Divya Sheth
Calcutta based, Divya Sheth is a woman who wears many hats – designer, photographer, make-up artist, stylist and mother. After training at NIFT, Delhi and Central Saint Martins, London she launched her self-named label in 2012. She’s already stocking in Fuel, Mogra and Anonym and has recently shown her GenNext collection inspired by Mary Casatt’s painting “The Lady at the Tea Table”. Colours, motifs and embroideries are influenced by blue pottery from China, Japan and Morrocco. She has incorporated a circular theme derived from saucers into her silhouettes. Divya’s passion for textile arts – her label’s signature – is explored through the use of Ikat and Jamdani weaves, and Ajrakh prints in natural indigo in this line. Fabrics are hand woven, clamp dyed and draped to transcend all body types. Divya shared with us that she has built her collection keeping her GenNext mentor Anita Dongre’s advice in mind “Don’t drop till the collection is complete, the best pieces come out in the end”
Vilvin Sabu – VILVIN
27 year old, Vilvin Sabu from Pune is a graduate from London College of Fashion. As a student, she received the Barnet Lawson trimmings award for best embellishment for her final year collection. According to Vilvin, her signature style is intricate detailing with purity of shape and form. She’s deeply influenced by culture and travel, hence, it is no surprise that her GenNext collection for her label Vilvin, is titled ‘Tropical Chic.’ Her muse – the globe-trotter who finds beauty in nature. Her inspiration – the Amazonian rainforests. Vilvin has used ombré hand dying and graphic embroidery (we noticed some interesting Tucan motifs) in her designs. Speaking on the collection, Vilvin says “The best art comes from inspiration, for art is an expression of a state of mind. It’s a reflection of our personality, mood and emotion.”
SHREEJITH JEEVAN
Sreejith Jeevan is a proud Malyali and his label Rouka is a statement of that. The Kochi resident is a textile graduate from the National Institute of Design and L’Ecole Nationale Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. Rouka – bodice in Malyalam – corridor in Japanese – offers simple dressing that is fun and functional at the same time. He says, “I look at people like my own sister when I design and a lot of times that ‘understanding of the client’ is what helps me come up with interesting solutions to our clothing.” Rouka’s Summer/Resort 2014 collection “Weather Forecast” celebrates Kerala rains by layering handloom weaves, cottons and silks with subtle engineered motifs. The designer wants onlookers to feel the rain without having to be too literal about it. With valuable inputs from Rajesh Pratap Singh, David Abraham and Anita Dongre, Shreejith is all ready for Rouka to take over the retail shelves. Straight from the young designer, “our clothes are simple, modern with an element of quirkiness in them, but at the same time, extremely sophisticated and made with a lot of love” How cute is that?
Parul Bhargava
Paris based Parul Bhargava designs under the name Mirage, a luxury label that believes in simplicity and purity of design. This textile graduate from UAL, worked under Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla and Sophia Malig post her degree. The 31 year old, labels herself as a hand embroidery artist, and rightly so with training from the prestigious Ecole Lesage in Paris. A visit to the Italian Riviera influenced her first collection. A village cluster called Cinque Terre inspired her by its tranquility and simplicity, which she translated into basic silhouettes with an emphasis on embroidered details. Pure silks in pastel shades blocked with a digital marble print set the palette for her SS’14 line. Parul believes that the most important thing she learnt while working for Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla is that “God lies in the details”. She has solid plans to establish herself in the Indian market and then explore Europe and UK by tapping the potential of taking beautiful Indian craftsmanship abroad.
Ujjawal Dubey
26 year old NIFTian Ujjawal Dubey designs for the confident urban man, a non-conformist in touch with his roots. His label Antar Agni helps fabric to ‘speak its own language’ by exploring its raw character through intelligent detailing and smart cuts. The designer has worked for Shantanu & Nikhil and believes that Nikhil has been a great mentor to him. The men’s line this season was influenced by desert tribes of the Middle East. He plays with easy fabrics like heavy cottons, chambrays, cotton jersey and linens in urban shades of grey, black and navy. Young and enthusiastic, Ujjawal hopes that Antar Agni is appreciated, accepted and carried by men around the world.
Chandni Mohan
25 year old Delhi based Chandni Mohan debuts at GenNext with her label Selvage. A graduate of Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, she defines her label, “Selvage travels through time, it sees the changing identities of self-expression through clothing. The label’s foundation is based on its tailoring techniques with each garment being defined with ironic details within itself.” The brand focus is on creating an edgy, experimental yet wearable line with contemporary garments that accentuate the feminine body with detailed style lines and clean cuts. Chandni’s collection at LFW was influenced by Preston Scott Cohen’s architecture. The garments are constructed with a nod of asymmetry by combining sharp androgyny and feminine draping. She has created beautifully tailored silhouettes using fabrics like tencel, crepe, sandwashed polyester, hammer satin and satin chiffons. Chandini has worked under Satya Paul, Gaurav Gupta and Shantanu & Nikhil. She says Gaurav has played a huge part in teaching her all aspects of fashion from production to show details to business. Already retailing at some of the top stores, she hopes to have a flagship store in Delhi in the next two years.
See their complete collections from Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort’14 here.