BENGALURU: This Friday evening, Ally Matthan, one of the most recognised perfumers in the country will tell you a tale of six yards of sheer elegance.
Ally along with Anju Maudgal Kadam, a business journalist came up with the 100 saree pact a few months ago, asking people to share photos and the stories of their sarees. The movement soon caught steam among the young and old, alike, and the #100sareepact became the new selfie on social media.
She says that she is most interested in the stories that bring the saree to life.
“I am fascinated by provenance, what drives the artist weavers imagination and also by the skill of the handloom. In many ways it takes whole families and several people to create a single saree. As consumers we only see the finished product,” she says.
Ally says that she has been curious about everything related to the saree - from the conception to how the wearer experiences a saree.
“I am hoping to rope people into the magical stories that sarees tell in the larger context of how we visualise our country,” she says of her TEDx Talk in the city.
She will be giving a talk on the journey of the saree, so how long did it take to research on the subject?
“The saree is a subject that is so vast and diverse that one would be committing a grave error if you think of research as ‘done’. It continues to be a work in progress – eons of learning cannot be absorbed in the span of a few years. And yet as we research the saree we understand that it continues to evolve. So much to learn, see and do,” she says.
Ally along with with textile expert Kausalya Sathyakumar and business strategist Apoorva Sadanand founded The Registry of Sarees.
The objective is to bridge the gap between weavers and saree enthusiasts extending the scope of narration of India’s stories.
“With The Registry of Sarees, we set out to create learning events around the many weaves of our country - there is much to document and educate ourselves on from a point of view of history, design, sociology . We also invest in looms that we call weaver engagement programmes in an attempt to bring the weavers closer to the saree enthusiast. These programmes are funded by The Registry of Sarees website,” she informs.
Ahalya’s deep interest in fragrances led her to acquire a Masters Degree in Perfumery Science and Technology from the prestigious ISIPCA, after spending her childhood years among the perfume vats of her family’s incense stick business.
“For me the idea of India is best expressed in fragrance terms. Ours is a country that is home to some of the best loved natural fragrance ingredients. Right from the spices in our kitchens to industrially synthesised ingredients the potential is immense. I started out making fragrances, but in the last decade I have also branched out into customised fragrance, bath and skincare under the label Areev,” she tells of her journey so far.
The Indian market continues to be one of the fastest growing in Asia, she says.
“Perfumes as luxury accessory buys are one of the most popular must-have items on the aspirational buyers’ list as well. According to industry estimates, the size of the total domestic luxury perfume market is around `600-700 crore and is growing at a rate of 20-25 % year-on-year,” she adds.
The Indian luxury market has always been dictated by trends in the West projected by large fashion labels, Ally points out.