Asimple, elegant Grecian drape dress in deep blue gets the Indian touch with a large belt with Bhuj embroidery. Sometimes, less is more. The mirror work and intricate embroidery on the belt speaks volumes of craftsmanship and designer Shravan Kumar Ramaswamy hopes this will buoy his international audience. The drape dress is one among the many outfits he will be showcasing at Vancouver Fashion Week on March 21.
His new collection has a mix of techniques from Kutch to Lambada mirror work embroidery, fabrics ranging from Narayanpet and Mangalgiri to Gajji silk from Rajasthan and a colour palette ranging from beige to flaming reds and pistachio green to royal blue. “We have somehow forgotten colours like the royal blue. I wanted a wide colour palette for my line and brought in the blue,” he says. Shravan will be showcasing more than 100 pieces across Vancouver, New Jersey and New York, of which 16 outfits for women and eight for men will be unveiled at Vancouver.
This is the designer’s second outing at Vancouver. He intends to maintain an essentially Indian identity to his collection than design an out-and-out western line to woo the international market. “I’m trying to showcase some of our best techniques and weaves. Primarily, the line has lehengas and long skirts teamed with cholis but I’ve also included sherwani-styled jackets with plenty of mirror work and waist coats that will meet the requirements of their winter. This time, I’ve tried a fusion, teaming up Narayanpet and Benaras weaves, embroidery from Bhuj, Kutch and Banjara and so on. The way I look at it, any orders that might come from these shows will help weavers and craftsmen,” says Shravan.
The designer mentions with awe the hand-cut mirror work from Lambada teams in Nalgonda and running thread stitch embroidery from Ibrahimpatnam. “I came across people from the community who charge a mere Rs. 2 or Rs. 2.50 to embroider a small piece of cloth or canvas. Their work is good and they need to be paid more to earn a livelihood,” he says.
While Spring-Summer collections this year are resplendent with floral motifs large and small, and graphic prints, Shravan’s new line has a touch of floral motifs, sometimes as prints on the skirts but mostly through embroidery techniques that go back many generations.
