CHENNAI : The time is ticking for all your Christmas and New Year Eve shopping. Pop-up exhibitions are a true saviour when it comes to picking up last-minute add ons and La Di Da, a lifestyle exhibition, was not an exception. The two-day lifestyle and fashion event at Buva House put together a variety of ethnic attires, matching accessories, potli bags and jewellery.
Alongside, there were food stalls to satisfy your hunger after long hours of shopping. While Benita Jacob’s ‘My Little Cupcake’ welcomed us with freshly-baked macrons and dessert jars, we had spicy options like sandwiches from The Writer’s Cafe and multi-flavoured waffers with spicy dips from Hungrezi.
“Year-end shopping experiences are fun. We’ve put together many new entrepreneurs catering to the price-range of all sections of society. The products are curated with bringing more of South Indian and local designs in mind. We wanted to offer more of saris, maxis, blouses, glittery clutches and both diamond and fashionable jewellery,” said Kavitha Pandian, organiser of the event. She has two partners — Deepa Madan and Sadhvi RS.
True to what Kavitha said, we noticed an array of maxis and gowns made out of old silk saris in most of the stalls. Radhey’s Couture stood out in this aspect. The founder, Nithya Muthumani, believes in giving a twist to your garment by getting them customised for you according to your preference. From raw silk to Benares silk, she has worked on different silks and sells them on her online portal.
Likewise, The Hooray, a Madurai-based brand founded by AR Kiruthika R, focusses on hand-made silk gowns. With a few designers going towards tailor-made sari gowns, these could be a trend-setter for 2019. “We often tend to find more of north Indian products and specialties exhibited at the pop ups. I was particular about having our own ethnic varieties. I made it a point to hand-pick saris. We’ll soon be coming up with another spring pop up in February,” she said.