‘Fashion is an art’
Practical clothes
Sudeshna Chatterjee went to no design school neither did she do a course in designing.
It was her interest and determination to make unique but wearable clothes that got her hooked to the fashion industry, “I have noticed today, unlike a few years ago, designers have begun to make wearable, practical clothes. That’s a remarkable change,” observes Sudeshna.
A graduate in film-making, Sudeshna dabbled with marketing and completed a year in a corporate job but she didn’t think her creativity was being exploited enough and wanted to go beyond the mundane. “Today, most of my clients comprise people who want to wear something unique and I make sure that I give them exactly what they want. No two designs of mine will look the same. Each has a distinct identity and a character of its own,” says Sudeshna.
It wasn’t an easy beginning for Sudeshna. She began designing on a small scale for friends and family. And soon her designs caught on with the people around, mainly by word-of-mouth and she began getting orders from some of the big names in the business of fashion. She went a step ahead and agreed to design for national award-wining film-maker Rituparno Ghosh’s films ‘Sab Charitra Kalpanik’ and ‘Abohoman’. “Rituparno wants nothing flamboyant and prefers to keep it plain and simple yet catchy. And it was indeed challenging to work for him. He is very particular about colours and textures. I use very little or no embellishments in my work. The idea is to play around with the cuts,” reasons Sudeshna.
She observes that the fashion industry has been changing at a drastic pace. She says, “Designers today are making more wearable clothes. Those that hit the ramp at most fashion shows are practical. And there’s a whole bunch of new talent that’s willing to experiment and create something new.”
Her latest collection, ‘Firaangi Desi’ is stylish yet affordable and caters to the tastes of the modern, contemporary woman. “The clothes you wear shouldn’t overpower you but it should be an extension of your personality,” she says, preferring not to get into the rat race but keep her mantra simple.
Ask who her target audience are and Sudeshna says that those who don’t want to go to high-end stores, or expensive clothes stores yet wear something stylish and affordable can come to her. “There was a time when people stitched their own clothes in keeping with their tastes but now people don’t have the time and that’s where I step in,” she beams.
Sudeshna integrates Western styles with Indian cuts and patterns in most of her clothes. “I love to experiment and fashion offers endless opportunities to fulfill my urge to experiment,” she sums up.
