Home to high fashion

Some locales, both within and outside India, are usually known as ‘touristy’ destinations. However, these hidden secrets are soon becoming fashion capitals. We speak to designers to find out which places inspired them the most in terms of fashion

Rehane Yavar Dhala

What is high fashion An outfit or accessory that is one-of-a-kind, and can’t be found anywhere else. India in totality, is one place, where such elements of high fashion can be found everywhere, from posh cities to even the rural outbacks that not everybody knows of. Gujarat is a great example of this. My mother purchased this gorgeous Kutch work blouse in the 1980s. I was so much in love with it, that I took inspiration for it for my college graduation collection. From then till now, my affair with Gujarati clothes, colours and patters hasn’t died down.

While my clothes are refined, they always have an undertone of tribal and nomadic influences. I guess they reflect my personality as well!

Osman Abdul Razack My work mainly consists of formal suits for men, but a recent trip I took to Kashmir with my family, opened so many new doors for me. I discovered Pashmina — a beautiful woolen weave that bowled me over! I work with many high-end woolens, but I thought why not use this beautiful soft material for my latest collection Some shawls have kashida and sonzi embroidery on them, which are handmade by the locals. So, I picked up two such pieces, which I plan to make into suits.

In fact, I walked into this one store which was established in Kashmir in the 1800s and the owners were so well-spoken and friendly! They told me that even big European labels like Versace have used Pashmina in their labels.

Sidney Sladen In an interview, Sidney once said that he saw the most colourful, well-maintained garden during a trip to Paris. This formed the base for a collection of his, which saw many outfits in pastel shades and floral prints. The flowers, which were in full-bloom, are quite rare to find in a place like Chennai, so he used influences of nature in many of his Spring-Summer collections. They have been featured on Indian as well as international ramps alike.

Anuradha Bisani I’m an avid traveller and love exploring the culture and fashion in each and every place I visit. India is a melange of many handicrafts, but by far, Benarasi work has been my favourite. The silk weavers of Varanasi are so skilled and spend hours working on each sari — this is why I make it a point to use them liberally in my collections. I recently brought out a line, where I used Benarasi silks to make sari blouses, as well as ghagras.

Cottons from Andaman, handicrafts from Delhi and even block prints from Jaipur, fascinate me. I make it a point to pick up a few pieces no matter where I go, because I love the vibrancy and pomp they add to traditional clothing.