JOIN USWear young. Feel young. Stay young.’ is not only the tagline of her eponymous label ‘ShlOka SudhAkar’ but also her ritualistically adhered design philosophy. A business management graduate, Shloka Sudhakar did not always want to be a fashion designer.
As a teenager growing up, she had fluctuating ambitions — to become a lead vocalist of a band (though singing was unknown to her voice), to excel in one of the sports she played and many other interests, not well-thought of. But as the saying goes, ‘it is the talent of the soul to discover its inner calling at the right time’, it was in 11th grade that Shloka realised her true calling — fashion.
Today, she has many successful shows in her basket of achievements and her forte lies in designing Indo-Western wear, cocktail gowns and bridal ‘lehengas’. A fan of fabrics like crepe, chiffon, satin and georgette, she customises outfits according to body types and skin textures.
She explains, “Most of my outfits have chic and funky cuts. When it comes to bridal wear, I make sure elegance takes over everything and I use hand work, ‘zardozi’ and mirror work as embellishments. In one of my collections titled ‘Gold & Sassy’, I launched outfits with accessories stitched as ‘dupatta’ holders.”
Her latest collection, that rocked the ramps of Bangalore Fashion Week recently, was titled ‘Paradise’ and had designs in happy colours. Having used soothing colours of a sunrise and matching them with the colours of a thick forest, she brought out the good moods of the day in her innovative designs. “A part of this collection is also dedicated to a social cause — of preventing harm to animals. I will soon be launching customised images of animals on Indo-Western clothing,” she says.
Her designs blend the Western styles with Indian heritage and traditions. She adds, “I want to create a brand that will be welcomed all across the globe and which will have a touch of Indian tradition with a blend of Western cuts and flows.” After her passion became her profession, she says, “Inspiration pops up from the different colours of nature and everything I see that makes me happy.”
Just two years old in the glamour industry, she has quite a few things to be proud of. Her designs have been worn by South Indian celebrities and she has even lent her creative hands as the lead stylist and designer for Kannada movie ‘First Rank Raju’.
As for Bengaluru, she says, “It is improving each year in terms of fashion.” Creating a niche market for her designs among the fashionistas in the City, she wants to expand her brand across the country and popularise the Indian cuts across borders too. With a strong philosophy of making her designs affordable, she describes her day-to-day style as “comfortable, elegant and apt for the occasion”.