Hot fashion trend: Parama's saris with quirky tram and taxi motifs are a runaway hit
THE PURSUIT of creative satisfaction made Parama Ghosh switch terrains — from legal to fashion. The 3 5 - year- old couturier launched her eponymous label which stands for the celebration of everyday life. “Belonging to a fourth generation family of lawyers, I had to follow their expectations of having a white collar job. Ten years into it and I decided to listen to my heart. I needed something that would nourish my soul. I started Parama while I was still in the profession. But after a point, I couldn’t manage both and decided to take a leap of faith,” says Ghosh, who doesn’t have any formal education in fashion. She perceives this as an advantage and says, “It actually works in my favour. Not knowing the grammar of fashion meant the sky was the limit for me.”
The Bengal factor
She started off with kantha and baatik which are part and parcel of every Bengali household, and also available aplenty. Her 550 sq ft studio in Lake Terrace, showcases saris, blouses, dhotis for men, and kids wear in khadi, jamdani and dhanekhali, which are very Bengali in look and feel. That is the most important selling point of Parama. The canvas of six-yard saris and 15/15 inch (back portion) of the blouses have been creatively utilised with motifs that exude a sense of belonging. You can also find frills on the blouses which is typical to Bengali fashion. A typical wh i t e k h a d i sari with red b o r d e r s , w h i c h i s replete with r e d a l t a a d o r n e d - dancing feet is sure to appeal to any Bengali woman’s fashion sensibilities. What makes it more attractive are the round copper ghungroos attached to the body of the sari.
There is also a great deal of nostalgia in her designs. So you will find an Usha sewing machine, a cassette and more popular symbolic references. “The motifs are very colloquial to Bengal and are inspired by everything Calcutta. You will find palash phool, yellow taxis, trams and more. They all tell a story, and it gives one a happy feeling. I once did a series on powerful women that had Madhubala, Frida Kahlo and others,” said Ghosh whose Devi blouse, inspired by Satyajit Ray’s film of the same name, is a hotseller. Actress Swastika Mukherjee has worn her label many times.
Her four-year-old label got a big boost when it was selected for India Story 4.0. She says, “It was challenging in the sense that there were 250 designers and most of them were established. Also, I had to exhibit a brand new collection, so I experimented a lot and it worked in my favour.” She has around 25k followers on Facebook and 15k on Instagram and she let’s us know that her growth has all been organic. “My customers love my products and they click pictures and share them with me. She has had many solo shows as well and supplies to stores across India.