Nikita Bajoria’s luxury prêt collection plays on clean silhouettes and minimalism

IF CLOTHES maketh the man, what makes the mind beautiful? Kolkata-based designer Nikita Bajoria, who is known for using a wide range of colours in her clothes, explores a different mental space with her new party wear collection in neutral shades.

“The Beautiful Mind is my second collection, and unlike the Eternal Traveller collection, I decided to go easy on the colours this time. The silhouettes are more clean and semifluid, with a lot of panel work,” says Nikita, a NIFT graduate. “I wanted to explore the state of mind, where you have risen above the ordinary and you are in a very creative, positive state of mind,” she adds.

Nikita is also a self-taught artist with a keen sense of colour, which she uses with suitable fabrics to create a sense of harmony. The Beautiful Mind uses distressed satin and crepes to create a series of garments suitable for evening wear. While she uses colours like grey, black, white, green and muted shades of red, there are small minimalistic motifs too, like a dreamcatcher mandala, butterflies or beadwork resembling macramé, to symbolise positivity or happiness.

We notice a peplum top in grey with dual-colour kali pants with laser-cut butterfly motifs. The garment is called The Delicate Flies and combines colours and drapes with a panache that is evident on the wearer. There are plenty of other Indo-Western outfits too, such as a one-sided pleated top in two panels of green and beige, which plays with layering, and a one-sided jumpsuit in white, a kaftan-style HalfHalf Tribe dress in black and beige.

There are saris too, in crushed mint and bronze, with an unconventional leaf-like texture, and detailed borders, suitable for cocktail parties. We also noticed a jacket in dual colours with Japanese fan motifs, which has flared sleeves but lends the impression of a traditional jacket, devoid of sleeves.

Nikita’s signature-style panel work is also visible in a few dresses, which drape over the form, like one in midnight blue and black, and another in red. But despite all her experimentations with cuts, styles and drapes, comfort comes first for the young designer. “If the finish of the clothes is good, it will make you feel comfortable and confident from within, which makes all the difference,” she avers.

Rs 6,000 onwards