Lakme Fashion Week: Rohit Bal designs brings collaborations from Kashmir

The ramp was a fantasy mirroring the fabric hanging from the ceiling like waves on water. Shikharas loaded with flowers ‘floated’ on this illusion of the Dal lake, while a Chinar tree created at the head of the ramp reflected on the mirrored surface of the ramp. Dried Chinar leaves brought in from the Valley and dried red chillies reminded one of sleepy little Kashmiri villages with red chilies drying on rooftops under the shade of trees. Even before the first model had stepped out on to the ramp, the ambiance hailed the beauty of Kashmir, as did the Kashmiri song drifting out of the speakers (one of Alif’s tracks from their Sufayed album).

Then models ramp walked in designer Rohit Bal’s Guldastah collection – distinct in garments bearing floral prints inspired by the Valley; from thread work to gold wire, and prints to magnificent zardosi. The collection included floor-sweeping kurtas, short flared blouses, stately jackets, mini kalidar kurtis among others, with the menswear line as ornate as the women’s. “When you talk to people of Kashmir, they only think of the stone pelting and the violence. I want to bring back to memory what Kashmir should be known for. What Kashmir can never lose is its inherent spectacular beauty,” says the designer, who hails from Kashmir himself.

Stunning as the designs were, however, they were not the main attraction of the show, but the fact that this was the first time – on the closing show of the first day of Lakme Fashion Week – that Usha Silai showcased their work with a big designer brand like Bal’s. The Usha Silai fashion brand launched at Fashion Week a few years ago, as part of the initiative, which provides lakhs of women from across the country with a livelihood in the garment industry, stitching clothes with Usha sewing machines.

“A platform like this helps create awareness about the need for continuous learning to upskill and achieve the quality parameters benchmarked as the best in class and industry,” says Dr Priya Somaiya, CEO of Usha Silai. “Additionally, it also allows an engagement between diverse groups of people – organisations, the women, audiences, and other stakeholders.” 

The process was quite an intensive one, says the designer. Women, who show an interest in the job, are taken through a rigorous two-month course by Usha Silai in how to stitch garments. “Once the training of the Kashmiri women was over, we did the cutting, printing and embroidery here and then forwarded the sketches, patterns and marked fabrics and they sewed them at a centre there,” he further explains. “After the first hampers came in from Kashmir, I was very happy with the quality and the effort they had put in. And then we started sending them [the artisans] the pieces for the show. While making the samples, I sent some of my masters and tailors and they spent a few days in my factory in Delhi where I met them and, since I was also Kashmiri. It was really easy to break the ice.”

For the women, who despite education from colleges and universities, and yet been without employment, this is a proud moment. “We felt a sense of pride and achievement and look forward to more purposeful work now. It was just two months ago that we embarked on this journey and to see how far we have come in this short span of time, gives us confidence and makes us feel optimistic about more opportunities to collaborate with experts and designers,” says Sameena, one of the artisans who made Bal’s concepts a reality. 

While a single show is all well and good, the designer feels that more sustainable models of collaboration is the need of the hour. Hence, the money made from the garments sown by the women during the collaboration will go back to them once the clothes are sold from Bal’s own stores — a practice which is to continue for the designer’s future lines as well. 

Perhaps the most important facet of the project is one that shows the indomitable spirit of the Valley, indeed, the spirit of any individual when they are given a chance. “These women, who had never done anything like this before created such an incredible volume of work, essentially just within the span of a single month. It teaches us all, that everyone has a talent that can be found and honed, anyone is capable of learning anything,” the designer concludes.