Like a writer, he weaves stories on his outfits. These outfits meant for varied occasions have a common factor — each has a narrative. Meet Samant Chauhan, whose lehenga, is garish, a little over the top and has the big fat Indian wedding written all over it. For the collegiate clientèle he has sewn a gown with structured lines, subdued colour and sans embroidery and the message of a studious look can be understood by the discernible. And then somewhere in the middle is an outfit with embroidery and colour used in an aesthetic way to blend style with statement. If you feel you have figured out his imagination, there is a Columbus map emblazoned on a coat. Each design, motif has been created in a way that the storytelling traditions are apparent.
“Each outfit is like a chapter which takes the narrative forward. Like all chapters complete one book, we have 30 garments in which each outfit tells its own story,” says Samant Chauhan, a master in fusing Western inspiration with Indian craftsmanship.
His outfits have two sides; one is the Indian side. Another is the exotic like Macedonian and Mongolian influences, which he seamlessly blends to show a fusion of designs, motifs and colour palette.
Samant’s obsession with Rajasthan and its myriad stories are based on home truths and also merging history with imagination to weave interesting narratives on outfits.
Showcasing his Rajasthani roots on attire has become a habit of sorts for him. Samant says, “In the first Rajasthan show in 2011, I showed the British influence over the Rajputana region. How people wore outfits with back longer than front, ball gowns coming into prominence, Victorian prints being used. In the second story, poshak, the Rajputana traditional attire, had 80 panels as I highlighted how the attires were all about volumes.”
Explaining how he has used Rajasthan in an unconventional way, Samant says: “Most artists present Rajasthan as if it is all about colour. Challenge is to showcase its off white side with equal felicity. When we talk about Rajasthan, gotta patti comes immediately on our mind. But we are exploring other crafts of the State as well.”
Samant, fascinated with Alexander’s tryst with the sub continent, is currently working on the Greek influences in his outfits.
“It is a work on progress.. Greek motifs and accessories are being used in sync with costumes of Alexander and his soldiers. Basically they would be floral — very soft colours blended with strong colours. They wore dresses with no embroidery. So I would be showcasing their outfits as simple gold.”
Greek influence over India can be seen in the form of coins, art and literature. “We will showcase dresses draped with golden beads, zardozi work mixed with dull threads and red piping. The inspiration includes the Himalayas, fruits like cherries have been taken in the form of prints and embroideries. Greek too used fruits as motifs on their clothes.”
On how he will be using zari, Samant says: “We have done zari work, the Persian embroidery, on outfits. The Greeks highlighted zari on their outfits but we have gone a step further by using lot of zari to make the garments rich. Zari is same over the centuries; it was mentioned in the Indus Valley Civilization. Just the shape and shine varies.”
New technique has been incorporated so that soft colours merge with harsh ones. An exotic painting is a reference point for the designer to derive inspiration. “After I discovered this painting on the Internet the illustrator made a sketch. Another person did the motif and the third made the khaka. We soften the colour or make it dense. Even if we don’t like the sketch on the garment then we would use it small patches on a kurta or bag. So there is zero wastage of neither design or fabric.”
Textiles play an important role in Samant’s scheme of things. “As a designer my first priority is to highlight the quality of fabric. Best thing in India is that designer of our generation whether it is Rajesh Pratap Singh or Aneeth Arora, are all working on one craft or the other. Designers in London have not seen factories or how embroideries are created, they send a print to India. Here we have a luxury of ten or twenty people working in front of us. Whether it is in the field of cinema, art, theatre we have so many stories, rich culturally and wonderful history to tell the world. Our generation has realised this.”
To make his presence globally, Samant is often offered bigger orders but on the condition that he changes textiles for imported machine made fabric from China and Korea. “So that we can do more evening wear. But if we use polyester fabric then our brand gets killed. Textile is our identity and I cannot think of changing it for any other fabric.”
