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Parisian chic

Two French women explain why they chose to live and work in Kerala

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Well, if you have been fretting at the lack of French fashion in your wardrobe, here's a rack full of French dressing . Between the two cities of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, two French professionals - designer Marie Vitous and photographer Elianne Noble - have readied a prêt-a-porter collection, Bijuli. This is soon to find outlets in other cities in Kerala and of South India.

But why Thiruvananthapuram, you may ask. "Why not Thiruvanathpuram?" ask the ladies who stay at Nanthancode in the city. Thevara in Kochi is where their production unit, Aishwarya Fabric Art, is.

Living a dream

"We are both artistes and we wanted to live a dream. The start of Bijuli, which means `enlightenment' in Nepalese, is not based on reason but on creativity and friendship," says Marie.

And friendship found wholesome fulfilment when Elianne, on a visit to India in 2004, was enamoured by the kind of fashion designing going on in the country.

"The fabrics and the colours were too beautiful to ignore and when I went back I asked Marie, a couturier, if she would like to come away to India and start a design line. Marie said `yes'."

The two ladies eventually reached Thiruvananthapuram.

"Fashion in France is finished. Nothing new is happening. It is too expensive to be an artiste there. People can't create anymore over there. You are not allowed to think out-of-the-box," rue the two. "Bijuli is nearly three years old," says Elianne, "and it has taken us two months to get our first collection, which is 1,000 pieces of apparel, ready." Crushed cotton trousers, short tops, tunics with loops, interactive co-ordinates that can be mixed and matched are just some of the garment pieces in the collection, that's as of now, only for women.

With one tailor master and 10 persons to sew, the designers have launched a fashion line that ties Indian grace to French chic. "The only thing that we found lacking in Indian design was technique. The styles are not ergonomic. In the Bijuli collection we have combined Indian sensuality and femininity with Japanese simplicity and modernity. The line is colourful and only in cotton," says Marie, who had a long career in designing, in France, before she took to psychology and social work.

Elianne Noble used to teach at Political Science University in Paris. "We travelled extensively in Southern India, looking for the materials and patterns but all the fabrics are sourced locally. We were looking for twisted cotton in deep, different colours. Marie had the sketches ready and after locating a suitable production unit we started work," says Elianne who is handling the promotion of their new venture.

Yes, the chic, bright apparel from Bijuli is ready, sewing together cultures, clothes, loves and lives. And as they say in French c'est la vie (such is life).

PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA

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