HYDERABAD: Rina Singh’s Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) collection has a distinct local connect. “Telangana is blessed to have so many stunning craft clusters and it will be foolish of us to not tap into the vast potential the crafts have in the design industry,” says designer Rina Singh as she talks about displaying her latest winter collection at Lakme Fashion week’s Sustainable Fashion Day in association with the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperate Society Ltd (TSCO).
Talking about her label, Eka, Rina reminisces how her younger days shaped her design aesthetic. “Growing up in a Rajput family where we had to wear fine and rigid attires everyday, I developed an aversion for the constrained form of fashion and it wanted to me to make something plain and comfortable yet meaningful and fashionable. That led to the birth of my own label Eka,” she says.
Her collection for the LFW is surprisingly inspired from the Little Women movie. “I was intrigued by Jo’s character that has several layers of complexities so I based my collection around it. For this collection, I have worked with several independent clusters in Telangana from the double and single ikat clusters of Kovalagudam, simple cotton textiles from Narayanpet, tussar silk sarees of Mahadevpur to the ikat merchandise of Pochampally. I have tried giving a contemporary edge and flow to these fabrics,” says the designer.
With an elaborate clientele in Mumbai and Delhi, Rina feels the Fashion Week is a great opportunity to display her collections and send out her message to revive the vibrant handicrafts of the country. “There is an interesting vibe to it with an enthusiastic and curious audience. So it is always a great experience to display Eka’s collections at LFW,” says Rina. The TSCO is also keen on collaborating with established designers like Rina who are keen on reviving the many handicrafts of India from their grass root level and provide continuous employment and market access to craftsmen who have been playing a key role in keeping the cultural heritage of the country alive.