As we browse through bright chanderis and soft tussars, Mridulika Menon Madiraju, the creative tour de force behind Samasta, regales us with tales of growing up at her mother’s workshop, knee-deep in hand-woven fabrics. “It is this continued support of handloom textiles that we are most proud of at Samasta,” says the designer, whose mother is the acclaimed textile revivalist Arundhati Menon.
Madiraju, 37, has created a special collection of wearable silhouettes to commemorate the brand’s anniversary. “We have experimented with some fun silhouettes – shirt dresses, asymmetric tunics, jacket-style tops. We also have our best-sellers like the maxi dress, long skirts and the crop top which can double up as a sari blouse in hand-crafted tussar silk, cotton and chanderi in a burst of bright colours and prints,”
says Madiraju, who collaborates with weavers from across India. She adds, “It always brings us such joy to interact with the weavers who are so passionate about their work. Whilst our ikat is from Andhra and cotton from Bengal, we recently worked with a talented young weaver from Bhagalpur (Bihar) for our tussar. He is a NIFT graduate and created a lovely, flowing fabric for our custom prints.”
While their new e-boutique is set to launch at the end of the month, the designer signs off saying, “My daughter Mahika is now 7 years old, and knows more about fabrics than most adults. She pushes me almost every day for a line for kids — so I am working on that.”
Rs 1,090 onwards. Details: 42721110 ; samastaonline.com