Plus-size designer Tina Vincent is known for creating clothes for a segment that has been treated as second fiddle thus far.
She launched her brand — XXL — in 2000, when plus-size fashion was quite unheard of in India. It took a decade more for top Indian designers to start experimenting with inclusive sizing, and size 20 models to start catwalking their way into the elite circles of India’s fashion industry.
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Tina is in the news again for her new collection — True Colours. And she has roped in two of her friends — to model as well as to shoot the exclusive collection for Indulge. The model is Skanda Priya Thotta, and the ace fashion photographer is someone who is a celebrity in his own rights — G Venket Ram.The designer tells us that music is the inspiration behind most of her collections and this new launch is no different.
“There is always a song in my mind when I pick my colours. This collection is based on the song, True Colours, by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. The song was in my head for many days and I couldn’t stop humming it while I was at work. And that’s how this
collection was born,” she tells us.
You will find most of the colours featured in the song in this collection too. “I’m seasonal about the colours I like. This time I’ve used a lot of pinks, reds and blacks. What I don’t like is mixing too many colours. The person is always the focus; colours should not be too overpowering,” Tina explains.
The collection features Western and Indian designs. There are saris, lehengas and even fusion wear. The fabrics are mostly silks, lycras, satin silks, and georgettes embellished with brocade and hand embroidery. “I use lycra a lot in my collection mainly because it is stretchable and hence comfortable for the wearer. I know my body bloats a lot. What works for me, works for my clients as well,” says the designer, who has had no formal training in fashion design.
She recollects that her journey as a designer started over a disagreement with the a designer who was working with the brand then.
“When I started in 2000, there was no NIFT. I did go to Milan for training, but only after I opened my store. In fact, I had been running the store for a couple of years by then. I went for training to improve my sketching skills and not to learn designing; I was at the top of my game at that time,” she explains.
In the initial days, Tina used to source most of her fabrics from abroad, during her travels. “I used to travel a lot to the US and shop for plus-size clothing from a brand called Casual Corner, which no longer exists. There was hardly any choice for plus size women in India at that time. When I started my brand, I started bringing fabrics from Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai. Later, I found weavers in Bengaluru from where I started sourcing georgettes, satins, chiffons and lycra,” recollects the designer.
For Tina to get the sizing right was a challenge, initially. “I couldn’t follow US and UK size charts; they have bigger bodies. But Indian women have curves but their frame is petite. So, I had to adapt the sizing to the Indian body shape,” says Tina, whose brand offers sizes ranging from 12 to 32.
Price starts at Rs 8,000.
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— manuvipin@newindianexpress.com