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Tell us about the Singhani Fusion collection.
We wanted to mix different crafts to create something magical. The bandhani knots over Kanjivarams, hand-painted kalamkari patterns over silk canvas, patola ikkats woven along the borders of silk bandhani saris are some of the combinations. The lost craft of Paithani celebrated tapestry weaves comes alive on the chikankari embroidered sari. The fact that Hyderabadis are big on experimenting and love to try new things is one of the driving factors for this collection. We source our textiles from 52 clusters around India, where each cluster is famous for its unique styles of work.
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Colour combinations play a very important character while creating fusion. Tell us more about it.
Indeed, not all colours go well together when combining two very distinct styles. Bandhanis are bright colours, chikankaris are pastel shades, whereas kalamkaris have earthy hues. So, we tried to balance out the colours and crafts in our collection.
You have completed over two decades in the fashion industry. How was the journey?
It has been such a huge learning experience. Clients were extremely supportive. It is important to cherish one’s roots, I too celebrated my heritage and handicrafts through my work. We even adopted Srikakulam village and the artisans to aid in promoting jamdani.
Do you plan to venture into other silhouettes apart from saris in the future?
Saris will never go out of fashion and I am going to stick to doing traditional crafts. Doing other silhouettes was never my forte.
What are your plans next?
We are working on a new collection with bold traditional designs (some of them are 100 years old) and clubbing them in a modern style.
Rs30,000 upwards. Available online and in stores.
— reshmichakravorthy@
Twitter: @reshmi190488