Designer adopts the slow movement in latest collection
Padmaja Krishnan is in town to showcase her installation — trunk sale of the aforementioned collection.
For a fashion collection, Slow. Useless is an incongruous name. Or so you think until you talk to Padmaja Krishnan, a textile and fashion designer and director of Transit Studio, Mumbai. Fashion for this NIFT Delhi graduate is more than just about clothes. Its a philosophy, a way of life, even. Padmaja is in town to showcase her installation — trunk sale of the aforementioned collection.All about Slow FashionExplaining the big idea behind the name, Padmaja reveals, “I am a part of the Slow movement in fashion. The Slow Fashion philosophy preaches about creating clothes keeping the ecological and sustainability factor in mind. It is about using techniques, processes and fabrics that take a longer time in their making but ensure that the clo
Now, while the Slow movement might be gaining ground in the West, Padmaja agrees that it has barely made its presence felt in India. She throws in an intriguing point of view, however: “In India, life’s always been about slowness.Our parents and grandparents would recycle whatever they had. That’s exactly what the movement is about.” So, even as the young Indian might be aping the West in buying and throwing anything that's outdated, Padmaja affirms that, “ In a traditional sense, we have always been practitioners of the slow movement.”
Not a trend-followerAs someone who doesn’t follow the milieu, it is obvious that Padmaja doesn’t follow trends or design according to seasons. “We don’t believe in designing according to seasons because then you are encouraging the buyer to discard the old for the new (something that is not congruent with the Slow Fashion philosophy, that of buying fewer clothes less often). “I don’t go by current international trends. We follow what suits a particular body type,” she avers. As a designer, Padmaja believes her expertise lies in cuts. Very geometric and abstract, she specialises in, and loves to “experiment with cuts.”
Unique just about begins to describe her predominantly Western silhouetted designs. So, where one finds every other person a homogenised clone of another thanks to the mall culture, her exclusive designs might be just what the fashion doctor ord
Make people awareA designer since 2008, Padmaja has showcased her work in exhibitions in India and abroad. Japan, America, Spain, Hong Kong, Australia are the countries where she’s exhibited her experiments with fabrics and designs. While the London Fashion Week is the only show she’s taken part in, Padmaja matter-of-factly states, “I would love to take part in an Indian fashion week that adheres to the principles of eco-friendly, sustainable fashion.” This
Check out Padmaja Krishnan’s installation cum trunk sale of exquisitely hand crafted, thought provoking, contemporary clothes for men and women, at The Vermillion House, Frazer Town, 10.30am to 7.30pm, on February 24 and 25.