Designer Aparajita Banerjee unveils her SS'23 edit Summer Raagas

Like music, colours, too, speak for themselves and influence human nature and thoughts since time imme - morial, feels designer Aparajita Banerjee, who loves to paint away her blues. Naturally, soft natural hues or bright pops, be it in nature or in fabric, always entices her. Vibrant reds, soothing sapphire blues, rich navy blues and charming yellows are some of the chosen colours for the young and emerging couturier’s latest collection Summer Raagas.

Aparajita always wanted to offer something very different to every woman at an affordable price range. But it wasn’t the best of times when the 23-year-old designer launched her eponymous label in August 2021 amid the raging pandemic. As a homegrown brand with minimal resources, the beginning was a bit unsure and wobbly for the budding designer, who took the roller coaster ride in her stride. “Overall, these two years have helped me grow and taught me never to stop striving for the best,” recalls the very soft-spoken designer. Since most women nowadays prefer Western silhouettes over traditional Indian outfits for everyday wear, Aparajita thought of keeping indigenous crafts and textiles alive by melding both worlds with a simple design twist. “Every piece we make is one of a kind. I take inspiration from the everyday wardrobes of working women and even art pieces or movies. I prefer to keep it simple and minimalistic,” she says.

Her latest edit sees an inter - play of traditional soft muslin with very Western lace to bring out the calm feminine softness. She has employed anti-fit silhou - ettes to lend a sense of freedom besides a structure with gath - ers and pleats to bring out the dimensions. These outfits make for a perfect choice for our hot and humid weather as they sit like soft feathers on the body. Spring has always been the muse for Aparajita’s creations and the return of colour, aroma and rhythm after the frozen winter has always unfurled the wings of her imagination. The blooms around her have helped her choose colours of the fabric for Summer Raagas and muslin dresses bear the softness of the fuzzy clouds. The biggest trend this summer, according to Aparajita is to keep it very light and fun with bright colour blocks, small floral prints and embroideries besides bold prints with defined silhouettes. Pastels and sheer fabrics will be ruling like always with co-ord sets, tank tops, oversized blazers, bigger pockets, and wide-legged pants taking the lead, opines the designer. The emerging couturier unveils her summer collection with Indulge with exclusive four looks shot amidst nature in Santiniketan. We chat with the millennial creator about her label, summer trends, and how to channel the easy breezy summer looks while owning your own individual sense of fashion. Excerpts from the chat:

One may wear a simple deep solid shirt with baggy harem pants or a long skirt of a lighter shade with pockets. The hair tied up in a pony or a bun with small studs, an offwhite/black hobo bag with a similar shade of mules shoes will look great.

A woman with an apple-shaped body can go for a wrap dress with boots, or a deep v-neck line, dhoti jumpsuit. She can also go for a noodle strap top with straight pants layered with a sleeveless shrug. Flowy fabrics with pastel prints or neutral colours will work best for her. A woman with a pear body type can go for a long floral maxi dress with longer sleeves. A boat neckline 3-piece co-ord set with a long shrug with wide sleeves will work wonders. She can experiment with elaborate necklines and different analogous colours. For someone with a rectangular body, almost every silhouette looks flattering. She can experiment with asymmetrical Indo-Western outfits with different shrugs and belts, a cowl neckline, wrap top with dhoti pants would also look good. Someone with an hourglass figure can go for fitted crop tops and tulip pants.They can wear an oversized solid colour dress and crunch it up with a tie at the waist. Experiment with flowy shrugs, panel tops and halter neck dresses. A petite woman can use a lot of layers, and quirky bold prints and layer it with sheer fabrics in her looks and go for different pleats at the waist. Opt for solid colour oversized dresses, denim with crushed cotton asymmetrical shirts, and bralettes with white wide-legged pants with a floorlength shrug would also look flattering.

Gigi Hadid for her effortless styles — they are fun and quirky yet very chic. Sonam Kapoor for her experiments with different layerings and fusion wear. I feel her sense of fashion is versatile.

Surely not. One should wear something only if they are comfortable in it. Our clothes are a big part that defines who we are as a person and we should always hold that individuality. Even when we are following trends, that tiny twist in our look should be there that is our own style.

It’s time we become conscious about our clothes. Try to stick to sustainable outfits. Upcycle your wardrobe. Style your outfits in a way that you get a different look every day instead of being a thoughtless buyer. And keep it subtle.

The essentials for any holiday are a few bright comfortable oversized tops, wrapper tops, maxi dresses, neutral-coloured t-shirts and colourful shrugs. White sneakers, a pair of baggy denim or shorts, a denim jacket and to complete it, pair it with your favourite studs and a small pendant.

For now, we use a lot of patchwork on different garments to reduce waste. We do not use any synthetic fabrics and stick to cotton, linen, different types of silk and jute and we upcycle products. We collect preloved outfits and saris and other home-furnishing fabrics to create new products out of them. We customise these outfits/products for our clients. I want to shift to a totally sustainable brand, using sustainable cotton fibres, banana and jute fibres and complete natural dyes, and eco prints. As a designer, it’s my duty to protect indigenous skills and craftsmanship and make sure that we protect our Mother Earth as the fashion industry is the second-largest polluting industry in the world. Hand embroidery, hand printing, tribal painting, handwoven fabrics, and traditional weaves are the foundation of any society and it’s a huge fight for sustenance against the retail industry.

For our next collection, we are trying to draw inspiration from various tribal art forms of eastern India with an urban structure and we are working on eco prints.