CHENNAI: The morning sunlight added to the elegance of the bridal lehengas in hues of red, saffron and golden at Sruthi Kannath Studio. With numerous hand-embroidered tassels of elephants, swans and peacocks, the store wore a celebratory look. And the voices of Maalavika Sundar and Jayasree Kumar Kannath, rendering soulful Tamil melodies, greeted everyone at this store in Nungambakkam.
A discerning crowd had gathered here for the first-of-its-kind Blouse Golu art installation by designer Sruthi Kannath. Adding her cultural sensibilities to this inauguration, singer Sudha Ragunathan shared, “This Blouse Golu art installation is very creative; Sruthi has put her heart and soul into the work. Creating a blouse or other clothing isn’t a simple task. Here, she shows how much effort is put into making a lehenga. Many people should come and benefit from her creation; especially all brides-to-be should give this a try.”
Dissecting the installation
Sruthi has dissected an exclusive lehenga into different parts, separating the sleeves and the layers of the skirt. Hanging them via thread and incorporating the idea of an art installation into a textile setup was unusual but creative. Like any other art installation, this one too delivers a whole picture of the outfit when viewed from a particular point.
With the effort of more than eight architects from Vizha, a multidisciplinary design team that loves to create and experiment with food, clothing and design, and Sruthi’s team of 15 members along with the support of branding consultant Ashwin Kashyap, they created the piece of art in almost three weeks. Embellished with glass beads and sequins, the bridal wear in expandable net, tissue silk and satin is the highlight of the festive sale.
Into sustainable fashion
A batch of 2009 NIFT graduate, Sruthi always aspired to create bridal wear, first for herself, then for everyone around her. Taking inspiration from nature, she reflects the wonders of nature in her works. With her brand, she aspires to promote sustainable clothing and recycling. “Bringing sustainability into weddings is a difficult task. I try to educate the customers on how to reuse jewellery, sari or any product associated with a wedding. It is a change. Eventually, we will get there. In my work, the embroidery materials on the blouse are recycled from the waste bridal wear materials.”
Sruthi also promotes the usage of raw silk as it is Ahimsa silk, which doesn’t involve killing silkworms. Apart from the lehenga, the Navratri special sale along with the art installation, running for nine days, offers a colourful range of carefully curated designer blouses. Sruthi confirms that there is an extra discount for customers choosing the specific Navaratri colour on the day of purchase.
She also goes the extra mile to organise meaningful conversations with ambassadors of sustainability from the city. “Every day we are hosting talks with experts providing tips on sustainable fashion including photographer Amar Ramesh, Vegan makeup artist Samantha Jagan and caterer Madhampatty Rangaraj, from 6 pm. This can be also streamed on our Instagram page @sruthikannathofficial.”