Nagpurs pride Shruti Sancheti gets set to cavort with lace, floral prints and velvet taking you back in time to the early 1900 as she reveals why progressive women are opting for timeless classics
By Asmita Aggarwal
She did her MBA in marketing, studied fashion as well as jewellery design all tucked away in the non-descript city of Nagpur, that too after she got married. Motherhood changed the way most women look at a career, but for Shruti Sancheti, it opened new windows to really do something more than just what a graduation in history could offer her soaring ambitions.
Almost twenty years back growing up in Kolkata, I had few options if I wanted to study design, NIFT (Delhi) was the only alternative. I got married very young and it kind of puts a lot of responsibilities on you almost immediately, so you think of family before you take a life altering step in any direction, she says.
But the sights, sounds and artistic ethos of the city of Kolkata stayed with her even when she was no longer a part of it, so it took great courage for a professor of design at LAD College to launch her label four years back. Unabashedly terming her offerings conservative, Shruti believes that its timeless over fads for her, with a focus on surface ornamentation and textiles. You can take a person out of Kolkata, you cant take Kolkata out of him! This is what prompted me to start, even though getting raw materials and skilled craftsman in a city like Nagpur which has no fashion aesthetics is near impossible, she adds.
This didnt deter her either. As she is ready with her new line for the first time at WIFW (last year she had a stall), based on her experiences she gained working with the Maharashtra State Handloom Corporation (MSHC), two years back.
Shrutis indomitable spirit can be seen when she refused to work with the over exposed Paithani and chose to bring humbler and lesser-known fabrics into focus (Khand, Totapuri, Narli, Ruiphool and Shahpuri). The MSHC invited me to motivate weavers and provide design inputs to cater to the fast changing market though I worked on a socio-economic level with them. I think the modern woman wants a fabric with a great fall; it must have an element of luxury and should be lightweight. Thats just what we did by tweaking Maharashtrian weaves by turning around the thread counts (from 40 to 150) among other things, which added suppleness and drape-ability, she smiles.
Proving her point that textiles can be made adaptable for a fast-paced lifestyle, Shruti has gone back in time (1900-1920) for her WIFW line. Using summer silk woven in Maharashtra, which she believes is figure faltering if cut correctly, offers both crucial elements that one needs-comfort and luxury. I find this whole craziness in fashion is a bit incongruous, women want something classic, which they can repeat the next season, after all with the recession buying power has been severely affected. Thats why all this talk of art in fashion is good to hear, but we need to sell and not just have pretty clothes sitting on the rack to be admired. One has to find a midway between art and commerce, she admits.
Autumn-Winter 2014 will be a celebration of dark moods, so teal, ox blood red and purples will dominate her palette as she celebrates the beauty of a simple jacket which can be worn with dresses, saris and even with the item number of the seasonthe palazzo. We have jackets shaped into boleros, others are quilted and some in velvet so a woman has a vast choice and can pick up something that is easy, no-fuss and versatile. I know a lot of women say palazzos are not ideal for wide-hipped Indian women, but they are super comfortable, can be chic if you team them up with an appropriate top (kurti, ganji or button down) depending on your body type, she concludes.