Payal Jaggi is not your average designer. Thirty eight and single, she sources her fabrics, designs the clothes, styles the shoot, takes pictures, and almost everything else in between. It’s no wonder that the Gurgaon designer calls herself a ’one-woman-show’. The gorgeous Jaggi (she bears a striking resemblance to movie star Chitrangada Singh) designs only sustainable chic for her e-boutique, Kinche, offering an impeccable collection of maxi dresses, skirts, jackets, pyjamas, cushion covers and throws. This season her line of bright, silk-lined jackets have caught our attention. “I work with 60-year-old , one-of-a-kind Kantha and Tibetan silks that I transform into collector’s pieces.” In this jacket collection, each piece is dedicated to the one of the strongest women in the world. So you can choose from a Madonna, Marilyn Monroe jacket, Mother Teresa or an Enid Blyton jacket, to pick just a few. They all come in fixed sizes, cut and color. Our favourite is the Amy Johnson vintage Kantha long jacket in blue and beige floral print (Rs 9,800).
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Barring the brocade jackets, the quirk factor is also amped with her material of choice-quilted fabrics. “The fabrics I use are about 10-30 years old and lined with layers of vintage silk saris from Kolkata.” Replete with hand-embroidery, flair, and the fact that there are no repeats, the clothing at Kinche is an ode to haute couture. However, Jaggi doesn’t attribute her aesthetic to her formal training. “I have a diploma degree in fashion (IIFT) though most of my time was spent outside the class,” she smiles, crediting instead her time as cabin crew at Singapore Airlines. “Flying was the biggest exposure in my life. It showed me things and places I could not have afforded on my own at that age.”
The kinche.com was launched in December 2013 and boasts customers from across the world. Jaggi says, “Our growth has been organic. I haven’t done any marketing. I just focus on my clothes. The ‘Kinche’ woman is strong, thoughtful and independent, proud of her body and size, and can rock whatever she is wearing!”
Offering sizes from XS-XL, Jaggi donates part of the proceeds to the Free Tibet movement.