I love Madras Week! Every year, we’re reminded just how much we love our beautiful city and where it all began. Chennai turns 384 this week! The city celebrated in a variety of ways, from exhibitions to the ever popular heritage walks. I even received a special ‘Happy Madras Day’ hamper from the Baker Ninja with Rose Milk and Coffee Cake Tubs created especially for the occasion, flavours that are integral to Chennai. Celebrations are made even better with a mouthful of cake. Along the coast, a beach clean-up was underway, launched by Natureallé, the new sustainable platform that everyone’s talking about. Partnering with the Satsang Foundation and Exnora International, Samyuktha Adityan founder of Natureallé said, “Our mission goes beyond offering sustainable products; it’s about encouraging a sense of responsibility towards our planet.” It was great to see community members, environmental enthusiasts and the city’s well-known faces, get together, and ‘walk the talk’. It is after all, all about small actions leading to big change. The Australian Consulate General Chennai, as part of their Madras Week programme, hosted a panel discussion on Greening Madras at the Centre for Environmental Studies at Anna University. The keynote speaker, Joss Brooks, has dedicated many years to projects in Tamil Nadu.
On the fashion front, we had lots to choose from starting off with the launch of No Grey Area’s new collection, Ether, at Evoluzione. It was a mix of influencers, popular faces and ‘Evo’ fans. Chatting with fashion stylist Rupyoti, who played host, she said that for her, it has to be the brand appeal, streetwear but high fashion. “In this particular drop, the entire collection is so comfortable and unisex, anyone could wear their pieces, they appeal across gender and generations — which is how fashion should be,” she told us. The fabrics are summery and breathable yet luxe at the same time. Meanwhile, not so far away at Taj Club House, it was a similar type of gathering at Rehane’s for a special showcase of Sihali Jageer’s summer 2023 collection. The week also saw the launch of Ordrobe Apparels, bringing in the next era of fashion, with AI. A colourful fashion show marked the launch, where art by Dhakshini J had been converted into prints, one of the many facets of fashion we can expect from the new brand. They also offer various types of customisation online using AI. Put in your specifications, from different motifs, to colours, styles and placements, and voila, a design just for you. I can’t wait to try.
The week ended with the Homepreneurs Awards graced by the likes of Suhasini Maniratnam and Revathi. Home-based women entrepreneurs across various categories including social welfare, media and entertainment, health and agriculture were recognised and honoured. Describing it perfectly was the line that these women have turned ‘kitchens into studios, living rooms into classrooms, and passion into prosperity’.