Here is an account of the top 5 Indian fashion designers who
have given Indian women clothing new heights through their creativity and
innovation.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee
The shining name in today's Indian Fashion Industry- Sabyasachi Mukherjee-
is a socially aware fashion designer. He has taken the mission of
popularizing the refined, sophisticated, eco-friendly, comfortable and very
Indian 'khadi' among todays fashion conscious youth. For all his
handloom sarees and other
fabrics homespun by rural craftsmen, he deals with them directly by cutting
the middlemen and ensuring that they get their share of profit. He has taken
the time proven way to popularize his designs- the Bollywood way.
He has designed for Aishwarya Rai for her two under production films -
Ravana and Guzaarish - and for Vidya Balan in Paa which is also due to be
released. Naomi Campbell did catwalk in a Sabyasachi sari in March this year
for a charity show at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai and then purchased
two saris for the auction. Mukherjee's love for Indian clothing gets clear
when he says to the Indian Vogue "I wish Indo-Western was never
explored. It almost sounds like a pathetic attempt to woo your insecure
Indian woman to try her hand at Western clothing. She's better off in her
sari!" To young women, he has gifted the chhotu sari- that are woven to
calf length for freedom of movement. These sarees are long enough to give
them the flowing shape, but short enough to differentiate them from their
mothers while letting them show off their ankles and shoes- A great
innovation.
Ritu Kumar
Ritu Kumar is a big name in Indias Fashion
industry, specially for Indian women clothing. She blends modernity with
traditionalism very well. She has recognized the delicate Indian
craftsmanship and given it such a shape that it has become the choice of
modern consumer making it the most contemporary style. The traditional
Indian clothes designed by her draw heavily on the textile and embroidery
heritage of India. She designs keeping in mind the end user. Thus, she has
evolved another style for her European buyer-the Indo-Western fusion which
includes block prints, embroidery and craft inputs on a western style.
Indo-western
salwar-suits can be called one of the manifestation of this trend.
Kumar has designed for many Miss India contests and has given international
recognition to the Indian women clothing. To make Indian clothing popular
worldwide, she has also authored a book 'Costumes and Textiles of Royal
India' published by Christie's, London.
Satya Paul
On
fashion magazines and on billboards, malls, all places where fashion is the
norm, the designer brand- Satya Paul- is there. This is the prove how much
the fashion conscious people like his designs. Satya Paul brand is the
premier designer brand for
sarees and scarves
among other fabrics. Paul has always been a supporter and promoter of the
various crafts of weaving from all over the country. He is also the one to
use the latest technology for creating his designs. One of his major
contributions to Indian fashion is the change he brought in the way the
saree is draped. He has also enormously innovated salwar kameez. Satya Paul
specializes in Indian
bridal
wear,
printed saris,
embellished saris,
stoles,
scarves,
embroidered
salwar suits, among others.
Manish Malhotra
In a country like India, where the fashion is
mostly defined by Bollywood, a designer like Manish Malhotra can truly be
called one of the top Indian fashion designers for women clothing. With his
entrance in the Bollywood at the age of 25 and designing for Juhi Chawla in
'Swarg', he brought a revolution in stylish clothing. And with his magical
makeover for Urmila Matondkar in 'Rangeela' and Karisma Kapoor in 'Raja
Hindustani', he made every Indian woman his fan. Although
Bollywood sarees were
famous since the classic era of Indian cinema, they got a boost after
Malhotra's experiments. He got many awards, one of which is Indira
Priyadarshini Memorial Award for his contribution to the fashion industry,
felicitated by National Institute of Fashion Technology. Manish has been
able to strike a fine balance between designing for films and haute couture.
With his Sheetal Design Studio, he now plans foe a prêt a porter line
for women along with his couture label.
Rina Dhaka
Hers
is a big name in the Indian fashion Industry. Dhaka had stepped into Indian
fashion arena in the late 1980s and since then there is no looking back for
her. She is known for her innovativeness in her designs. She is famous for
her theme collections. Although initially her forte remained western wear,
she has experimented a lot with Indian clothing too. In the beginning of her
career, she had made a line of designs for the 'then coming up and now
famous' fashion houses 'Mutiny' and 'Ensemble'. She had also set up a '
Salwar
Kameez' boutique for one of her acquaintances. She admits to be in
love with western wear designing but she has also started doing Indian
garments in knit and other fabrics. According to her, Indian wear basics
support her western wear creations and a purely western line is otherwise
difficult to sustain.