How does one make it in fashion and footwear today? Throw out the old rules, and stay the course, even when the going gets tough. Stylist Samiha Iyer, founder of Hotch Potch, a Chennai-based accessories brand, will tell you.
She has made a name for herself with her brand, Hotch Potch, which is known for customised leather handbags where each customer gets to design their pieces from scratch — making them exclusive yet affordable.
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“Hotch Potch collection is designed to incorporate a lot of features. Each piece is made-to-order, with possibilities to modify the design according to the user’s convenience, complete with add on features. We invite each customer to design their pieces from scratch with us. Our bags are monogrammed with the name of each customer, if they wish so,” Samiha elaborates.
Personalisation is the strength of her brand, which helps it stand apart in this highly competitive fashion accessories industry where the market is inundated with new launches every few months. A NIFT graduate with a Masters in bag design from Polimoda, Italy, Samiha is trained by the best fashion players in Europe.
She took all these lessons to heart, when she moved back home to Chennai and brought her vision to life.
“During my masters our college had collaborated with the luxury brand Valentino and we had the chance to visit their design headquarters in Milan. During the two-week period we got to see their aesthetics, vision boards and also the planning for a brand shoot. This inspired me a lot,” recollects Samiha.
After launching her own line of handbags and jewellery collection, the young designer is charting new territory with her footwear range that elevates your everyday style.
Hotch Potch features unisex sandals along with its men’s and women’s collections. About her newly launched footwear collection, she says, “Our designs are inspired by architecture. The latest footwear designs are taken from simple architectural segments that I see around me, for instance the window mesh, balcony railing, etc that are often overlooked. Currently, we have about seven styles, and we are in the process of designing our new range as well,” she explains.
The collection features classic designs with a quirky twist. They are trendy and youthful with a play
on shapes, embellishments and colours. Along with her new footwear range, she is adding a new ring design to her accessories collection. “The handcrafted ring is also inspired by architecture. When you see the ring in perspective it looks like an arch with a dome. It is made in silver base with 18kt gold plating and zercon stone,” she tells us.
Samiha works with multiple mediums like wood, metal, leather, clay, terracotta and glass. “I incorporate a lot of accessories while I dress up; that is my personal style. The inspiration to combine multiple things under a single brand comes from there. Hotch Potch by itself means mix and match. The idea is to have a lifestyle accessories brand in multiple mediums,” she adds.
Starts at Rs 300 .
www.instagram.com/official_hotchpotch
www.hotchpotch.co.in
manuvipin@newindianexpress.com