Famed designer Rimi Nayak unveils her first-ever resort celebration collection Botanics

The feted city designer, who's a regular at the Lakme Fashion Week and sought after for her great resort and party wear options, has come out with her first-ever resort celebration range, Botanics.
Botanics by Rimi Nayak
Botanics by Rimi Nayak

Sensual drapes, vibrant prints, and unusual surface techniques in classic cuts are what define the key features of couturier Rimi Nayak's designs that beautifully incorporate modern silhouettes with the traditional cuts by making handcrafted detailings a part of all their ensembles. The feted city designer, who's a regular at the Lakme Fashion Week and sought after for her great resort and party wear options, has just come out with her first-ever resort celebration range, Botanics, and Indulge unveils the looks with an exclusive shoot of the collection flaunted by supermodel Riya Bhattacharjee.

Here're the excerpts from a chat we had with Rimi on the same.

Tell us all in detail about your collection.

We are launching our first resort celebration range of clothes with our latest range called Botanics. We as a brand are popular for our resort holiday clothing but over the years we have been getting a lot of requests from our clients to customize clothes for their destination celebrations like weddings and special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. So, keeping this in mind, we designed a resort wear range, especially for the celebrations.

The collection has a lot of bright vibrant colours, our signature big floral prints, and a mix of various silhouettes like draped skirts, corsets, sarees, co-ords, and overlays.

Blue floral printed georgette draped kurta with printed crepe palazzo pants coord
Blue floral printed georgette draped kurta with printed crepe palazzo pants coord

What is the design philosophy behind this collection?

Botanics is heavily inspired by mother nature and its various unique floras and faunas. The bold floral prints in myriad bright hues are a tribute to the evergreen and effervescent nature at its best. This riot of colours is balanced with contrasting neutral shades to signify the opposites that occur in nature including the change of seasons. 
The silhouettes ranging from free-flowing drapes, saris to structured outfits reflect the same dichotomy that exists in nature.

What kinds of designs have become popular with young buyers?

Young buyers like more separates that they can mix and match and style in their own unique ways.  Overlays and co-ords are the most popular styles amongst them. When it comes to parties and holiday fashion the mood is always happy, bold, and vibrant.

Which looks will be trending when it comes to destination weddings?

Draped skirts with corset tops or palazzo pants with bralette tops, teamed with overlays are going to rule the destination weddings in the coming seasons. 

Pink floral printed oprganza corset teamed with printed draped satin skirt
Pink floral printed oprganza corset teamed with printed draped satin skirt

What are the cocktail party fashion and resort wear trends?

Gowns are going to be in trend for cocktail party fashion. We have recently launched our line of draped gowns keeping cocktail parties in mind.

Prints are going to rule in the coming season also for resort wear fashion. Coords and dresses along with kaftans will be the popular trend.

How much has western wear fashion evolved over the years in India?

In India western wear fashion is currently very popular and people are open to experimenting and trying newer silhouettes in comparison even to a decade back. I believe with time our label too has become more mature in terms of our design sensibility and with an experience of 14 years behind us, we have been able to create our own signature brand language and have been able to establish the brand as a resort and western wear brand of reckon.

Your learning experiences?

My journey in the fashion industry started with my debut at the Lakme Fashion Week just after my NIFT graduation and so all my learnings have been on the job. In today's hyper-competitive market, it's critical to know the pulse of the market and constantly churn out designs that suit the taste of your customers. Being a designer based in Kolkata, make it no different in that aspect.
Maintaining an active social media presence that reflects the brand's story, journey, and design process along with keeping the customers in the loop about upcoming collections has also been extremely important for me in keeping the brand relevant. But beyond everything, a designer needs to put in a lot of hard work, be persistent and possess an ability to adapt quickly to fashion changes.  

How much do you follow the global trends and how much do you try to set your own?

We follow the fashion forecast and trends before creating a collection since our label has a global presence and we need to follow the global trends mostly the colours in the forecast.

For the domestic market, we don't follow the global trend forecast and we create our own trends making them relevant to the current markets. For me fashion is art -- it is more of an expression of my art in a wearable form.

Beige with maroon floral printed organza saree teamed with satin printed blouse with embroidery highlights
Beige with maroon floral printed organza saree teamed with satin printed blouse with embroidery highlights

 How much do you incorporate sustainability?

We follow a sustainable practice in our entire business model. We use fabrics made out of plant-based fibres that are biodegradable. 
Apart from that, all the fabric waste of our factory is upcycled to create various accessories like bags, wallets, and home furnishings under our sub-brand called AboutTuRN.

What are the holiday and party wardrobe must-haves?

Holiday must-haves include kaftans and overlays and party wardrobe must comprise statement dresses

How can one turn their resort wear into a nice party number with some tweaks?

By dressing up or dressing down you can easily turn your resort wear into a lovely party outfit. With the right kind of footwear and accessories, the outfit can turn into a glamorous ensemble for a party.
You can make use of some of the trending statement earrings and clutches that are really popular now. Layering is the key to a stylish look for winter. 

Your upcoming collections?

We are launching an athleisure line specifically designed keeping in mind the travel or airport look. We, as a brand, are aiming to address all the necessities of the luxe travellers wardrobe.

Price on request. 5E, Cornfield Road. On riminayakindia.com

Slay it like Riya

Supermodel Riya Bhattacherjee shares her winter fashion choices:

Winter fashion choices: I always like keeping things casual, cool yet chic. Winters always mean we can dress really smartly with a lot of overlays and my favourite look comprises a long statement coat, over-the-knee boots and oversized jumpers.

Pink crepe trousers and bralette coord teamed with floral printed organza overlay 
Pink crepe trousers and bralette coord teamed with floral printed organza overlay 

Wardrobe must-haves: Pair of wash denim, a timeless piece of little black dress, a classic white button-down and a statement sari.

Holiday wear preferences: A pair of thigh-high boots, a short dress with a long trench coat followed by berets.

Favourite winter accessories: Tights, earmuffs, boot socks.

Your favourite winter look: Oversized sweaters or a hoodie with washed denim and a pair of black boots.

Some outfits that you love repeating: My comfy black T-shirt and denim.

Winter essentials in your bag: Scarves, moisturiser and a lip balm.

CREDITS: Pictures: Debarshi Sarkar/Makeup and hair: Abhijit Paul, assisted by Sananda Mondal Laha/Styling: Poulami Gupta/Jewellery: Shuffling Suitcase, Dazzling Danglers by Ruchi Agarwal/Location courtesy: The Oberoi Grand Kolkata/Food courtesy: Oudh 1590 

Related Stories

No stories found.
Indulgexpress
www.indulgexpress.com