“Buyer is conscious, wants to reuse”
CFA-turned-designer Richa Khemka tells us you can wear a draped blazer-pants to a cocktail….we believe her. As she serenades hand painting with metallic foil and celestial textures this LFW. By Asmita Aggarwal Would you ever imagine a CFA working in Citibank, earning top dollar, deciding to quit and design clothes? Strange things happen in fashion, and Richa Khemka did just that! Self-taught, she is this year’s Nexa spotlight winner! Admits after marriage she didn’t want to do a corporate job, so the J.D. Birla Institute (JDBI), Kolkata affiliated with Jadavpur University, MSC finance, as well as international chartered financial analyst, Richa took the road less travelled. She grew up in artisanal Kolkata, had seen her mom make saris, apply borders, get it dyed in vivacious hues, and supplied to stores. She grew more interested, studying finance helped her balance profit-loss, a skill many Indian designers grapple with. “Even though I don’t like numbers, I’m good at accounting,” she grins. In 2015, she began with one tailor, continued with one exhibition, gained confidence after a few years, felt it could be considered as a serious profession, and soon began supplying to stores organically. “I felt clothing was either too Indian or too Western, so fusion wear became my calling, if there is a world like that. You can wear it to a wedding and cocktail, they are transitional and fluid,” she explains. Her draped blazer is worn with pants that are crafted in materials sourced from China, organza, lace, textured fabrics, nets, metallics, and crushing for effect. “Focus has been on the lightness of a fabric and draping,” she confirms. Buyers want to reuse, they are conscious of their purchases, but they also want to be noticed as soon as they enter! “We do very well in tier 2 and 3 cities, they are exposed to urban fashion. They will wear a blazer and pants to a sangeet in Raipur to Indore even Surat, the exposure and sense of wanting to fit in due to social media is tremendous, they also see how their favourite celeb is dressing,” she explains. Interestingly, what stands out is hand painting with metallic foil, simple in view but heavily embellished, with silver, black, white and blues used to accentuate the ensemble. “What takes centre stage is storytelling, it can be as basic as floor tiles which caught my attention on vacations or travels when I am most relaxed,” she admits. Kolkata is blessed with gifted artisans who can bring alive your story in clothing, karigaars hand work is superlative. Even though her work is not heavily dependent on motifs, it is more geometry, play of tassels, creating constellation effects, a bit celestial and mystical. If you see closely the dark blues of the cloud has been translated with ease onto her trans-seasonal garments. “I want to experiment more with threadwork and hand work, pushing the boundaries further,” she adds.