BENGALURU: Is there a better way to deal with India’s tropical sunny climate than with beautiful, soft khadi? Fashion designer Latha Puthanna, who has been a pioneer in promoting rich fabrics inspired by Deccan history, has launched her Spring-Summer collection 2022 with khadi. The collection named Jasmine, primarily comprises an off-white colour palette and is inspired by the light, breathable and elegant vibes of ecofriendly, hand-spun, and handwoven fabrics discovered in a quaint village near Shimoga. Aptly named, Puthanna says, jasmine reminds her of the warm summers.
“The fragrance of jasmine is something that we immediately associate with summer. The flower is iconic, never goes out of fashion and is a staple in south Indian households. It has a soothing effect, just like this collection,” explains Puthanna. Experimenting with silk fabrics over the years, the veteran fashion designer always wanted to work with khadi. She found this was a way to reinvent herself, after 30 years in the industry.
“We wanted to use khadi and add our aesthetics to it. It’s a very versatile fabric. Khadi can look ordinary and yet grand at the same time. I wanted to glamorise it. So, we teamed it up with organza and also added the cutwork to it, which brought in a very fresh look,” she adds.
The collection has an elaborate use of gota and embroidery work. This salt-of-the-earth collection features a range of tops, tunics, sarees and blouses, shirts, skirts, salwars, and menswear, all tied together with jasmine motifs in shades of white, gold, and silver. “The ones in the collections are quite youthful. Many of the blouses have deep cuts which the youth like.
One of the perks is you can either piece it together or be styled individually,” says Puthanna. The collection starts at the range of R5,000. In a time when fashion enthusiasts are trying to downsize their personal collection by picking versatility and going beyond trends, this collection ticks most of the boxes. “Although the idea was to present khadi to be more than just office wears, this collection can be used for various occasions too . You can wear it for brunches to dinners or even to various occasions,” explain Puthanna.