Category: Q&A

Q&A Wednesday With Shaheen Abbas


A quick Q&A with jewelry designer Shaheen Abbas…

1. Blackberry Or Iphone: Blackberry!

2. Favorite Discovery (fashion or otherwise): Roshan..my husband 😉 And, Sheena’s Chocolate Cake

3. Favorite Accessory: Bags, Looove Hoop Earings and My rings

4. First Extravagant Purchase: My Solitaire Ring

5. Most Treasured Purchase: My diamonds wthout a doubt

6. Necessary Extravagance: Business class travel/Jewellery

7. Perfume: Issey Miyake since the last 14 years.

8. Day Bag: Balenciaga/Stella McCartney/Marc Jacobs

9. Evening Bag: McQueen clutches/ Zaglaini/Nancy Gonzalez

10. Watch: Rolex/Bvlgari/Cartier

11. Jeans Or Dresses: Jeans

12. Flats Or Heels: Heels

13. Fashion Trend That Needs To Go: Short skirts over leggings… Never ever got that concept, either wear one or the other!

14. Time It Takes To Get Ready: 25-35 mins.. Depends on the occasion.

15. Your One Fashion WTHeyyy!!! Moment: Like I’am gonna tell you guys hahaha!! I’m sure you’ll figure this one out on your own (hope not)!

Shaheen Abbas

Photo Credit: Viral Bhayani

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Q&A Wednesday With Farah Ali Khan


A little tête-à-tête with jewelry designer Farah Ali Khan…

1. Blackberry Or Iphone: Blackberry

2. Favorite Discovery (fashion or otherwise): Talcum powder for greasy hair day

3. Favorite Accessory: My 35 ct columbian emerald ring

4. First Extravagant Purchase: A Louis Vuitton Bag

5. Most Treasured Purchase: My Rubelite and Diamond Earrings

6. Necessary Extravagance: Shoes

7. Perfume: Jean Paul Gaultier

8. Day Bag: Valentino

9. Evening Bag: Bottega Veneta

10. Watch: Currently my funky fashion watch by Victoria Couture

11. Jeans Or Dresses: Dresses

12. Flats Or Heels: Heels

13. Fashion Trend That Needs To Go: Long shirts with leggings

14. Time It Takes To Get Ready: From 15 min to 30 mins

15. Your One Fashion WTHeyyy!!! Moment: Doing up my hair for the evening and then after letting it down from the curlers, my hair going completely flat due to extra conditioning, just before I’m all set for a Big Bash.

Farah Ali Khan

Photo Credit: Viral Bhayani

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Q&A Wednesday With Pratima Gaurav


And continuing with our Q&A series, here’s another quick tête-à-tête, this time with the designer Pratima Gaurav

1. As a designer, what inspires you? Have a muse?

All things beautiful. I do believe there is no such thing as too much Luxury. Without sounding immodest, I am my own muse. If it doesn’t pass the muster for me, I will never create it!

2. What is the core aesthetic that you aim for in your clothes?

Fabulousness!

3. With multiple fashion weeks springing up in almost every major city, how effective are they?

Great platform for upcoming designers, but at the moment it’s cluttered – needs to be more unified.

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4. How has the high-end luxury brand influx in India changed the local fashion scene?

It’s getting more democratic – choice always raises the bar in quality and aesthetic.

5. How do you feel about more and more celebrities choosing to wear International labels at various award functions and other public events? As a designer do you feel our homespun designers aren’t getting their due?

I think we need a balance. The sari will always be a classic and the Indian woman always looks her best in it! And frankly it’s a safer option for some for our Celebrities because very few of them can carry a Lanvin gown or a cutting edge McQueen on the red carpet. Rekha in a traditional Kanjeevaram or Sonali in an Abu-Sandeep classic can still make the red carpet sizzle. Unfortunately the media doesn’t stop to smell the Indian roses!

6. How important is it for a designer to have his/her creations seen on a celebrity versus conventional advertising mediums?

Celebrities (the right ones!) do attract the right PR. But frankly, nothing thrills me more than the average Indian woman in my creations. That’s my reward for reaching out to the right audience.

7. Five essentials that should take us through the seasons this year?

The perfect White Shirt – Pratap or Anne Fontaine with many many strands of pearls.

The perfect fitting Jeans: J. Brand or Seven for all Mankind

Cutler & Gross aviators

Bottega Veneta Classic Hobo

A Pratima Gaurav Frill sari

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8. How would you describe your own sense of style?

I don’t have one. If I did I would lose my spontaneity. My closet has an interesting mix of every mood – for Sexy its Anuj Sharma, for Glamorous its Alexander McQueen, for feminine its Chloe, for Classic its vintage Lanvin or Abu-Sandeep, for just being me its the DVF wraps or Savios simple mals and for a work day its Sevens and a crisp Pratap. For traditional wear it’s a woven Benarasi sari from Indian textiles – one for the heirloom.

For baubles its old jadau jewellery my grandmothers hand-me-downs. And multi multi strands of pearls.

Add some sexy Louboutins, Nancy Gonzalez clutches and a big skin hobo and I’m all set.

9. Thoughts on mainstream actresses replacing models on all major (fashion) magazine covers?

Not fair especially since many have no style! Though contradictorily, the stars look refreshingly fabulous when styled by a Vogue or Harper’s! Hopefully they will learn. Kareena for instance has come a long way – something tells me Vogue had a lot to do with it.

10. And finally…

a. One word that describes you?

Fabulous!

b. A trend you wish would go away?

Peroxide Blondes! Send them to the moon.

c. A trend you can’t get enough of?

Pearls

d. Shoes or bags?

Bags, clutches, hobos…et al!

e. If you weren’t a designer, you would be?

A Shrink

f. One thing Pratima Gaurav cannot live without?

My two year old work out – my son, Abeer

pratima-gaurav-interview-collection-images-11

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Q&A Wednesday With Kallol Datta


Picking up where we left off with our Q&A series, here’s a quick tête-à-tête with the designer Kallol Datta

1. As a designer, what inspires you? Have a muse?

As a person, I gravitate towards concepts of putrefaction, transmigration etc, and to the works of artists who’ve dealt with the aforementioned topics. When in design mode, it remains the same. The thought of having a muse throws me off for a loop. I cannot imagine creating garments based on the visual imagery of just one(type) woman.

2. What is the core aesthetic that you aim for in your clothes?

Bling- free, Bling – less, Bling to death and the likes. Shiny objects distract me. Though details in garments are important, for me the shape and form of the piece hold more importance.

3. With multiple fashion weeks springing up in almost every major city, how effective are they?

It’s weird right? Almost like having a Mardi gras at every nook and corner. However India keeps stressing way too much on the word ‘week’. I’ve conditioned myself; substituting ‘week’ for ‘extravaganza and jazz’, because in India that’s what it is at the end of the day.

4. How has the high-end luxury brand influx in India changed the local fashion scene?

Well, for starters, people have started denying the fact that they’ve picked up their Gucci from Mumbai. But seriously, other than the fact of having my garment appear in a magazine on a model wearing a Patrick Cox shoe and the point that is Chanel and not ‘Channel’ anymore, it’s all the same.

5. How do you feel about more and more celebrities choosing to wear International labels at various award functions and other public events? As a designer do you feel our homespun designers aren’t getting their due?

Ask me something on meta-physics and I am sure, I’ll fare better. I stay far away from celebrities and their lives. Their sartorial choice in clothing however, brings out the ‘Kathy Griffin’ in me.

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6. How important is it for a designer to have his/her creations seen on a celebrity versus conventional advertising mediums?

By celebrity, let’s assume we mean people from the Indian film industry. Designers catering to that particular market segment will prolly benefit from actors and the likes wearing their clothes. As for my case, forget the clothes, let’s get people to pronounce ‘Kallol’ the way my mum intended it to be.

7. Five essentials that should take us through the seasons this year?

Well groomed selves (even if one tends to appear otherwise), brill innerwear, a beginner’s sense of humour, lady luck and a glass of vino.

8. How would you describe your own sense of style?

Magpie; random, borrowed, stolen. Roomy, all enveloping and the likes.

9. Thoughts on mainstream actresses replacing models on all major (fashion) magazine covers?

I know!!! How dare they!! but I cry myself to bed every night hoping that it’s only because female actors make better marketing sense and that’s it…

10. And finally…

a. One word that describes you?

daydreamerchainsmoker

b. A trend you wish would go away?

Besides the obsessive usage of the word ‘trend’? ummm bodycon and bling…lets make it two trends that could go away.

c. A trend you can’t get enough of?

Plagiarism

d. Shoes or bags?

Both

e. If you weren’t a designer, you would be?

Just your friendly neighbourhood chav, on government support with the fanciest council apartment. I cannot fathom doing anything else other than designing at the moment.

f. One thing Kallol Datta cannot live without?

Having something constructive to do…

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Kallol Datta, Fall 2009

Photo Credit: Viral Bhayani

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Q&A Wednesday With Prashant Verma


Here’s a quick Q&A with designer Prashant Verma

1. As a designer, what inspires you? Have a muse?

Ambition. Courage. Power. I like things hard and strong. No, I don’t have a muse.

2. We’ve seen you experiment with and use a lot of digital prints in your collections, is that something we can look forward to in your next collection as well??

I’ve been experimenting. I’ve been jumping around quite a bit in the last four seasons. Over the last few years I have expressed my story through a few key techniques – the prints, the structuring, the references to human ambition – although these are things that have been associated with my work, I’d like to stress on the fact that they are only mediums and tools- they may or may not change – it really depends on where I go artistically. Every collection takes a lot of work but once the show is over, you only have the choice of looking ahead. I tend to work only for the process. The journey is more important. So once its over, I don’t really care much for it. As long as I learn what I was meant to learn from that exercise and move forward. I know it’s a body of work, but I’m not particularly fond of the past. Once I’m done with the presentation, I only look at mistakes and things to work on. And then I move. It’s the nature of the industry – a six month life cycle – its short and crisp, its fast yet full.
Will I be developing more digital prints for the next collection? Maybe, maybe not, depends on where the process leads me.

3. Are you a procrastinator or do you usually have your collections planned the moment an inspiration or idea takes root?

The clothes are merely an end product of a process of research and introspection. They are just about as important as the soundtrack or the lights or the props – they’re all coming together to tell a story. They only reflect the journey and its very significant points. As I said the journey is more important right now. At a nascent stage of artistic development, it’s important to research and look and try different approaches to develop your own. That’s how my process has been up until now. I have some subjects that I address through my work- of power, strength, courage, ambition … things that I admire and find attractive and stimulating. Of late I have looked across a lot of different references that bring forth such issues. But I’m even tired of that approach now. The minute it gets too familiar, it tends to lose its excitement. I’m now restructuring my work process… identifying the key looks, shapes, representative elements, etc. – something a little less diverse, and more focused and distilled. Although the main direction always emerges clearly once the clothes tangibly start coming out, but before that its six months of research. So I guess I’m a bit of both. But if I work too much in advance then I get bored of the idea … too much familiarity can be unattractive.

4. How has the high-end luxury brand influx in India changed the local fashion scene?

People have more things to buy. The brands have more people to cater to. The magazines have glossier handbags to feature. And the average Indian can pronounce a lot more names at ease. But I wish this easier access to world culture would help inculcate a yearning for a more educated taste.

5. How do you feel about more and more celebrities choosing to wear International labels at various award functions and other public events? As a designer do you feel our homespun designers aren’t getting their due?

It’s not such a big issue. Its huge publicity currency but really… you wouldn’t have brands running after you unless you were someone worth it, even if that is momentary. Besides, if Indian actors are endorsing international brands at award shows, its very easy to understand where it is coming from – it just makes them more easily acceptable – not just visually but also because they come across as international rather than ethnic. Frida Pinto wearing Dolce & Gabbbana or Zac Posen effortlessly makes her an easier product to absorb globally, she confirms to a universally acceptable language- and it helps her get where she wants to faster than if she came clutching on to her Indianness as her only charm.

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6. Who is that one Indian celebrity that you are just itching to give a make-over to? Don’t hold back on us!?

If someone is miserably dressed, that’s their bad luck. I’m not interested in visual social service.

7. Five essentials that should take us through the seasons this year?

I’m quite old school about such things. The basics are the most important.
Good Face, tight skin, fit body, young smell, and fresh breath.

8. How would you describe your own sense of style?

Sharp T-shirts. Worn out Jeans. Sharp hair. Sharp shoes. Workout.

9. Is it the clothing that adds allure to a woman or a woman who makes the clothing more alluring with her personality?

Lets face it. Substance comes first.

10. And finally…

a. One word that describes you?
Evolving.

b. A trend you wish would go away?
Empty Headed … there is nothing more vulgar than style without personality.

c. A trend you can’t get enough of?
Super Strong.

d. Shoes or bags?
Good sex.

e. If you weren’t a designer, you would be?
An Artist.

f. One thing Prashant Verma cannot live without?
Work.

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Prashant Verma Fall 09

Image courtesy: Yahoo

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