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Creating fashion, not fads

Deepika Govind defines her collection as `contemporary wearables' to RAKHEE MOHAN

WARP AND WEFT Deepika Govind's ensemble combines technology with tradition Photo:Bhagya Prakash K.

Deepika Govind, Bangalore based designer, showcased her designer wear at the first Mather Lifestyle Awards 2006 function. Inspiringly titled, `Parchment Blue', half the collection had just been paraded at the International Fashion Week at Delhi.

Wishing to highlight blue, it had fabrics and designs contrasted unevenly in layered tailoring that deconstructed structured fitting and relied on fluid drapes to contour desired shapes. The colour palette also included browns and reds together with "mineral red which is my favourite colour", says Deepika. And she is one of the few designers countrywide who don't just collate materials and embellish it here and there to produce so called `designer stuff'. She takes pains to create new and interesting fabrics that are especially eco-friendly, and is also interested in reviving ancient forms of hand woven fabrics. "I play around a lot with khadi and new age fibre that allows less bleeding of colour and exterminates creases." She is at present fascinated by `ikkat' and tie and dye stuff along with Munga silk, which she procured from the northeast. " Its filament is natural golden shade and it isn't made from the normal mulberry."

Earlier she had dabbled with fabrics washed in aromas that heightened the aroma-therapeutic effect. "What I want to do is to fuse tradition with technology, connect the warp of the past with the weft of the modern. Mechanisation of garment manufacturing has robbed India of its individualistic heritage craftsmanship and I want to make all the efforts I can in preserving that culture."

The collections that top models catwalked in had mainly corsets, jackets, knee length skirts and dhotis and wraparounds. Her interesting design for trouser was a peculiar mix of the Indian dhoti and wraparound skirt. "I didn't want to go for the western trouser cut and Indian dressing is all about drapes, that allow for the luxury of breezy comfort. I wouldn't term my clothes as ethnic chic nor futuristic, they are just contemporary wearables. A designer's job is to create new fashion and not fads, which can be left for brands to do."

On the Kerala scene, she does feel "the market is comparatively dead and a lot needs to be done. The need is there as you can see shoppers throng the Delhi and Mumbai market but within the state the lack of professional providers of quality designer wear is surely felt."

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