Indian designers to showcase craftsmanship in Moscow

Indian designers like Meera Mahadevia, Priyadarshini Rao, Gaurav Jai Gupta and more are excited to showcase the Indian textile and craftsmanship in a contemporary way at the forthcoming Collection Première Moscow (CPM), a fashion trade fair in eastern Europe.

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) with the support of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising the India Pavilion at the CPM. The trade fair will be held between August 30-September 2 here and Indian designers can't wait to show how Indian textiles and craftsmanship can appeal globally.

Some of the designers spoke to IANS and shared how they plan to take the rich Indian textiles onto an international platform. Designer Gaurav Jai Gupta, who has a brand named Akaaro, said, "Akaaro is the continuously growing and evolving voice of contemporary Indian fashion.

It interprets Indian textile in a fresh, new contemporary manner by drawing inspiration, not from tradition, but from harmony and balance; handcrafting each garment from yarn to a finished piece of clothing.

"Our line for Collection Premier Moscow is all hand-woven in-house. We have worked on new contemporary blends of cotton, silk and metal, resulting in interesting new textures."

Priyadarshini Rao, who has completed 20 years in the fashion industry, focuses on women who have refined their fashion taste to embrace what is considered to be more contemporary and modern, amalgamating their Indianness with a broader view of the world.

Talking about her line, she said: We are using new age Indian fabrics like modals, viscose and fine Khadi cottons with various surface textures for our line being shown at CPM. The prints and the detailing are vintage India, but the silhouettes are contemporary and global.

"We hope the stores enjoy the mix of the Indian colours and prints on fluid shapes that can become great luxury pieces in the wardrobe," she told IANS.

Designer Tanieya Khanuja, whose creations are worn by celebrities like Sonakshi Sinha and Parineeti Chopra, will also present a collection which has more global acceptance in terms of style and silhouettes by using Indian textiles and Indian craftsmanship.

"Thereby, it will be a modern take of Indian handlooms on Russian culture," she siad. Another brand 431-88 by Shweta Kapur is equally excited to showcase her designs as she feels that her label for the Indian woman who embraces her femininity with an allusion of a sporty style will have an international appeal.

It's not just apparels but Indianness that can be seen with accessories too and Meera Mahadevia is one such case. "India has a very rich textile heritage and diverse craftsmanship. At Meera Mahadevia, every bag is detailed to fine precision using the most artistic manufacturing tool of all times - the human hand.

"Our creations would match some of the remarkable and ingenious invention of Russian craftsmen and appeal to the artistic and creative inclination of the market," Mahadevia siad. The CPM usually witnesses a footfall of over 21,000 trade visitors and participation of 700 international exhibitors from 29 countries, exhibiting nearly 990 collections.

The current trade in textiles between India and Russia stands at $161 million, but has the potential to reach more than $1 billion," said JK Dadu, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, while speaking at the Textiles India 2017 in Gandhinagar last week.

Major countries participating at CPM include Austria, Belgium, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Britain and the US.