CHENNAI: Textiles, textures and tints — for the last 16 years, quadragenarian Shimai Jayachandran has been designing ethereal apparels by giving a spin to traditional and eco-friendly fabrics. In a tete-a-tete, the founder of fashion line Urvii Mantreh talks about her love for innovation, commitment to becoming carbon-neutral, supporting weavers and catering to the fashion needs of the modern woman. Excerpts follow.
For how long have you been designing apparel?
I graduated from the National Institute Of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Chennai in 2003, with the Best Creative Collection Award. I began my career with eShakti, designing western casual women’s apparel for them till 2007. After that, I designed interiors for friends, family and a few boutique hotels, for a commission. As part of that, I also designed soft furnishings using handwoven textiles. The business was booming. With the earnings, I started Urvii Mantreh in 2011. Working with textiles for 16 years, I learned how tedious the process is. It takes six months to weave a Benarasi silk sari. I have a soft spot for textile and colours.
What keeps you hooked onto working with textile and textures?
Around the time I started Urvii Mantreh, a friend from New Delhi presented me with a 150-year-old Benarasi silk textile. Traditional designs of a tiger, fruits and trees were woven into it. The colours used and the texture inspired me to have the fabric replicated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. That’s how I began designing. All my designs have a touch of Benarasi. I also love experimenting with colours. A purple brocade paired with a solid plain green colour is what I’m intrigued by now. There is a whole new way of looking at colour with the aspect of textiles. I play with solids and translucent colours. I keep finding a new colour batch palette now and then and then begin to work with the pairing.
How has your family been involved in the growth of your brand?
My sister worked in Bengaluru. We started the brand together. When the orders started increasing, she left her job to help me with the business as a style director. A while later, my brother-in-law also joined us as the creative director. My parents have always been supportive. Nine years later, the line has been functioning smoothly. I am married to my work. I can finally accept an invitation to the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW). Most designers get featured and then stress out with orders...I’ve managed to do the opposite — first focus on developing my line before displaying my designs at a global level.
What does Urvii Mantreh mean?
It’s an amalgamation of words from two ancient languages. Urvii is Sanskrit for Earth and Mantreh is Persian for divine rhythm. Urvii Mantreh is the divine rhythm of the Earth. It sounds poetic in Malayalam, ‘Bhoomiyude divya thaalam’. The brand cares for the Earth and the environment. We believe that we can make a difference through clothing and fashion. All our fabrics are handwoven by weavers from Benares and Andhra Pradesh. They are also all-natural as we use pure silk, cotton, hemp, banana and sugarcane fibre. Even the buttons we make are using recycled wood. We have committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2020 and intend to stick to that goal.
What do you think the modern woman likes to wear?
Most of my clothes don’t look too flashy or jazzy. I maintain the state of intricacy in the embroidery while keeping the patterns plain and simple. I give both, woven and embroidered work equal space to be noticed. When the industry leaned towards intricate designs, I followed my intuition and stuck to being less jazzy. Soon, many women between ages 18 to 25 began liking my work. They liked the bold and solid colours I used. I would keep one element in the ensemble intricate, like the dupatta or the border of a neckline, and keep all other elements plain. It looked classy and now most of my clients like the mix of sober and defined look I give to my designs. It’s statement clothing and the modern woman is always looking to make a statement.
How do you balance your work and personal life?
I’m a 40-year-old woman. My work and personal life have merged. I have my sampling office right opposite my house, where I work out of. We also have looms in Perungudi, which I keep visiting now and then, to explain the design to my weavers. We are around 30 of us and everyone is close to me. My weavers, who bring my vision to life, always feel free to confide their daily pressures in me. We support each other as a unit. As for my health, I never stop myself from eating anything, but I do go for a morning walk to the beach every day, to relax. In the evening, my sister, brother-in-law, and I go out either to the beach or for dinner. It’s all to keep my nerves in check and to relax. Work pressure piles up and it always needs a vent.