Designer Rimi Nayak amps up her digital presence and to launch her flagship store soon

It’s difficult to emulate the way couturier Rimi Nayak creates magic with her unusual prints, cutting edge drapes and impressively melds unconventional textures with classic silhouettes. And this year saw the experimental designer surging ahead with a refreshing and exclusive sustainable line of accessories and clothing, About TuRN.

“The pandemic taught me how to adapt with time and to understand the need of the hour in order to survive through the changing times. We utilised this time digitalising our eponymous label, making it more reachable to customers across the globe. We also realised the essence of sustainability and how important it is for us as a brand to be conscious about the environment reduce production waste. With this thought in mind, we created About TuRN that offers products made with our fabric wastes,” tells Rimi.

But it’s not just digitization or the online sales that kept Rimi busy. The enterprising designer is also about to launch her first-ever flagship store in Ballygunge in a few days from now. “Unlike 2020, which was only a year of digitalisation, this year we witnessed a greater mix of both digital and physical platforms. The physical platforms offered a wider choice to the customers and the digital platform helped us explore newer markets across the globe. The one-to-one sales and interaction with customers will be back again going forward,” she tells us.

Rimi feels that being under lockdown for months, people realised how little they actually need to survive and thus their fashion choices too have become extremely selective with impulse buying taking a hit. “The buyers are looking for more sustainable and timeless fashion over fast fashion. Though loungewear had become a norm during the prolonged work-from-home phase, the return to normalcy is again seeing people choosing western party wear clothing over loungewear. Also, with the world opening up, there’s a resurgence of destination weddings and our upcoming Spring-Summer ’22 will majorly comprise resort travel and resort wedding wear,” Rimi says.

Called Escape in Paradise, the collection is inspired by the tropical paradise and offers a range of dresses, co-ords, skirts, kaftans and a number of separates that can be mixed and matched and styled in various ways. The range plays around bright, vibrant, happy summer shades with bold floral prints, ideal for lounging and travel getaways.

Nayak, who’s a regular name in LakmexFDCI Fashion Week, forecasts the return of dresses and shorts as wardrobe staples in 2022. “The fashion industry, as a whole, will see a huge boom as after a long spell of staying indoors, with everyone dressing up well and being their most-gorgeous self. Draped dresses in shimmers and solid colours will be highly in fashion. Cocktail saris teamed with western tops and shirts creating a fusion look will also be very popular in the coming months,” Nayak feels.