Nitin Kartikeya gets poetic this WIFW, while Jyoti gives her leather bags a new dimension
By Asmita Aggarwal
Nitin Kartikeya grew up in the culturally alive city of Lucknow and decided it was design that floated his boat, only after graduation from Pune. Launching his line Kartikeya at WIFW Autumn-winter 2014, Nitin mesmerised by the languid verses of John Keats decided to give his ensembles a Victorian feel, inspired by architecture, poetry, literature and theatre. The line kind of captures the many moods of a woman, but the underlying theme remains feminine and romantic, he explains.
Following a global outlook, Nitin has courted deeper tones this season with cherry, purple and refreshing bottle greens; as he adds flowing softness with chiffons.
Another first timer with a vast experience, Jyoti Kant based in Jaipur, is ready with three myriad lines—-Gulabo (casual printed bags); Jalaj or lotus (leather bags); and Firki (evening, embellished clutches). A NIFT graduate, who was also a visiting faculty, honed her skills at NID before she took on this trade 18 years ago, in 1995. I used to see my grandmom and mother working with threads and doing this amazing embroidery transforming white cloth into a work of art, so I knew a lot of techniques even before I studied at a fashion school, says Jyoti.
Her effort remains to revive dying techniques of hand stitching on bags, which was earlier used on shoes, adding the vibrancy of Rajasthan in her vegetable tan leather beauties. As I export to Denmark, USA and Europe, the idea remains to give sustenance to rural women in Rajasthans villages, where water is still a dream, even though it is a craft drenched region, she concludes.