It’s been one hell of a month, week, day…

I realized today, traveling in the rickshaw, in this crazy almost-summer/too-bad-winter-is-slipping-away Bombay heat and amidst the worst traffic jam ever, that despite the fact that I’m doing this for the millionth time this week/month/day- sourcing fabric and whatnot, that I enjoy this. I seem to enjoy the fact that I’m working so hard on something like never before, I crib about it, (very little- honestly), but at the end of the day, I enjoy it. Although in the past one week I never got around having breakfast or lunch, I realize that was the choice I made, that was how I prioritized my work… and I wouldn’t have if I didn’t enjoy it on some level. One of my friends said to me the other day “trust me doing what you love to do is a big success in itself”… made me smile thinking just how true that is.

We’ve started working on our final graduating show, you see. Anything and everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong, already has, so I’m sort of relieved. A number of the fabrics I had sourced for my collection beforehand got discontinued by the time I needed to place the order, it was a lot of chaos, a few tears, and with a lot of determination, support (mum especially) and faith, I made it through- I found other fabrics, I got numerous samples made out of which I got to pick the best one… I am now on first-name basis with most of these fabric store/market/ people and those fabric dying and printing walas! It’s quite nice to see their smiles when I enter their stores.

The things I’ve learned in the past one month, week, day:

1. Staying calm works wonders. I could’ve lost it any one of these days. In fact I think I’ve begun to worry considerably less now.

2. People are so, so nice. More than you give them credit for!

There was this one cab driver a couple of days back, he was this stern looking fellow, I shared my kitkat with him, mainly because he looked like he could use it, and the rest of the ride he was giving me (fatherly I suppose I can call it) advice! Just on life and stuff. I had never laughed so much talking to a cabbie! (For my mum, if she’s reading this- I know what you’re thinking- stranger and all, but I gave him that little bit of happiness and that made me feel really good. On another note, no, I don’t share chocolates and laugh along with every cab driver…I promise.)

3. Finishing off work before due date- always works your way. In fact I couldn’t have gotten through so much this month without doing that.

4. After going through the worst day ever, sleep. Or watch Friends. Either can help.

5. Walk lots. Just for the heck of it. Clear your mind, distract yourself, create a story, anything you like. For me, it’s an act of multi-tasking.

6. Sandwiches. Quick and healthy. (Okay, this one I sort of already knew.)

7. If you know that something can be better, then it can, so don’t settle for less.

8. Pasta does it for me. The solution to this month.

(the best pasta I’ve cooked till date!)

9. Balancing work and fun works when you do it right. This month wasn’t all work, I got to hang out with friends a lot as well.

10. Be polite. The amount of people who helped me this month, it’s almost overwhelming. No amount of carrot cakes can show just how much. You know who you are!! =]

11. You’re all you’ve got! Sometimes not relying on anybody else no matter how badly you need to, is the only way you can get things done.

12. I learn every single day that there is NEVER a reason to give up or give in. Can’t stress that enough…

Alright, that’s all for now. Have a good night.

Nickelson Wooster. Thank you for being you!

The quintessentially stylish man I have come across (on the internet). And thank God I did! I was working on a menswear collection and wherever I seeked for inspiration, pictures of him kept popping up, and I realized I knew this face from somewhere.. was he an actor? A musician?! A writer perhaps… Ah no, not quite any of those. My resources suggests he was the creative director for certain big brands, including jcpenny. Impressive. I can almost say for sure he must be damn good with his job. Such class. Style. God.

Detail and fit are key, in his clothes. Perfectly tailored, he wears stuff as if it were made for him, and only him. Not a button that should be left unbuttoned would be unbuttoned [and vice versa], who says you can’t wear checks on checks? Stripes on stripes? No one. Colours mismatched in the most appealing way. That’s Nick Wooster. He’s traditional in a not so traditional way. He’s conventional in an unconventional manner. Total badass.

He’s made quite the charismatic presence on blogs, websites, etc, everything from the hairstyle, to the shades to the totally rad tattoos, to how he dresses himself, that moustache, not a freaking hair out of place, talking of hair- don’t let the silver mass on his head fool you… he’s still in his early 50’s. Okay wait, I’m getting carried away. All I mean to say is he’s rocking his look.

I should stop before I make it sound like I’m in love with the guy. Just that there’s always endless admiration for folks who dress beautifully that makes me appreciate fashion even more, and shows everybody how much fun you can have from playing with fabrics, the colours, style and so on. That’s where we, people who appreciate fashion connect. See, fashion is when you can look at someone, and feel the impact from what they’re wearing. The statement that gets made. This guy, he pretty much nailed that. And if you call that being in love with fashion, then be it!

Respect.

The rainbow at the end of the storm

The title pretty much covers the situation/feeling/moment etc. This is it. Our big fashion show is in 2 days… unfortunately I don’t have sneak peek pictures this time! Was too busy to keep that one little thing in mind. So much work went for this, I really hope the show’s gonna be one of the greatest nights for me! Oh and for those who’re graduating too, of course. It’s rightfully their night.

The Fashion Show @ MOD’ART INTERNATIONAL

See that, so you know WHY I’m looking forward to this so much. Besides, I get to showcase two garments this year, which more or less means double the joy… as well as double the stress it took me to get this far!

As the year is ending (academic year, people), I can say I’ve come pretty far, I’m happy with the progress and I can only hope for a better, much more kickass last year of Mod’Art! This year has helped me actually understand the course, and that whole “need” to do the course became more of a “want” … and also to be one of the best.

Be back after the big night. Promise a post of our show. See ya’ll then! Night bloggers!

On another note, I know it’s only the start of the week, but relax a little, have a slice of some fun looking cake. [The day after my show, I plan to buy a whole freaking rainbow cake like the one below, and have the happiest weekend. ;] Hey, no one’s gonna judge me for planning ahead now would they.. don’t answer that.]

 

A Fashionable Sunday.

A VERY short post, 1. because it’s been a while and I like to update my blog :], and 2. because I’m swamped with work. I really am! Honest.

One whole week, well more like a whole month of working super hard and today I happened to treat myself to a liiiittle shopping trip. I didn’t plan it, it just happened. ;]

I got this beautiful pink top… the detailing on the collar is so in right now, and I’ve been wanting something like this for ages. A decent, completely justified buy I believe, yes? =]

And other than that… my mind is completely occupied with my work right now, so everything else is tuned out. I guess I’ll be back for a kickass post as soon as I can. Still have that LFW post to cover! … Happy Sunday!!

Anushree Reddy shines at Lakmé Fashion Week… literally

This collection presented at the talent box, second day of the LFW (Resort)  at 4.00pm was my highlight. It was quite entrancing, really, there really was no doubt that it was going to become a sensational hit. There was delicate lace work, there were pearls, flowers, pretty floral prints, sequin work, shimmer, net, beautiful hyderabadi zardozi borders… all that in shades of pink, whites, beige & yellow rocked the ramp. The designer, Anushree Reddy describes her collection- “I’ll be showcasing Indian wear with a twist. The clothes will be flowy, in candy pop colours, straight out of a fairy tale,” …and it was just that. I’m gonna shut up now and let the pictures do the talking… enjoy the show!

What a show, right?! RIGHT?! The factor that most attracted me to the collection was, (apart from the designs), the air of antiquity and grandeur created and highlighted by the whole show and the sheer elegance  that flowed from it. It exuded grace and femininity; it felt royal…well, let’s just go ahead and call it 100% desirable! Any girl would dream of owning it, or at least wish to wear it once, just once. Such a delightful collection. I keep mentioning that, don’t I… haha well, kudos to this new designer on the block. We wish her the best and hope to see more beautiful collections in the future. Another post on day 2 at LFW, coming shortly..

Confessions of a sleep deprived, work-accumulated fashion student

For the past one month I feel like a bug’s been eating out my brains… lovely imagery isn’t that? Haha… oh dear Lord please keep me going. It’s just for a few more, terribly long months…but don’t let me give up. =]

#1 You say at least 7 hours sleep is essential. Haah. I wish.

#2 Skipping meals becomes a habit. You work until 5am to realize you had forgotten to have dinner. True story.

#3 Tends to become a little more cranky, if not a tentatively rude person throughout the course years.

#4 Your room is filled with your projects and clothes tossed around.

#5 Social life, what social life?

#6 You may start seeing things through entirely different lens. All you can think of is how to make whatever you’re making, better. Y’know how they say “the world is my canvas” and you have the palette in your mind? Go wild.

#7 Don’t even get me started on what stitching does to you. And what tacking does to you. How many of us are familiar with the “seam ripper”?!- a tool none of us go to college without.

#8 Some need cigarettes after cigarettes, others need unlimited supply of coffee. I need my green tea.

#9 You start dreaming about your work. They may/may not start slowly turning into nightmares later on.

#10  You discover the true meaning of STRESS.

#11  Any contact you make in the fashion biz can come as a help someday.

#12 Slowly, and an uncontrollable trait this one, you start checking everybody’s outfits out, and what’s fashionable and what’s not. Out in the street, in a restaurant… although in a mall you’d likely be distracted by all your favourite stores.

#13 Some of us are serious, slightly uncontrollable shopaholics. Hey, it’s what we love best! Not to mention, on the day sales start for a store we like, you can expect us there, early.

#14 Our course defines the proverb “practice makes perfect”.

#15 On the other hand, the feeling you get when something you created is being worn and showcased at a fashion show… Un.bloody.believable.

So there we have it. It might be a little different here and there for some of you all, but mostly I believe we all fall under this vicious category. Buuuut, despite the sleepless nights we go through, and the missing of meals, and the missing of parties and chilling- we do love what we do. It’s no mathematics, it’s not science, and it’s definitely not mugging up of anything. It is pure creation, inspiration and lots of ideas, concepts and vision combined altogether. Design, my friends, is a big freaking deal. You might say …”oh hey you just have to draw and stitch clothes” …if it was as easy as that, then why would our lives be so, incredulously strenuous?! Point made, point explained.

Goodnight fellow bloggers!

Midnight in Paris, What. A. Dream!

I often wonder and realize how much I would fit in if I was born into a different period of time, a time from the past… this thought was triggered after watching the amazing, amazing movie “Midnight in Paris”, Marion Cotillard delivered an outstanding performance and I’m a big fan now. She’s incredibly beautiful, too.

Anyway the movie was just beautiful, after watching it I’ve decided I MUST experience Paris that way, as apparently it’s still a pretty “old at heart” sorta city. Initially I wasn’t one of those people who was all crazy about Paris, but after seeing it the way they showed in the movie I realized Paris IS what I’ve always wanted it to be in my head. The dim-lit streets, little bit of rain, the clothes, the style [of the different eras] particularly appealed to me. The story concept was pretty brilliant, the portrayal was beautiful, and well, the story-line wasn’t much, I believe the end was a little abrupt… but as you can see, that didn’t really bother me all that much. =)

I was so inspired after watching the movie, I decided to base my next design work on the concept. Theme I picked out was “time travel”. From the thrifty thirties to the sassy sixties, each garment was a reminder of an entirely different, hardly forgotten era.

Below: Moodboard, followed by the designs.

It’s worth watching… it’s the movie in which I saw Paris through a whole new lens, a pretty, vintage-style, beautiful one. Watch it. Watch. Watch. Watch!

Jenny Packham

Jenny Packham; I must admit I did not know of her existence until the time I found out she’s the designer behind a lot of the extremely gorgeous outfits as worn by Princess Kate Middleton. I mean look at this!

The creations of this designer is nothing short of pretty. For example this delightful peacock green gown. Don’t you just love it? It is definitely one of the best gowns I’ve seen this season, in fact in a while.

About this incredible British designer:

She’s more well known for her bridal wear and ready-to-wear collections. All her garments spell out elegance in a big, bold, beautiful way. The concept under each design; embellishments and detail along with the choice of colour are of extreme importance.

This contemporary designer with amazing talent and stupendous commercial success has been named as Hollywood Style Designer of the Year, International Couture Bridal Designer of the Year 2007 and British Bridal Dress Designer of the Year 2008 and 2011.

Yeah, no doubt I’m obsessed with this pretty gown!

Bridal wear… oh so prettttyyyy:

Her range of accessories are also very eye catching and just so, so, sooo gorgeous:

So for a summer assignment I had picked Jenny Packham as my inspiration and made a collection of 8 designs. Here’s the rough draft/look of it… aaaaand that’ll be all for now. :]

The Fashion Show @ MOD’ART INTERNATIONAL

It went fantastic! I thought it was brilliant, the garments all looked beautiful in their own way and were definitely portrayed well by the gorgeous models!

My duty for the day technically was to be part of the photography team. Well it was “technically” assigned to this girl from my year and I was added along to it (as some people recommended me) “if she gets tired, you can click the pics” sort of a deal I was told. I decided to not let that interfere with my genuine interest and love for photography and clicked as much as I could, and to the best of my ability, and also it was a mini war field out there with all the other press photographers and all. Such a cool experience. Tiring but I loved it. :] I got some amazing snaps and I was so thrilled with how it was going…but as always some sort of mini disaster did strike, my card got full (I probably shouldn’t have taken all the rehearsal pics before), nevertheless I did have 2 other cards which were full with old pictures…and then I had to delete and click..delete and click…you see, it got a little messy and I missed about 5 garments or something. Never gonna happen again!!

Here’s how I’m gonna go about this post… I’ll write something about each collection and then add a few photos. There were about 109 garments which is why I’m only adding a few. For instance, in the case of 1st years I’ve added just one garment from each group. Enjoy the show!

The show started around half past 7 at the Crystal Ballroom of Hotel Sea Princess @ Juhu Mumbai, they showed a small video clip on the 2 huge screens at either sides of the room, clips showing the faculty at our institute as well as an intro on our 3yr students of design. Then the show started off with first year’s first group- “Palace”. Generally the whole first year collection was inspired by our trip to Rajasthan. Candice started off the show…. this model can really make anything look good on her. You’re just about to see why. Group members: Pooja Mistry, Shezeen, Mehraaz, Ariba and Jeemol.

The second collection is black with mirror. (the group that I’m a part of). Other group members: Jigar, Farhine, Janki, Ekta and Sanjana.

The penultimate collection of the first years was the “Desert” group, the group members: Niharika, Jyotipriya, Aeishwarya, Gazal and Saloni.

The last group from our year, the “balcony”: group members: Tanzeer, Jennifer, Saraie, Pooja Parekh, Krisel and Trisha.

Next up were the 10 garments, designed by  2 of our patternmaking short-term course students- the whole concept being “larger than life”, and the pictures shout out just that. Again, Candice kicks it off…

Then the 2nd year students collections- which were 3 garments each, inspired by Pondicherry. As many cultures are present in Pondicherry, you can see a variety of cultures; victorian, japanese, etc in their collection. [this is sort of where my camera messed up)

Last but not the least… the 3rd year students of Mod’Art present their collection, four students each having 12 garments, in their own style.

Started off with Devkey’s collection, which was more of couture and chic creations. She believes in “revolutionizing the classic chic.”

The second one was Amanjot’s. It was all coats and a fusion of dark colours and patterns, which sort of portrayed a confident, sexy woman’s wardrobe…

Next up, Vatika Gupta. The whole dark concept and the mix and match of various fabrics and patterns definitely made it stand out, kudos to her creative style. Her quote: “the uglier, the better”.

And the show ended with Devang Lal’s collection. Bright colours like orange, pink, purple induced with blacks and whites, his collection was fresh, I thought. His quote: “Scissors make magic.”

Awards were given out at the end of the show, and Vatika Gupta bagged the best collection of the year award (which I believe is probably the most important award that she could get at this point, congrats!) From second year Shloka got the award for best collection, whereas, the award for the best design of 1st year goes to Ekta Singh. Well deserved win to all, and my best wishes.

Notable guests at the show and the ones who were called to give out awards: Super model Carol Gracias, Actors Kunal Kemu, Gauhar Khan and big time celebrity; Indian fashion designer, Gavin Miguel!

Host of the show, model Shamita Singha!

 

Well there you go, that’s it. What more can I say? The show was a hit.

For more information on this Paris based institute visit here: http://www.modart-india.com/