 |
Kathmandu Sunday October 07, 2001 Ashwin 21, 2058.
|
Indian designer’s tryst with Nepalese
fashion buffs
By Ranjana Pradhan
KATHMANDU, Oct 6 - When she was in the seventh grade, she
took one of her favourite trousers that belonged to her father and took it to a tailor and
designed a skirt out of it for herself.
And thus, her tryst with the fashion and clothes began. And,
today Radhika Jain has already made a name for herself in the competitive Indian fashion
world.
"I realised my interest in this field when I was a
little girl," recalls Radhika Jain, who is here to display and sell her enigmatic
creations.
Radhika Jain is a name that stands apart in the Indian
fashion world as she specialises on ethnic style with emphasis on bridal wear, salwar
kameez, lehengas and saris. Though she also designs Indo-Western suits and semiformal
trousseau outfits.
Radhika first came here 11 years ago for honeymoon and was
totally mind blown by the place. "I was taken aback by the Nepali people’s
sincerity and honesty," says Radhika. "I am lucky that my profession gives me a
chance to visit this place quite regularly."
This 31-year-old Indian designer has been visiting Nepal
since the last four years with her idea of sharing her dreams.
The suns of sunshine are what the Indian apparel designer is
going to present in the Nepali market this time. Weaving new themes out of soft and
vibrant colours, textures and motifs, her creations are every inch a display of creativity
and design.
Her skills in colour-mixing always produce amazing results
and her talent to mix and match gives devastating effects to her creations. She generally
combines her ethnic wears with embroidery to embellish the outfit. Some of her designs are
richly and elegantly made of unbounded textures blended with Zardozi.
Radhika has done her professional studies from NIFT and IITC
in New Delhi but she gives credit of her success to her educational background. "I am
a history honours student and this line has influenced and helped me a lot to go deeper
into fashion in a traditional sense. The Mughal outfits have made a mark in my life and I
take pride in saying that my country’s history has helped in bringing up my
future," she says.
Radhika comes from a Rajasthani background and married into a
Jain family. "Rajasthan and its rich cultural heritage have also contributed a lot to
my profession," she says. "I have designed a couple of outfits gathering ideas
out of my grandmother’s clothes."
Her comment in the Nepalese fashion world is very positive.
She thinks that the Nepalese have an eye for good fashion and creation. "Nepal lacked
facilities to make their creations worthwhile," says Radhika.
She has earned a good deal of clients in Nepal and she thinks
that the value of her creations is undoubtedly recognised by the Nepalese fashion buffs as
well, which proves that they are fashion conscious.
Radhika owns a small store in Janpath, New Delhi and supplies
her outfits to the buyers and boutiques nationally and internationally. She says that
owning her own boutique is not her ultimate aim. "I feel that if I own my own
boutique, I might knowingly or unknowingly land up being business-oriented, which in the
long run will hamper my creations."
Radhika is presently in Kathmandu to make people sink into
history with never ending colours. Radhika is back here after a year with yet another
collection of her exclusive designs. Her creations will be exhibited on the 7th and 8th of
October at Naachghar, Hotel Yak and Yeti.
Other Stories
|
