Growing up in Nagaland, the one style lesson that Atsu Sekhoses mother taught him was less is more. And that is what got etched in the designers mind as a student at NIFT Delhi and also when he launched his label ten years back. Atsu means unique in Naga, and for the shy style guru, it remained a challenge to be true to his name. On the first day of the WIFW SS 13, Atsu showed a line that had glimpses of his roots, but he never let it overtake his mission-clothes with a global appeal.
Tying up with the Ministry of Textiles, Atsu worked with 30 underprivileged women who created hand woven fabrics for him over a period of two months. I used N-E fabrics, made them lighter and fused them with new-age leather and silk to create a modern blend, he says.
Even though the famous Naga shawl was missing in totality, Atsu admits he used its patterns and colours as well as the flavours of the picturesque land to make a commercial line which can be worn anywhere—Paris to Goa. It is a spring-summer line, it cant have the shawl, which is pure wool, but it has its essence, in the form of motifs, which are quite graphic and geometric, loved and preserved by the Angami tribes, plus the red, white and black colour combo is always a winning formula, he smiles.
His earliest memories of Nagaland is of his well-dressed, fashion-conscious aunts and sisters who made every effort to look chic, irrespective of whether they stayed home or sailed out. If you look closely you will see Eri silks, thread embroidery, Muga silk that I have used in small proportions and the unusual colour combinations that highlight the ethnicity yet never let it slide into total drenching with NE culture, he admits.