Nomadic nirvana

The journey began when I first visited Rajasthan, where I documented crafts practiced in villages in and around the city of Bikaner. I was inspired by the crafts and the vibrant colours of the city. The use of colourful embroidery and leather trims along with unique tie –dye techniques, on playful silhouettes is what defines my casual wear collection. I went back to the heart of my inspiration, the city of Bikaner to get my fabrics developed by the craftsmen. Each piece is signed by them to honor craftsmen, in recognition of their work and to give the clothing the emotional personal connect. The places I visited and the people I met had a huge impact on me and changed my outlook towards life. My collection – Nomadic nirvana is my interpretation of this blissful journey.

Back To Bikaner

The site of decorated autos playing loud Rajasthani music, noisy markets with flamboyant colours and  the smell of freshly made Alu Bhujia could only mean one thing , I'm in Bikaner baby! wohooooo! I never thought that I would be sitting in Bikaner working on my final collection. It felt unreal and hard to believe. All of this was happening so fast that I had to stop for a second and breathe, just to take it all in . Coming back to Bikaner was a small thought that had crossed my mind the last time I was in this lovely city and a year later, here I am , one step closer to making one of my many dreams come true.

5 am at the Sarai Rohilla station in Delhi , waiting for my train to Bikaner .
Lays ! what would I ever do without you ? 

outside Bikaner station, loading the luggage onto an auto

Rangsutra - the NGO I interned with last year ,who introduced me to the craftsmen

Buying some of my fabrics from the market 

Streets of Bikaner

Street performers entertaining the crowd in the market

Ice cream wala ! 

What I saw everyday while walking to work

Make way for the Mr.Oont!

My lovely painted steel trunks <3  by far the best buy ! 

\                                     

Freshly made Bhujia 

                                         

What's not to love about the city. It's so diverting, just like every other Indian city is . Being here is the perfect change in environment that I need right now for me to focus on my collection. 

The Skinnydramaqueen Family !

Introducing the skinnydramaqueen family -

'Ms.PRI ' - MY DESIGN MENTOR
The one person who can control the "drama" in the skinnydramaqueen .  

'LADY LA LA ' - MY TECHNICAL MENTOR
guides me in developing my patterns and garment finishes 

Now that my design process and my mocks are over , I need a team of juniors assisting me in putting the rest of my collection together .

Introducing the perfect trio -

MISS CURLY LASHES
-

'WILDCHILD24356'

'RUNWAY MARSHMELLOW'

And Last but not the least , Introducing the Sharma family

THE SHARMA FAMILY - MY BACKBONE <3

  BULLY BOB CAT ( a.k.a skinnydramaqueen ) , ATOM ANT , BIG HILDA , BUMSY AND BELLY 

Tick-Tock

The clock is ticking, with only 3 more days to go and a lot more pieces to be made in time for the toile jury. The requirement is to show 2 out of the 5 ensembles by the 11th but in my case I need to show all 5 ensembles if I want to be able get my fabrics dyed and embroidered from the craftsmen in Bikaner . Another reason why I think it is necessary to get done with my mocks is because it will give me a better idea as to what the collection will look like and give me more time to re-look at my collection. It is very crucial to spend time editing each of the pieces and figuring out how to find the right balance

While we are  in the flow of  being creative and sketching out designs we tend neglect the practicality and functionality of a garment. This is why the transition phase of the 2-D sketches into 3-D  garments is key in the development of a collection . Our sketches don't always indicate how one would wear the garment, what kind of fastenings to use , dart placements, style lines or the finishing of the garment. I don't mean to generalize , but this is what I have observed in the last 4 years of design school. For this reason , I need to get my mocks right so I dont waste time re-cutting and ripping my final fabric. So my game plan now, is to get as much done as I can in as little time as possible without compromising on the quality of work . That only means one thing, 'STITCH TILL YOU DROP!'

TOILE CORRECTIONS :marking the changes in the fit of the trouser
photo credit: Vimal Raj 

PATTERN MAKING IN MY PJ'S : cutting patterns at home on the floor to save time
photo credit: vaishnavi kumar 

MOCKS THAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON : The colours are not the final colours in my collection. I am just using similar fabrics to check the fall and fit of the garments

OOPSSIIEEE ! CHECK OUT THE MESS I CREATED IN THE PATTERN LAB THIS MORNING ! 

Wildchild24356, Ms.Pri and Lady Lala . Confused?? Then stay logged on and  find out more on my next post where I introduce the members of Skinnydramaqueen family ! <3

-skinnydramaqueen 

Sunday Shoot

Assisted blueprint collections with their look book shoot on Sunday. Sorry guys that's all I can say about it ,  Since the collection is yet to be launched. 

COLLECTION TEASER - Facebook post by Blueprint collections

Credits:

photographer : Sabyasachi Biswas
model: Karishma Rajani
designer : Navya  and Divya Niranjan

Lets Cut and Sew !

Now that my range is approved I can get started on my mocks. Before we make our final garments, we make test fits and mock garments that look exactly like the final garments, including the finishes and use fabrics similar to the fabrics of our final garments.

On the 11th of march we have our toile ( mock grament) jury, where we are required to show two complete ensembles out of which one gets selected to be actualized time for our brochure photoshoot. But in my case I intend on finishing all 5 mocks before the 11th as I have to leave for Bikaner to get my fabrics dyed and embroidered from the craftsmen themselves. I can chose to get it done here in Chennai , but it ruins the whole concept behind my inspiration. It is quite a task to be able to get done with all of that by the 11th , but I am going to use it to my advantage as I work best under pressure. so lets see how it all plays out.

I started with making my patterns on the 28th and  got done with most of my patterns today and started with tracing them out on fabric  . As of now I seem to be right on schedule but since Monday is a bandh due to some protests, the college labs will closed and I might lose out on a day's work.

NAP TIME ! - My classmate taking a power nap. sometimes we cannot help but fall asleep after pulling off continuous all nighters. 

PATTERN MAKING - me  drafting my patterns whilst listening to music  :)

CUTTING PATTERNS ON MOCK FABRIC

TEST FITS - I will have to make the necessary changes in the patterns, for the garments to fit right

- skinnydramaqueen

The Mind Block

Design development ! sigh! I really do dread sketching. My worst nightmare. People automatically assume that designers are really good at illustrations, let me tell you that it's not true at all. I have a huge mind block when it comes to this phase of my process. Though we have had classes on illustration I am not very skilled at translating my design ideas into sketches. It is a huge drawback because as a designer if I cannot convey my designs then there is no point. One of the main reasons the 'jury aftermath' phase dragged on for so long was because I couldn't sketch out my ideas and for a fourth year design student it puts me in a very embarrassing position. Not being able to sketch is what washes out my confidence the most. 

I believe that I can understand design and can analyse and interpret brands and their requirements, trends , fabrics , clients , and every other aspect of the process but completely fail to illustrate my ideas. I managed to sketch out 50 odd designs and after a quite a few pep talk sessions with my mentor, she got me  to let go of that mental block and select my range. The best part is my mentor knows when to let go and let me laze around and waste time for a bit because she also knows that eventually I  pull up my socks and work my butt off! But If she hadn't pushed me to select my range , I would have dilly dallied for a bit longer and lost out on crucial time.

MY RANGE 

I have tried my best to balance out the number of tie dye pieces, the number of knits, the embroideries , the leather and the shear fabrics. I should be able balance my range better once I get done with my mocks. I would rather spend more time editing my designs once I get done with the toile garments.

MY MINI STUDIO

Ad Campaign Shoot - Radisson Blue Temple Bay

 4 A.M wake up call  on a Monday morning ! What a start to the week.( no sarcasm intended ) I was the first to be picked up for the shoot  and then we went on to pick up the stylist and one of the models for the ad shoot. It was a long and sleepy drive to the shoot location - Radisson blu Temple bay .
Once the entire team arrived we got started on sorting out the clothes and getting them ready for the shoot. The Stylist, Priyanka Gopal whom I was assisting, had sourced different looks for each of the models based on the shoot brief she was given.  As the clothes were being sorted the models were getting their hair and make up done whilst the photographer , Hemant Kumar and his team were getting the sets ready .

As we got done with the first shoot , the pace picked up and the rest of the shoots just kept falling into place one after the other , without much delay . We took a break for lunch , filled our stomachs with mouthwatering desserts and got right back to work . The last shot for the day was taken around 6 pm and then it was a wrap ! A long days work with a lot of fun and exiting new people to keep us entertained through the day .

It was a whole new experience for me since this was the first time I was working with kids in a photoshoot. They are quite tech savy for their age . It was a tad bit embarrassing because I still cant figure out how to use a touch phone or an Ipad and they were going at it like they've been doing it for years. But all in all it was good day filled with great memories .

RADISSON BLU TEMPLE BAY - SUMMER CHILLERS 13' CAMPAIGN : Oh ! and I got to be in the shot as well, playing the role of  an office secretary 

 A PIC WITH THE CELEBS: Naseeruddin shah , sylitst ; Priyanka Gopal  and Amitabh Bachchan 

BREAK TIME - Mr.Bachahan caught between , Saasu Maa killing her Bahu  and a love scene between Naseeruddin shah and Vidya Balan ( Fun shots taking in between shoots )

HOW HIP ARE WE ? :P

THE INFINITY POOL OVERLOOKING THE BEACH . THE PERFECT WAY TO END THE DAY 

The Jury Aftermath

It's been over a week since our jury took place and all I've done for the last 10 days is watch back to back episodes of  suits :)  we work so much the week of the Jury that all you want to do after that is sleep and not touch any work related to your process. happens every time.
It's the Jury aftermath routine : SLEEP + EAT JUNK FOOD ( before you say anything.... yes ! I do eat! ) +  NON-STOP SITCOMS

Has anyone ever wondered how similar Patrick J Admas and  Neil Patrick Harris look ?? 

         

Sigh! finally after another super long break , I got back to working on my collection . But I couldn't really focus on it till i had a constant reminder of how little time we have left , so i had no other choice but to bring out the post-it's ! my favorite thing in the world. what would I ever do without them :D
I converted the living room wall into a post it wall . check it out !

THE 'POST- IT WALL'- The pink post it's are for me and the purple one's are for my cousin Vaish

Now I'm ready to get back into Work-o-holic mode !

xoxo
-skinnydramaqueen

It's Shoot time!

My friend Sanjana Jain, winner of Vogue honors 2012  got selected to showcase a mini collection at the WILL S DEBUT 2013 show.  She was asked to do a photoshoot of her garments before sending it for the next round of the competition and asked me to help her out with the styling of her garments. The photographer , Esha Chandrana rented out 'set fire' studios for the day and  Then we were ready to shoot!

HAIR & MAKE-UP-  credit: Najeeba fatima

ME ADJUSTING THE FALL OF THE JACKET  DURING THE SHOOT

LOOK 1

LOOK 2

LOOK -3 

CREDITS:

MODEL: MONICA TOMAS 

PHOTOGRAPHY: ESHA CHANDRANA 

DESIGNER: SANJANA JAIN 

STYLIST: KAVERI SHARMA

HAIR & MAKE UP : NAJEEBA FATIMA

AT THE STUDIO  - with sanjana( designer) and  monica (model)

CONGRATULATIONS ! and good luck sana for the debut show in delhi <3 super proud of you 

- skinnydramaqueen

THE JURY !

Feb 14th ! Our first process review jury for the final collection . Stayed up all night putting my process book together and trying to make some rough design sketches before the jury. A jury is where we present our work to a panel of design and technical mentors  who review our process and critique us on it . It was time to face the moment I was dreading the most . From the get go I knew for a fact that I was dealing with too many different elements in my collection , for example ; the embroidery , tie dye , applique , truck motifs , a lot of bright colours  and a wide range of fabric.. I knew that there would come a point where I would have to drop out a few of my explorations and take a decision on what to carry forward .

After my process review, it was evident that it was time for me to take that call. and stand by my decision . I had prolonged it long enough . The panel liked most of my explorations and some they didn't like so much. They felt that I had too many different fabrics and a lot happening, and will have to cut down on some of my fabric choices.  I noted down their feedback and I will work on it this coming week. 

We then went on to have a masquerade ball in college for Valentine's day . since it's our last year together , my class is a little emotional about our last few days together before we all part our separate ways. so any function or event that takes place in college , we make it a point to be a part of it and show some enthusiasm . so we all went home and made our masks and and decided to join the mini function where no other batch showed  up :D  But we still had our share of fun thanks to two of our mentors .

GOOD TIMES ! - with ; Nazcher , Ranjini , Me , Vimal and Tanushree  (left to right )

 To top that , we as a class went out for a nice quite dinner at bbq nation . something that we hadn't done together in a very long time  

OUR CLASS VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATIONS AT BBQ NATION 

-skinnydramaqueen <3 

Dye hard!

Yeah ! I know the title is a bit cheesy . well.... what can I say , you got to love Bruce Willis :D 

I paid a visit to a local dying unit here in Chennai  to develop some of my tie dye samples. When I showed them Iqbal ji's tie dye samples from Rajasthan , they were amazed at the patterns that he had created , I wanted them to replicate the patterns using the same technique onto different fabrics like single jersey knits, cotton twill and  Georgette. The men working at the dying unit were unaware of the technique, but were quick on grasping it once I explained it to them .

DYEING UNIT 

TYING THE FABRIC BEFORE DYEING 

THE FABRIC IS BOILED IN THE DYE SOLUTION

RINSING THE DYED FABRIC FOR THE EXCESS COLOUR TO BLEED OUT 

A DIFFERENT TIE DYE TECHNIQUE I LEARNT IN RAJASTHAN 

USING A HAIR DRIER TO CHECK THE COLOUR OF THE DYED FABRIC UNDER THE TUBE-LIGHT 

TIED FABRIC - READY TO DYE 

BOILING THE FABRIC IN  ANOTHER  DYE COLOUR

UN-TYING THE FABRIC TO REVEAL THE PATTERN OF THE TIE- DYED FABRIC 

SAMPLE OF THE TIE -DYE TECHNIQUE  I LEARNT IN RAJASTHAN 

SAMPLE : TIE - DYE PATTERN (MARBLE TECHNIQUE )

SAMPLE : 3 COLOUR VARIATION SAMPLE

The best part about tie dye is when you cut open the tied knots and reveal the fabric.  It's kinda like unwrapping your birthday presents ! There always is an element of surprise to it.

- skinnydramaqueen

PHOTO CREDITS : Pavithra Bailey  <3