Since winning the first edition of the Vogue India Fashion Fund in 2012, designer Aneeth Arora's label, Péro, has earned itself a devoted fan base of handloom fashion lovers, made its way onto the India Fashion Week runway and retails in some of the country's best known boutiques, including multi-designer destination Ensemble.
Part of Arora's Fashion Fund prize is a partnership with retail giant Westside, which has resulted in a collection for Zuba, their Indian wear label, which launched in stores across the country this week.
A textile graduate from National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and fashion graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Arora is known for her use of organic fabrics, creating relaxed, wearable pieces that make a statement and look effortless at the same time.
"Usually, I stick with cottons and mul mul," Arora tells Vogue, "but for the Zuba collection we decided to go a little more high-end, creating a smaller quantity of designs with a higher focus on superior quality. Most of the designs were to be in silk and chanderi with ajrakh prints, to appeal to customers a little older than those Péro usually caters to."
The final result comes as a surprise even to Arora, who worked on the initial samples but is yet to see the in-store pieces. "I wasn't able to get more involved, I would have loved to do more for the branding," she says.
While Arora doesn't get a cut from the sales of her Zuba collection, she does benefit from Westside's nation-wide clientele. "[The collection] is going to help me reach out to the masses, get my name recognized." Her favourite design of the lot: "A plain silk shirt dress featuring an ajrakh block print. You can wear it as a dress, or even turn it into an Indian outfit with a dupatta and pants. It's very versatile."
Vogue's junior fashion stylist Ria Kamat test ran the collection, styling the ajrakh kurtas and pants into four looks: work, evening out, on-the-go and festival. Time to start picking your favourites; judging by Westside's always affordable price tags ("we're aiming at between Rs 3,000 and 5,000," Arora says), this collection is as easy on the wallet as it is on the eyes.
