CHENNAI: I have always been fascinated by colours and textiles. It runs in the family,” says designer Sailesh Singhania as he discusses warps and wefts ahead of the launch of his new collection, ‘Rangabati’ at Folly, Amethyst.
The 33-year-old who comes from a family with nearly 120-odd years of association with handlooms says, “My great grandfather was the textile minister in the Nizam’s cabinet. In the late 1920s, we started a textile business. So, what I am doing now is taking my family’s legacy forward and probably to the next level,” he shares. He recalls his childhood memories which were filled with stories about textiles, handlooms and artisans.
“During the time of the Nizams, textiles had limited production and had to be imported from Japan. I even have a collection of handlooms that my great grandmother owned. All this inspired me to create apparels with a unique sense of aesthetics,” says the head of Sailesh Singhania Design House.
Sailesh asserts that his latest collection, inspired by different shades of a woman, will cater to women of all age groups. “The ‘Rangabati’ collection is inspired by all the shades of a woman — a dreamer, a go-getter and a winner. A woman who is all shades special, all shades of beautiful,” he adds. The collection has a variety of weaves ranging from ‘Tussar Jamdani’ from West Bengal, ‘Tanchoi’ from Banaras to ‘Uppada’ from down south. The colours vary from bright and bold festive shades of royal blue, tuscan sun yellow and emerald green to subtle tones of powder blue and earthy beige to shades of grey.
Sailesh’s designs more often than not are a combination of contemporary and traditional silhouettes. “To me, traditional weaves are beautiful and the best. But, I have often blended them with modern aesthetics. For instance, we introduced pastel shades in Kancheevarams, used ektara silk with Pochampally to ensure that there is a good fall and finish, and designed contrasting borders in our Gadwal silks,” he explains. Each of the saris takes a laborious and painstaking four months to one year to get off the loom.
Sailesh believes in holistic, individual and integrated fashion, and works with about 700 handloom weavers throughout the year. He also supports 22 different clusters including Pochampally, Gadwal, Uppada, Kota, and Pranpur. “Most of the weavers are 40 years and above. They don’t want their children to get into handloom making. They either end up in power looms, or go to the city and take up other professions. So, we are quite worried about the future. But, we are also seeing several artisans who have come back to the profession,” he shares.
He has styled several celebrities including Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Shruti Haasan, Radhika Apte, Trisha Krishnan, Keerthy Suresh, and Kiara Advani. “The experience of styling Radhika Apte is extremely close to my heart. She loved the fabric and its fall, and I was quite elated,” he says. Sailesh will soon be working on combining traditional fabrics with Versailles-inspired motifs. “I am constantly working towards improvisation and innovation. The goal is to revive handlooms and transform it into high-end couture,” he says.
(The ‘Rangabati’ collection will be presented at Folly, Amethyst on November 30)