CHENNAI: Palam Silks’ latest collection called ‘Folklore’ has more of an artistic touch than what meets the eye. Daughter of Jeyasree Ravi, proprietor of Palam Silks, Sunita Yogesh is the lead designer for the collection, which has six exclusive designs in Kanjeevaram silk. But behind this modern-and-traditional fusion line is Sunita’s love for art.
At the age of 14, Sunita was well-versed in pencil portraits. “My granddaughter can just look at someone and replicate a mirror image on her artboard,” said Nalli Kuppuswamy Chettiar. As her interests shifted towards acrylics, she hosted an exhibition called ‘Squared’ in Chennai and Bengaluru. “Her portrait was unlike anything I had seen before and I instantly wanted to translate them on a Kanjeevaram,” said Jeyasree Ravi, Proprietor of Palam Silks.
After completing her MBA in IIM Bengaluru, Sunita visited Bagru in Jaipur and learnt the art of hand block prints from the local artisans. “This was a life changing experience for me. This is when I decided handloom is the field I would want my name etched in,” said Sunita Yogesh.
Dedicated to acting as a launchpad for budding designers, Palam decided to host their annual fashion show, Silkline, and Sunita is the first designer to be showcased. “Though I have been involved in designing for Palam for the past five years, the collection was designed to fit into the design spectrum of Palam. But Folklore is different. Folklore is a collection that is inspired by rural Indian architecture, a genre I’ve admired all my life. This collection speaks more about me than Palam,” said Sunita.
The design line was created based on the creations of rural artisans without any formal education and is inspired by rural creativity of all platforms, not just apparel.