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Basking in international glory
The newly-crowned Miss Universe 2004, Jennifer Hawkins, at the conclusion of the 53rd annual Miss Universe competition in Quito.
Indian beauties may have missed the prestigious Crown, but a bit of the Ms. Universe glory has reflected here as well. As the gorgeous Ms. Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins was being crowned, the Indian fashion industry had reason to celebrate as the fabric used for her dress originated from this country.
Comparatively unknown to its Indian counterparts, the Gurgaon-based Silk'n Fab textile export house supplied the fabric for the delicate golden dress embellished with beads worn by the current Ms. Universe while she was being crowned.
"It was such an unexpected surprise. The fabric was picked up from our showroom in Melbourne by one of our regular customers, Ms. Bora, who designed the dress for Ms. Hawkins. We only came to know when our team in Melbourne informed us," revealed Arun Kanodia, owner of Silk'n Fab.
While the export house did not make the fabric, they added the embellishments. "We did not make the base fabric. That was picked up from Amritsar and, according to me, it was a usual, ordinary net fabric. But we added embellishments like beading and sequence work. It was gold in colour so the designer did not dye it. But we added Indian touches to the fabric," explains Mr. Kanodia who has a showroom in London and also supplies to Taiwan, China, London, America and Malaysia.
Describing the designing as a team effort, this electrical engineer from Banaras Hindu University, says: "It is a family affair. While we have a design team, everyone is involved in designing. I might be an electrical engineer but I am also involved in it! And this is just a matter of luck. According to me, we have designed so many better things as well!"
While the fabrics from Silk'n Fab find place in several international markets, it is not supplied to India. "We are concentrating on the international market right now. We are basically into exports and we want to specialise in that. We don't want to mix too many things. We are not looking at the Indian market right now, but maybe in future we would do so," says Mr. Kanodia.
Originally from Kanpur, disappointed with the lack of opportunities in the State, the family moved and settled down in Gurgaon about four years ago. "We set up our company around the same time. This just shows that there is space for other people in the industry as well. Even while there are big, leading designers, a comparatively unknown textile designer managed to find space and earn recognition," says Mr. Kanodia.
By Anjali Dhal Samanta
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