Istara, the latest fashion studio and gallery owned by Divya Poddar and Sunaina Jalan, that has been introducing pan-India fashion labels to the people of Kolkata, for quite some time now, is back with another pop-up, Wishful Weaves.
If you are planning to splurge on some cool and comfortable clothing for the sweltering summers, you might as well check out, Delhi-based label Eka's latest spring summer collection, which will be accessible to the city-shoppers on April 24.
Headed by Rina Singh, the label specialises in creating garments out of handmade breathable fabrics like cotton, khadi, linen and wool and has a wide variety of clothes in simple cuts and fluid, easy drapes.
Their latest spring-summer collection, based on the theme- 'Postcards from summer' evokes a light, romantic and nostalgic mood. The collection, in sheer fabrics and pastel shades, creates a casual, relaxed summer look, reminiscent of summer siestas and dreamy afternoons.
The Indo-western clothes include dresses, tops, culottes, khaki jackets and trousers made in delicate layers of cotton silk, khadi, organza and kota, in monochromatic stripes, or block prints, with lacework, which gives the wearer a simple yet ethereal look.
Rina Singh’s personal philosophy of simple living, manifests itself in her clothes too, as she combines a perfect blend of washed out pastel shades and minimal embellishments, in a multi-coloured block-printed kota check airy dress or the hand-painted floral dress in organza, with embroidered and hand cutwork hems and a block printed lining in silk and cotton.
"It’s a pretty pastel collection. The ethos of the brand, of working with natural textiles and handloom and handcrafted techniques still remain, but the take on it this season is very dreamy and poetic. The ice cream colour palette adds a new twist in the story. Also, the organza layers keep the looks fragile and light," says Rina.
She has a team of artisans, weavers, spinners and dyers all over India, who help her create unique garments out of fabrics like jamdani and tangail from West Bengal, regional cotton from South India, as well as block-printed or hand-dyed cotton from Gujarat and wool from Himachal Pradesh.
The designer also has access to jacquard looms of Amritsar for weaving specialised fabrics at a small scale, which helps her experiment, not just with the cuts and shapes of the garment made with hand-woven fabrics, but also the colour and texture of the weaves of each fabric, itself. One can notice the delicate and feminine kotadoria weave used in some of her garments in the spring-summer collection too.
But the fine delicate fabrics do not prevent her from experimenting with the nature of clothes. There are patchwork linen jackets and culottes, block printed white-on-white cotton trapeze dresses and hand-painted organza floral shirt, along with cotton silk camisole, hand-woven block printed kota pleated dress and some basket weave handmade mule in bright colours, for the tasteful shopper.
Wishful Weaves will open on April 24, 11 am - 8 pm, at Istara, Shivangi Building, Padapukkur Road