THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A lone fishing net, its arms soaked in the evening waters and an oil lamp watching over it. A show of unison and might as a snake boat glides to the finish. The Kathakali artiste and his quivering eyes. The cliches and picture postcards of Kerala are many but these don’t soak us in nostalgia like the little joys of being home, believes designer Sreejith Jeevan and his brand,’ Rouka’.
What are these blessed little things, then? It’s the picture of lungi-clad Thomas chetan making a kattan or two at his chaayakkada, it’s the drive on a bridge over a lotus pond with its pink and purple blooms, and it is also the sound of Peruvanam Kuttan Marar’s chenda at a temple festival. Holding close these vignettes and more, the designer from ‘biennale town’ - as he is known after two outings at the Lakme Fashion Week - has put together a capsule collection that he aptly calls ‘Coming Home’.
Stitched in collaboration with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Pepper House Design, the line of 12 pieces is born out of the classic mundu fabric and is a product of leafing through pages of memories and finding the way around conversations on Kerala.
Admitting that the monochrome collection is licence to wear nostalgia, Jeevan says, “Just as much we embrace our traditions, there’s also the emergence of the street culture. It was interesting to see how for some who came to Kerala, a sadya was as exciting as Malabar parotta and beef curry from a little outlet on the street. Or for instance, a kalamandalam performance and a Malayalam blockbuster share equal priority. And that was an interesting mix for me.”
Blending it all, the affordable luxury range (starting from `1,500), easily straddles Indian quirk and old-world charm. So there’s the house by the backwaters embroidered on a summer dress, a chaarukasera (easy chair) on a shirt and a palazzo with a toddy tapper climbing along the length of one leg. Almost as if a reminder of where they come from, kara (stripes) makes its presence felt on all the pieces. It is the visual pun Jeevan has played, or rather tailored, with.
“Kara stands for both, the border and the bank. I’m playing with the border on the bank and interpreting it in many different ways. The kara is a branch from which a swing is hung, the street where your favourite chayakkada is, the riverbank where your tharavadu sits. It’s the stem on which the pepper vine grows and the floor on which the chaarukasera rests,” the stripes are explained.
With his brand turning two this month, him coming home, and the Biennale to boot, it’s all about Kochi now. “I had taken the city for granted till I left for National Institute of Design. And now, the past one-and-a-half years that I’ve spent here, I’ve tried to get myself to make the most of this wonderful place. Kochi really is not the place to do but to undo. And I think just being here inspires me to do the work I’m doing now,” the city lad says.
Having visited the first edition of the art extravaganza as a tourist, Jeevan is all gung-ho about having the insider’s take on the event this year. Of the opinion that the excitement in the air stems from people knowing what the Biennale has given them, ‘Coming Home’ is him celebrating the spectacle in his own little way. And while wishing for Kochi to embrace modern, minimal and meaningful design, Jeevan promises more clothes and more stories - between the ramp and the walkways of home.