Women throng a city hotel to splurge in fashion basics, trendy items, Friday
Soumika Das, OP
Bhubaneswar, June 23: A slice of Kolkata and Delhi had descended upon the temple city, when designers from these cities showcased the best of their collections at a city hotel. A palette of refreshing colours and assorted breezy fabrics upped the glamour quotient of Bhubaneswar, as the two-day annual exhibition titled ‘Mélange’ kick-started, Friday. Visitors and fashionistas from various parts of the temple city and Cuttack thronged the exhibition to grab trendy silhouettes and shiny embellishments. Keeping the evolving trends in view, the exhibition showcased
tussar and silk kurtis in the ethnic section. The famed ‘Katha’ work of Bengal on dupattas was on offer for the visitors. The hand-embroidered tussar, silk or chiffon dupattas were being sold with selfcoloured linen or tussar kurtis. The dupattas were priced between `1,500 to `4,000. “It is the season for
Khadi linen. Thus, I have used linen for the kurtis. The dupattas are hand-painted and coloured with natural dyes. It takes a lot of patience to design and embroider a dupatta. My workers took six months to do theKathawork on a particulardupatta,” said designer Jyoti Bhagat, who has put up a stall at the exhibition. The exhibition featured a special collection of hand-bags and furnishing items. These were not the
common leather bags, bed covers or table-runners. These items bore digital prints. Jujhar Singh of Delhi
had been running a business of digital printing of garments for over 15 years. However, he has now shifted his focus to bags and furnishing items. “My wife is an artist. We scan her designs and paintings and make digital prints of these designs on bags and other accessories,” Singh added. Budding designers from the city also exhibited their eye-pleasing
collections at the event. For some, it was a moment of immense joy as they got to live their dreams. “I have worked for three years in a multinational company as an engineer. But, my love for fashion designing compelled me to quit the job and take it up as a profession,” said Nitika of IRC Village in the city . The young designer showcased her ‘marigold collection’ at the event. Long gowns with exclusive self
created floral prints by Nitika attracted the young visitors. Contemporary jwellery items in semi-precious stones from Kolkata made a way into the hearts of the denizens. The exhibition offered a wide variety of earrings— from rose quartz tops, hand-painted silver Chandbalis with kundan works to hand-cut peacock jhumkas. The earrings were priced between `800 to `5,000. Sangietaa Joggani of Kolkata presented the boho-chic style of dressing to the denizens. She exhibited her collection of bohemian and asymmetrical cuts. The exhibition also featured a collection of hand-painted kettles, designed by specially-abled children. They used bright fabric colours to paint aluminum kettles and cups, to be used as decorative items. There was also a stall on herbal products for health and wellness. Herbal tea, made of amla and green tea, was a big hit among the visitors.
