Pero’s new Spring/Summer collection goes Caribbean and takes inspiration from underwater landscapes 

FOR SOMEONE who has just designed an entire collection based on the concept of aquatic beauty, Aneeth Arora of Pero states that she’s quite scared of being underwater herself. “I have seen how beautiful the fauna and flora is though, and I am fascinated by fish and I’ve had little aquariums at home,” she says as she talks about Pero’s new Spring/Summer 2019 line which captures the deep waters and the rich landscape one can find under water.  The collection takes you on a journey through lost islands, highlighting the deep blue sea one can find both — under and above water. 

“There is a lightness to the pieces, and it is shimmery which shows the reflection of the water. With all our seasons, we do these little details and this time we have sprinkled little elements that resemble colourful flora like crocheted edges and beaded fringes to add a Caribbean mood,” explains Aneeth who has been working on the collection for two years.      With over 200 pieces in tunics, scarves, jackets and dresses, Aneeth feels that the last two years has been a learning process. “We did a lot of organic prints this season, and that opened new avenues for future collections. For example, we have some upcycled pieces like the trench coat which is hand embroidered.” For this, Aneeth used beige, inspired from the sands of the shore, ivory from the shells, tropical tones that are coral and mustard from the underwater life. “These underwater motifs are drawn with a graphic hand and washed with powder blue and turquoise dye. We have also used a gradation of sequins, beads and threads.”

With fabric sourced from various parts of India like West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bhagalpur and Benaras, the designer is also inspired by luxurious French brocades, for which they worked with the kadhwa weavers of Benaras. “They embroidered motifs on the loom while weaving the fabric, hence the name kadhwa which is a synonym for embroidery in Hindi,” explains Aneeth. The designer whose last collection was a collaboration with Woolmark called From Love with Kullu,  has recently tied up with German footwear brand Birkenstock to bring out upcycled pieces that has Pero’s signature embroidery on them. They also launched Fishes of Pero, a small motley of handcrafted fishes that posed as their mascot for the season. Both these collaborations are however available overseas only.

On till April end.11 am onwards.
Starting at `15,000.Available at Collage.