<p>Preetam Jukalker started his career by designing sought-after bridal and red carpet outfits with glamorous embellishments. But a documentary film he watched — ‘The True Cost’ — altered his design philosophy. He wanted to shift from the glamorous world of fashion to a sustainable one. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The movie which revolves around the bad impact of fast fashion enlightened him about the sufferings of traditional artisans. Thus began his tryst with Indian textiles. <br /><br />“This is my small initiative to revive the dying textile industry in India,” he says. <br /><br />With the philosophy of slow and sustainable fashion, Preetam works closely with the weavers of Andhra Pradesh and crafts earthy clothes, which he terms to be eternal. <br /><br />“Currently I am working with ‘pochampalli’ weaves and ‘ikat’ yarns. From the fabrics to the buttons I use, everything is 100 percent organic and sustainable,” he explains. <br /><br />An admirer of Indo-Western creations, he crafts contemporary designs. Crop tops, palazzos, skirts, tunic tops... he gives a quirky touch to each of them while crafting. <br /><br />“Indian textiles is not boring. One can work around rich colours and they can be worn by anyone at anytime. I modernise the traditional textiles with my contemporary style. Hence you can see that the saris I design have unconventional pockets that make the simple wear elegant and quirky,” he explains. <br /><br />His Spring-Summer collection has long dresses, shirts, gowns, which inculcate a layered styling — all designed with handcrafted and hand dyed fabrics. He says he is doing his bit to revive the dying art and the artisans, and explains, “While selling my designs, I make sure to let my customer know the effort that has gone behind these fabrics. My designs cater to all sections of the society as they are affordable clothes with a touch of luxury. They combine detailed colours.”<br /><br /> While it is the Indian textiles that inspire him to create innovative designs, his mother too played a role in grooving his designing career.<br /><br />“As a kid I always read the fashion magazines and watched the celebrities talk about fashion all the time. I used to have a collage made of all the fashionable stuff I saw. My mother stitched clothes and I saw her sit on the sewing machine, making shirts for me. While she was away, I took over the machine stitching some baby clothes,” he recalls.<br />After his Pre-University, he joined the fashion and textile course for degree. He has not looked back since. <br /><br />While his personal style is organic — white shirt, trousers and jacket — he says, “I yearn to take Indian textiles into mainstream fashion and help it get the limelight it deserves.”</p>
<p>Preetam Jukalker started his career by designing sought-after bridal and red carpet outfits with glamorous embellishments. But a documentary film he watched — ‘The True Cost’ — altered his design philosophy. He wanted to shift from the glamorous world of fashion to a sustainable one. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The movie which revolves around the bad impact of fast fashion enlightened him about the sufferings of traditional artisans. Thus began his tryst with Indian textiles. <br /><br />“This is my small initiative to revive the dying textile industry in India,” he says. <br /><br />With the philosophy of slow and sustainable fashion, Preetam works closely with the weavers of Andhra Pradesh and crafts earthy clothes, which he terms to be eternal. <br /><br />“Currently I am working with ‘pochampalli’ weaves and ‘ikat’ yarns. From the fabrics to the buttons I use, everything is 100 percent organic and sustainable,” he explains. <br /><br />An admirer of Indo-Western creations, he crafts contemporary designs. Crop tops, palazzos, skirts, tunic tops... he gives a quirky touch to each of them while crafting. <br /><br />“Indian textiles is not boring. One can work around rich colours and they can be worn by anyone at anytime. I modernise the traditional textiles with my contemporary style. Hence you can see that the saris I design have unconventional pockets that make the simple wear elegant and quirky,” he explains. <br /><br />His Spring-Summer collection has long dresses, shirts, gowns, which inculcate a layered styling — all designed with handcrafted and hand dyed fabrics. He says he is doing his bit to revive the dying art and the artisans, and explains, “While selling my designs, I make sure to let my customer know the effort that has gone behind these fabrics. My designs cater to all sections of the society as they are affordable clothes with a touch of luxury. They combine detailed colours.”<br /><br /> While it is the Indian textiles that inspire him to create innovative designs, his mother too played a role in grooving his designing career.<br /><br />“As a kid I always read the fashion magazines and watched the celebrities talk about fashion all the time. I used to have a collage made of all the fashionable stuff I saw. My mother stitched clothes and I saw her sit on the sewing machine, making shirts for me. While she was away, I took over the machine stitching some baby clothes,” he recalls.<br />After his Pre-University, he joined the fashion and textile course for degree. He has not looked back since. <br /><br />While his personal style is organic — white shirt, trousers and jacket — he says, “I yearn to take Indian textiles into mainstream fashion and help it get the limelight it deserves.”</p>
