safe by following exactly what is stated to be in trend, whereas women in the age group of 25 to 35 are more comfortable with their bodies and do not mind experimenting, setting trends and making their own style statements.’’

The designer likes to combine colour and culture. She prefers to use a bright colour palette, which is funky and experimental.

She opines that Indian fashion designers are inspired by both Indian and Western styles. “Indian fusion fashion is making a mark on the international scene, as the garments are skillfully crafted with exclusive techniques retaining rich Indian fabrics with international design elements,’’ explains Sabah.

Talking about her label Sabashe, Sabah says, “I would definitely love to have ‘Sabashe’ on the international fashion map. To begin with there are a few important clients from the Royal family of Monaco and Abu Dhabi. The journey for me has just started. All I can say to conclude is that fashion fades, but style is definitely eternal.’’

She initiates a dialogue between the jewellery, the wearer and the viewer. Her niche is individualistic statement jewellery.

Six years ago Kolkata-based Eina Ahluwalia,
armed with an MBA degree decided to enter the
designing scene. As a director - International
marketing and design for a jewellery export company, she has already worked on projects for clients like Aigner, Nina Ricci, Lanvin, Porsche Design etc. Her jewellery is bold, big and for confident women.

As she says, “Statement pieces are a big international trend, and Indians are following it too. It is a trend meant for the discerning fashion conscious individual, someone who can pick and carry off one bold piece versus a lot of smaller safer ones. So it’s great that some people in India can actually execute this style effectively.’’

Her muse is silver. “I love silver as a metal. I love its colour; it’s softness, and the way it lends itself to experimentation. I do make pieces in gold on request, but I personally prefer silver and semi-precious stones.’’

Eina feels that the young Indian women today are very fashion conscious. She finds that women like to look up what the trends are, and then follow them.

As she elaborates, “I believe one should have
his or her own sense of style, and then play with that, let it change and grow as time passes. There is no sense in following a crowd. Just do your own thing. People should slowly develop their own sense of style more in sync with their personality and body type.’’

The young designer conceptualises, researches and executes her jewellery outside the limits of conventions, tradition and techniques. Her designs are very contemporary, yet she draws inspiration from varied periods, whether it is Ottoman, Bauhaus or Post Modern. Most often, her inspirations come from her travels, reading or photography.

As she says, “I express my experiences and emotions through each piece as an artist would on canvas. Hence they tend to be large pieces, as life is not small and it needs a larger scale to express itself.’’

 With a brand, Breathing Space, under her name, Eina says, “Over the next few years I plan to work on both art-driven conceptual jewellery as well as design-driven jewellery. In fact, I plan to make commercial versions of the conceptual pieces for a more universal wearability.’’

Fashion is a great way of self expression,’’ admits young Juilee Bendkhale who in just one year on the job has already impressed the world of fashion with her label Zuilee.

Continuing her opinion, the Delhi-based designer who is on the verge of shifting base to Mumbai says, “The style of clothes or the colours you choose speak a lot about you as a person.”

Retailing through designer boutiques across India like Ogaan in New Delhi, Amara and Zoya in Mumbai, Araliya in Pune, Raintree in Bangalore and Anonym in Hyderabad, Juilee’s clothes are both contemporary and global in spirit. Preferring soft flowy drapes, the designer still prefers to have the straight geometric type of detailing on her apparel.

The best part of her clothes is the interesting bits of textural touches that give a very stylish touch. In recent years of LFW, her collection has mainly

comprised draped mini and shrug, grey sheer pinafore, the orange wing sleeved pleated sleeves.

Talking about Indian designers and fashion, Juilee says, “Fashion is all about trends and marketing. Indian fashion has found its niche in its craft heritage. Also traditionally we have an amazingly fearless colour sense. And we have definitely made a mark in the international scene with it. I love to work with Indian colours, natural and handloom fabrics. I also want the contemporary culture to reflect in my brand philosophy.’’

Not wanting to talk too much about her own
designs or self, Juilee says, “Brand Zuilee has found its niche in the Indian designer market for women’s wear. And we hope to tap the international market soon. And frankly, I don’t like to rate my own designs. I will leave it for others to do it!’’

She can be easily called ‘The Kutchi Woman’! Based in Ahemdabad and hailing from Kutch, she embodies folk art -- its diversity, culture, rich colours, ethnicity and aesthetic brilliance. Besides the influence from her region, her work is a blend of various rural artforms and modern designs.

Purvi Doshi is a self-taught fashion designer who doesn’t belong to any institute. She has always encouraged the grassroot craftswomen to break away from the ordinary and go back in the history of their culture to help them contemporarise their designs. Her work with ‘Khaat-work’ is of great importance. She says she draws inspiration from the various Imperial periods, like the Mogul, Gupta and others.

Purvi’s collection includes garments in
hand-woven natural-fibre fabrics. Her distinct

spirit is reflected in her unique blends and extraordinary combinations of different elements. With several national and international shows of her garments, the Purvi Doshi label retails at Elahe in Hyderabad, Ffolio in Banglore and Opium Style Gallery in Ahmedabad.

Purvi says, “I use only hand woven hand spun fabrics like Mashru of Gujarat, Luckhnawi of Luckhnow, Ikkat work of Andhra, woven kota of Madhya Pradesh, khand of Pune, and so on.’’ She says, her label ‘Purvi Doshi’ represents ethnic Indian art ensembles. “In a decade I would not only be tapping the international market but I would love to revive dying art forms, and hold programs to benefit the grassroots level of the industry,” she adds.