India shining

Manish arora and Anamika Khanna might be our most celebrated fashion exports to the West, but most Indian designers worth their salt now realise that to do well in the overseas market you need more than just a dash of luck. “We come to India to see how the designers work with their heritage, mix their textiles and balance modernity with tradition,” says Manon Schaap from Le Bon Marche, France’s leading departmental store. At the recent fashion week in Delhi, many designers put their interpretation of India on their autumn-winter collections. Rajesh Pratap Singh’s collection inspired by Mother Teresa, among other things, had an interesting take on saree drapes, which was interpreted as hoods attached to fitted tops, dresses and jackets. The dhoti pants—pants which resemble dhotis from the back were another interesting variation done by Singh. Veteran designer Tarun Tahiliani put his signature drapes on his sari skirts while Anamika Khanna relied heavily on traditional Indian handicrafts for the prints on her garments. Puja Arya from Jaipur had put her local block-printing techniques to use to translate a Turkish inspiration on to the ensembles while Kavita Bhartia’s skirts came with indigenous gota work. “The West does not look to us to see what we do with hats and suits. They want to see us use our own heritage in a contemporaneous manner. Unless we can do that, we’ll never make a mark anywhere,” says Tahiliani. Time then, to wear your patriotism on your sleeves!