March has been an eventful month for fashion designer Sonal Verma. After presenting her fall/winter 22/23 collection as part of the Tranois showcase during Paris Fashion Week at The Palais Brongniart earlier this month, Verma is geared up to showcase her spring/summer ’22 collection titled ‘Hodophilic’ at the FDCI X Lakmé Fashion Week to be held at The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the city on Wednesday.
Back to the start
A 2007 graduate in leather design from Delhi’s National Institute of Fashion Technology, Verma moved to Madrid where she completed a masters’ degree under the European Design Labs program at the Instituto Europeo di Design. Soon after, she launched Rara Avis in December 2012, and has since presented collections that incorporate off-kilter designs by integrating global influences with Indian crafts.
Giving us an insight into the brand’s design language, Verma shares, “Rara Avis looks onward to be recognised as a visual apparatus that delivers design per se and not just through existing forms and notions.” Her vision: to create designs that are “immortal and undefined by precincts”.
Forever leather-weather
Verma’s USP is her prominent use of leather in clothing and accessories alike, given her expertise in the field. In her designs, you will find outfits where the designer integrates leather with textiles such as wool, cotton, and more, or accessories for which Verma cleverly pairs the rich fabric along with cane, raffia, macramé, etc. Talking about her designs, she shares, “We want to see the brand go global with intrinsic Indian craftsmanship and contemporary handling.”
Though Verma uses organically-treated leather, we point out that the material still has environmental implications. At a time when there is a major focus on sustainability across the fashion industry, we were curious to know if Verma had any plans to make the switch to an eco-friendly alternative to leather. In strong disagreement to our preceding thought, Verma explains, “Leather is a natural material that goes back to the earth unlike other [materials]. We use poultry leather, which is often or mostly the by-product of the meat industry. It indeed is the most sustainable material known to mankind.”
Vacay-ready clothing
Shifting our focus, we ask Verma about her latest collection ‘Hodophilic’—easy silhouettes (long jackets, maxi dresses) in bold hues that portray a boho-meets-glam vibe. The name easily gives away that this is a vacation-ready clothing line. For ‘Hodophilic’, Verma has mixed Indian Mashru and Uzbeki silk to “create a seamless narration of a trip well travelled through the Silk route”.
So what’s new this time? It is her launch of footwear and jewellery made using natural precious stones that, as Verma shares, “completes us as a brand that offers the total head-to-toe look. So what’s new? It is her launch of footwear and jewellery made using natural precious stones that, as Verma shares, “completes us as a brand that offers the total head-to-toe look”. She adds, “Having leather as an integral element of the brand, it was only natural to do footwear once we developed the know-how over the years, and matched it with the ever-evolving ergonomics. The colours, quality, and comfort along with the design sensibility that is close to heart was roped in to give the clients a complete look, making it [the brand] a one-stop shop.”
Giving us a peek into her latest jewellery line, she says, “Vermeil jewellery with use of natural or precious stones is what we developed at our atelier in Jaipur. We have used natural corals, turquoise, and lapis lazuli in abundance, among others.”
Ask her where she sees her brand in the coming years, and Verma concludes, “Five years from now, I see Rara Avis as the only brand being recognised for its unique sensibilities with leather being an integral part of design. It [leather] will be a wardrobe essential for all fashion lovers globally.”