On a fashion joy ride
December 6, 2006
Nandita Mahtani on designing for films, cars, and re-introducing kurta to the West
Some designers piggyback on Bollywood to establish their brand. Others frown at the thought. Still others break the mould and every now and then thus refusing to be slotted into any group. Nandita Mahtani belongs to the last category. Designing clothes for the fashion conscious woman is her forte, but she believes in doing a few things at the spur of the moment. The risks have paid off too.
Room for vroom
She walked the ramp for her contemporaries Falguni and Shane Peacock. “I agreed because their designs are unique and appealed to my sensibilities. But honestly, I prefer being backstage,” laughs Nandita. Ask her about participating in a design contest held by Chevrolet and ultimately winning it, Nandita explains, “I love cars and felt that designing cars is similar to designing clothes. In both cases, the design should match the personality of the owner. I took part in the Chevrolet contest for fun. I was shocked when I won.”
A delayed flight, dropping energy levels after a bout of fever and shuttling between different cities doesn’t stop her from talking fashion. “It’s part of the job. There’s so much competition today that if I take a long break after a collection, I’ll lag behind. The adrenaline rush keeps me on my toes. People felt there was too much fashion this year with both FDCI and Lakme having two seasons of fashion weeks, but it’s important for a growing market. Working behind the scenes is entirely non-glamorous, contrary to the glamour associated with fashion.”
A brief visit to the city as part of Blenders Pride fashion tour 2006, she mulls over and declares, “Ever since I came to Hyderabad with my collection three years ago, I have a good client base here. Though I’ve been thinking of opening a store here that hasn’t happened. I’ve been concentrating on establishing my brand, Ananya, abroad.”
Her store at Nottinghill boasts of a celebrity clientele. Her new line of resort wear, presented at the Lakme India Fashion Week recently, has had many takers. “Both in India and the west, women are moving beyond the basic winter and summer wardrobe. People love to travel and resort wear gives them comfortable clothes that aren’t too structured.” Cashing on the popularity of Indian embellishments on western garments, she is now re-introducing the kurta to the west. “Kurtas with longer bell sleeves, kurtas cut like a tunic so that they can be worn as a dress or with jeans are good variations.”
If companion Dino Morea and actor Zayed Khan supported Nandita at the fashion week, it was with good reason. She is now designing clothes for Zayed and Riteish in Anubhav Sinha’s Cash. “Designing for the boys was a different thing altogether,” she laughs.”
