Sohaya Mishra is a 90s girl, she has seen the transformation from Doordarshan to AI, with Chola, she attempts to offer kala cotton with detachable Victorian collars.
By Asmita Aggarwal
Goa-based Sohaya Mishra is closely related to Nepalese actress Manisha Koirala, the doe eyed wonder who wowed us all in “Ek ladki ko dekha” by Vidhu Vinod Chopra in 1942-A love Story. Mishra is not new to this crazy world of fashion—she started a stylist in Channel V, after a master’s in psychology dressing VJs who were style icons. Yudhishthir VJ to Pia Rai Chowdhary, Ranveer Shorey. “The fun in all this was no internet, only using your wits and vision, trusting your judgment and instinct. It was generally my ideas, worked closely with tailors, remember this was the 90s no Pinterest or chat GPT,” she laughs.
When she made VJ Anushka Manchanda wear a big, pink quilted jacket, paired with pants shouting with 100 buckles that moved up and down as she moved, she knew she had broken the template. “I’m petite, I would stand on a stool to dress Gaurav Kapoor, VJs really defined fashion, music and style are soulmates,” says Sohaya.
She tried her hand at Bollywood styling but felt it was too chaotic, she attributes it to her being too young and inexperienced, and couldn’t grapple with Hindi movie world complexities. “The 90s was analogue now it’s Doordarshan to AI, completely digital, impersonal and somewhat scary, deep fakes are fearsome- what’s real and concocted, line is blurring,” she admits.
Her label Chola, which goes by her pet name, in its 11th year, channels the ideology — edgy, not boring, not trendy but comfy, well made, breathable, oversized. “Initially things were simple, I have a 6-year-old son, I wanted the slow life and Goa offers that. I didn’t want him to be around an iPad, but beaches, sunshine and sports,” she laughs, adding “who knows next there may be interstellar travel?”
Earlier, Sohaya was consumed by deconstruction, now it’s frilly and feminine, sharp and tailored sometimes, reflecting how she changed as a person. “This year at LFW X FDCI I wanted to pay homage to monochrome, not thinking of colour. I like waking up to fields, calmness of the ocean inspires me,” she adds.
Quilting is her favourite along with fabric manipulation, along with kala cotton, Jamdanis to Chanderis offer character in clothing -backless shirts, Victorian removable collars, detachable drama, pedal pushers. “My clothes are unisex, why can’t men wear skirts?” she concludes, adding, “I make clothes I wear, no embroidery or embellishment, just pure fun.”