic sleeves, long flowy garments, ruffles and embellishments. 

Thasneem Masood
Thasneem Masood

In 2018, Fashion Revolution and Lakmé Fashion Week teamed up at LFW Summer Resort in Mumbai to create FashUp, an initiative which used 7,000 meters of Tencel Micromodal fabric as part of a sustainable fashion installation. “Under the FashUp banner, we, along with Doodlage and Door of Maai showcased this year,” says Thasneem who further goes on to explain that Tencel is an eco-fabric that is made out of wood pulp. The brand showcased six of their designs made with the same fabric. Working out of Chennai and Dubai, Rossbelle offered a range of tunics, dresses, tops, palazzos and t-shirts, which can all be mixed and matched. With a team of two tailors, one pattern master and an embroidery expert, Rossbelle’s colour palette are all neutral, with shades of beige and off white.

From the garden


What’s better than making your debut at Lakmé Fashion Week? Try having ace shuttler Saina Nehwal as your showstopper. Chennai-based designer Vaani Ragupathy Vivek started her label Magnoliaa in 2016, and now her collection Ayana will be making its debut at LFW. Although she had a degree in finance, the 30-year-old decided to pursue fashion and started a small studio in Poes garden. Vaani has walked for the India Runway Week last year, and in September she did the Madras Bridal Show.  Ayana’s floral theme will reflect in its motifs and colour palette which is further amplified by the 
designer’s use of chiffon and organza to give it a more dressy look.

Vaani Ragupathy
Vaani Ragupathy

“The silhouettes are lightweight and flouncy, and the line is a juxtaposition of solid colour blocking and pastel hues coupled with immaculate weaving techniques,” says Vaani, who works with kora and organza weavers from Kanchipuram for her fabrics. For her floral ensembles, she designs the floral motifs, handpaints the flowers, scans them and then digitally prints them on the fabric. “The showstopper outfit to be worn by Saina will have an embroidered yellow blouse with beads and zardozi. And the skirt is made from kora silk, with alternating silver and gold motifs,” concludes the designer. Vaani will be showcasing about 12 designs on the ramp, on February 2.  

The silk route 

Nature has always been Hyderabad-born Parvathi Dasari’s inspiration. The 35-year-old designer who just launched her new collection The Tropical Paradise, borrows motifs like elephants, ducks and parrots. Known for her work with saris, lehengas and anarkalis, the Chennai-based designer is driven by her passion for heirloom textiles, after she saw her father-in-law’s weaving unit in Chennai. Her new collection is an initiative to encourage people to save nature, and in the past NIFT-Hyderabad graduate has been awarded the Best Handloom designer by the government of Tamil Nadu last year. Parvathi’s designs are not on the shelf for sale. Instead she takes up orders from clients for weddings and occasions keeping in mind each person’s preferences for colour and zari sizes. It takes about one week to create one sari, if the loom is ready.

Parvathi Dasari
Parvathi Dasari

The designer, who owns a government-affiliated weaving unit of her own in Chennai and a stitching unit at Poes Garden combines bright jewel hues including reds, yellows, pinks, blues and green will have actress-director Divya Khosla Kumar as the showstopper. “We have about 1,200 colours to choose from at our weaving units,” she shares adding that she will be showcasing 11 pieces at LFW.  Parvathi will also be introducing the Kalidar lehenga for the first time, which is similar to a frock and is made of several geometrical pieces and worn by both men and women. “This lehenga is usually made using Benarasi silk, but we have made one using South silks that has taken us 90 days to complete. This will be our showstopper ensemble,” concludes Parvathi who will showcase her collection today. 

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