The Surrealistic Designer

Chhaya Mehrotra

There is something very strikingly beautiful about Chhaya Mehrotra’s simplicity in designs. Modern silhouettes, subtle color palette and almost-bewildered cuts make her clothes perfect for Indian women. She shares a slice of her beautiful journey with The Lifestyle Potpourri…

How do you start your day?

The first thing I do is switch off the alarm and get that extra 15 minutes of sleep! After waking up, I glance through the newspaper with a morning cuppa of green tea and spend some time with the kids before we finish breakfast and pack for the day at factory. Breakfast is the time where, me and my husband plan out the entire day.

What shaped your outlook as a designer during your formative days?

My origins are rooted in Banaras and the variety of exposure I had across all platforms in the domestic textile industry right after NIFT molded my creative realm as a designer—from hand block printing to digital printing, hand embroidery to computerized embroidery, and designing for ethnic wedding wear to designing furnishing fabrics for Heimtextil, or high-end fashion fabrics for Texworld Paris; I knew my biggest strength lies in versatility. I take my education and experiences as the alphabet…what I write with it depends on my mood and requirement!

Chhaya Mehrotra

What inspires you to create newer designs?

Inspiration could be from almost anything. It could be a faint memory of childhood or a poem that I wrote. Sometimes it’s a place or a craft, and sometimes it could be a conversation with a kid or a friend. But inspiration isn’t enough to keep you going; it’s the instant mood lift you get when you see a sketch perfectly turned out into a garment—that excites me to create newer designs more than anything else.

Tell us an anecdote that has been consequential in your journey as a designer…

We had shifted to Noida from Banaras mainly because of family business. I just started with three tailors for my label and did exhibitions often; I was doing decent business. However, one day a long-lost family friend walks into our factory for some work and instead looks at my collection and threw a barrage of questions at me—“Why don’t you participate in fashion weeks?” and etc… On that guest’s insistence we applied and got the required membership; this was 2011. Looking at how our label is positioned now, you bet this anecdote was consequential!

Chhaya Mehrotra

Who is your favourite designer and why?

How can you pick one when it’s a sea of stunning work out there!
Amongst international designers I like Stella McCartney and Ted Baker’s creations—their sense of colour palette is very intense. Amongst Indian designers, A&T and Rajesh Pratap Singh are my favorites for their perfect approach to minimalism; Ritu Kumar inspires me for her timeless appeal to every piece of clothing; whereas Sabyasachi has touched my heart with the grandeur of detailing in his work; I also admire Rahul Mishra for the magic he created with wool, and Rajdeep Ranawat for the perfection he can bring to any cloth with a riot of colours. Lastly, I am very fond of Raw Mango and Anavila because their simple work can exude a whole lot of beauty!

Five must-haves in a woman’s wardrobe…

A handloom saree, crisp white shirt, pair of blue denims, nice perfume and an all-purpose shift dress

A child’s soul in a writer’s body

 

Tushar Upreti

While people his age love to get high on money and all things worldly, writer and blogger Tushar Upreti believes in getting high on life. His mission is to take small steps to a happy world, and in the process, he’s been working for the cause of children from the underprivileged backgrounds and helping them make the most of their ‘Days of Childhood’, which is also the title of his first self-published book, whose Hindi version ‘Chhutpan ke Din’ is the winner of India Media Festival’s Special Achievement Award in the category of bestseller in Children’s Literature.

Photo Credit: Flickr

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” This quote of Mike Murdock is the way of life for Tushar Upreti. A graduate from Hindu College, Delhi University, Tushar went on to pursue Mass Communication from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, and went on to do regular 9-5 jobs in top media houses (both print and electronic), only to realise soon that his real calling was somewhere else. Tushar always wanted to do something for the society, but the turning point came when he met a group of underprivileged children at a friend’s NGO, who got the wheels moving.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Tushar ran from pillar to post, did days of research, and met hundreds of street children to understand what ails them and what can be done to make them live the days of childhood, happily. A great writer, orator and story teller that he is, Tushar started spending quality moments with street children both in Mumbai and Delhi. A series of story-telling session and constructive activities went on to finally take shape of a project called ‘Chhutpan ke Din’, which later became the title of Tushar’s first story book for children. The book was translated in English soon as ‘The Days of Childhood’.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Talking about the book and the process of writing, the writer, who has also written scripts for a couple of commercial movies and serials, says, “Although I did venture into commercial writing, the writer in me was more content and happy writing books for children. So, I decided to write stories from the life of you, me and people around. The book turned out to be an edutainment book, comprising of series of five stories revolving around life of children, across all states, cultures, religions and countries. The names may change, but the issues related to a child’s life are same across the globe, and that’s what makes this book have a global appeal.”

The Days of Childhood

The five stories in the book are not fantasy stories; they address pertinent topics including, health & hygiene, man-animal conflict and issues related to childhood. The book was named ‘The Days of Childhood’ for a reason. Explains Tushar, “The days of childhood are the best days of life; we all want to relive them. And at the same time, as elders, we want that the childhood days of our children are nothing but the best. At a personal level, when I would see a child begging on streets, it would ache my heart. I wanted each and every child, irrespective of his social or financial background, to have a happy childhood. And thus I decided that my first book would be an ode to children; I wanted it to be a book of the children and for the children. And that’s why without focusing much on the visual appeal, I tried to bring out the best content that I could provide to each and every child – content comprising of stories that would make children, smile. I want this self-published book to reach out to as many children as possible, and would feel honored if it made a difference in the life of children.”

Book Review

Penned straight from the heart, this book will make an instant connect with anyone who wants to relive the childhood days. The experiences shared by the writer through each story cross barriers of language, culture and age, and take the reader to a world of sheer happiness! An easy read, the stories focus on passing on life skills and healthy habits to children through interesting characters that stay with you even after you have read the book!

‘Bubbly Banarsi’ by Chhaya Mehrotra

Chhaya Mehrotra for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Designer Chhaya Mehrotra presented a bold and lively collection, ‘Bubbly Banarsi’ for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015.

Chhaya Mehrotra Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Bubbly is a little girl, who has grown up in Banaras; she weaves the spirit of the city with all its idiosyncrasies in her own set of experiences in this collection. Colours of sindoor, shiva, chandan and moksha—red, blue, yellow and white surfaced in this collection in different avatars.

Chhaya Mehrotra for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The chosen fabrics, silk, cotton and noil were made into garments, inspired by the local dressing culture; for instance, think of how a school girl or a flower vendor dresses up!

Chhaya Mehrotra for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Handicraft techniques like, block-printing, weaving and wooden toy making met to bring forth a collection that’s truly Banarsi! Born in one of the oldest textile printing families of Banaras, Chhaya Mehrotra has always been fascinated with creativity.

adidas Originals by Rita Ora – ‘Spray and Roses’

adidas Originals by Rita Ora

adidas Originals finally releases its Rita Ora edit. This collaboration takes global style to a whole new level.

adidas Originals by Rita Ora

Known for her fearless take on fashion, as for her head turning musical collaborations, Rita Ora brings her energy and spirit to every piece in the collection. The month of November will see adidas Originals by Rita Ora – ‘Spray’ and ‘Roses’ launching in stores. The collection takes inspiration from very personal experiences and aspects of the global superstar’s life.

adidas Originals by Rita Ora

Rita says—“The collaboration came about through mutual love and appreciation. I have always been a fan of adidas Originals and respect what they stand for in their fearlessness and originality. I worked very closely with adidas Originals to put a personal touch in every piece with connections to my music, my career and my life. I’m really proud of the collection and beyond excited for my fans to get their hands on it!”