Kolkata-based indie label Parama is the go-to option for some of the city's chicest women; it's no surprise that designer Parama Ganguly has come up with a brand new line-up as part of her Puja collection. If you've ever shopped for a 'Parama,' you know that the brand focuses on traditional attire and styling representing kantha, jamdani, batik and other traditional handloom art from parts of Bengal as well as other places of India. In fact, the brand has more than 100 women working in its kantha batik unit in Shantiniketan and around 35 women in its stitching unit on the outskirts of Kolkata.
"My work is narrative-based and all my clothes have stories to tell. Through threads, needles, and weaves, I tell stories of every day, stories from Calcutta, as she is my biggest muse. My company is 4-years-old and the love for mundane and love for the simpler things in life is what makes Parama," the designer tells us.
Parama's Puja collection aims to capture the whole kaleidoscopic experience of Bengal's Puja, and features some of the most diverse designs and fabrics as part of its line-up. We found some stunning kantha embroidered numbers, adorable kitschy motifs, and Puja-related designs.
Inspired by Joy Baba Felunath's idol-maker 'Shashi Babu' Parama has incorporated an artist's brush and the face of the goddess into some of her sarees and blouses. Moreover, drawing inspiration from a hand-drawn poster for Ray's film 'Devi', Parama made a collection of handwoven khadi cotton sarees with Devi poster hand-embroidered on it and on the blouses.
In another collection, Parama has translated the entire map of Kumartuli along the breadth of a sari as a tribute to the “artist Para” and “their art." Apart from these collections, Parama also has some new Kanthas and Jamdanis, with incredible Kantha work on double-ikkat telia sarees and on santipuri weaves, some hand-embroidered vintage blouses etc.