Fashion is a part of every culture. Each country or region has a definition of good taste. And if you enjoy learning about the latest trends, then you might like knowing about the people behind them. Since tastes in clothing and design can change anytime, staying informed is key. A good fashion designer can create good standards through good quality, time and talent. These standards should help you determine what’s best to wear for your age and profession. They should also help you dress right for the occasion.
The Importance of Good Taste and Why Fashion Matters
Many of us don’t really take time to consider our style of dress. For example, there are many times when you may be in a hurry. You’re running late for an event, for work, or to meet a good friend for dinner. In these situations, your first impulse is to grab the first set of clothes you see. You might opt for something more comfortable, such as sweats or a pair of old jeans. In any case, you may be thinking about being on time. You have a lot to do and to accomplish, so clothing style is the last thing that’s on your mind.
But there are many benefits to following the latest trends. In keeping up with what’s in style, you’ll realize the following:
- Fashion says a lot about you.
- Following trends can boost your overall self-confidence.
- It offers you a valuable blueprint on what’s appropriate for certain situations.
- Fashion helps you make a good first impression in any situation.
If any of these statements are making you roll your eyes, they really shouldn’t. Your dress style tells others about you. Simple things like making sure your pants fit right and tucking your shirt in are an excellent start. You should take care to ensure that your jeans aren’t hanging so far down that you need suspenders to hold them up. And while holes in those Levi’s might look cool for going to hear your favorite metal bands, they’re hardly appropriate for most other situations. Work, a first date, or going to a dressy restaurant call for better alternatives.
Fashion provides an excellent blueprint that guides you through every situation. There are many styles for every occasion, so getting good ideas can be easy. Fashion designers worldwide create a variety of clothing styles that match beauty with comfort.
Top Indian Fashion Designers
The Asian market is bustling with the latest trends. New names in apparel and accessories have risen in recent years. Several trends in fashion design from India have both the East and the West intrigued. Indian Fashion designers in India are accelerating their collections at top speed, and they’re not about to slow down.
A good designer is a guide and a teacher. They can show you the way to go in any occasion. So whether it’s a family wedding, work, school, or being social, you can choose something that suits you from any fashion designer within your region.
1. Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Brides and local celebrities alike should be familiar with Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s work. His vast apparel line includes clothing such as the bridal lehenga, a popular outfit among young bride-to-be. It has a long skirt that drapes around your feet just like a curtain. You can order it in almost any design, from a plain color to a floral pattern. You don’t have to be a bride to order the dress because it can be worn on any special occasion, such as a dinner party or a graduation. It can even be worn everyday if it happens to be your style.
But the lehenga wasn’t Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s only achievement during his fashion career. There were other classy apparel that he had invented before. Born on February 23, 1974, Sabyasachi realized that he had a passion for finer tastes from an early age. He grew up in Kolkata and immersed himself in local culture. This interest soon spawned an intense desire for new ideas on clothing trends.
Sabyasachi took his inspiration and created a line of bridal wear that’s vibrant and colorful. He centered his creations around a single tenet where he turned imperfection into an asset rather than a liability. This gave him plenty of room for creativity as he strove for a collection that would surpass all expectations. Sabyasachi took much inspiration from his hometown. He blended images of ordinary people and created a patchwork style that earned him respect in Indian society. He wove each element with a classic medieval flair. This new trend attracted many local celebrities, including Priyanka Chopra, winner of the 2000 Miss World beauty pageant.
2. Rohit Bal
If you’re thinking Kashmir, then look no further. Rohit Bal grew up in that town. He fell in love with traditional Indian designs and later found a way to blend them in with a modern touch. His studies at St. Stephen College and NIFT reflected his early interest in studying apparel and its impact on consumers. Rohit placed great emphasis on lotus and peacock iconography as he designed and developed his own clothing line.
Rohit’s experience began when he partnered up with his brother Rajiv to form the Company Orchid Oversea in 1986. Four years later, he struck out on his own and began working on his clothing ideas. Later, he was hired to create apparel for an Indian show called Kaun Banega Crorepati. He went on to begin his business in Delhi when he started a small chain of stores than spanned in a variety of cities across the region, including Kolkata. His interests varied and he began crafting creations in jewelry and other accessories as well. Rohit’s interests soon captured worldwide audiences. He was soon doing business with clientele in the United States, including Uma Thurman, Cindy Crawford, and Pamela Anderson.
3. Manish Mahotra
At 55, Manish Mahotra has had a fantastic career that’s led to a full and interesting life for him. He’s crossed paths with some very influential clients such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Reese Witherspoon, and Micheal Jackson. He’s done work for some members of India’s royalty, most notably Princess Riyadh, whose wedding outfits he designed. He’s also used his talents to bring his home country out in many ways. Manish managed to make India contemporary and keep it that way without sacrificing its historic integrity.
A native of Mumbai, Manish started getting creative around age 10 when he drew just for fun. His interests in the fine arts led him to help his mother improve her wardrobe with his own suggestions. He took his studies further when he attended art college in his hometown before going to Bangkok and Singapore for further inspiration.
His interests would land him his very first gig as a store clerk for Equinox, a small store on the outskirts of Bandra. Manish’s creative sparks flew and took him to new heights. At the behest of his store manager, Manish experimented with his apparel ideas. He put together scraps of clothing and made masterpieces with them. He used them on each of the mannequins on display and soon attracted more business for the store. Although he was paid a humble sum of no greater than 500 rupees, he found the work fulfilling. And needless to say, he got his start and soon moved on to bigger and better things. Today, he is known as one of the most influential people to lead India’s apparel design industry.
4. Anita Dongre
Anita Dongre is a native of Jaipur who knew exactly what she wanted to do at an early age. Her career decision was to be a fashion designer where she would create several apparel masterpieces at once. Anita understood the value of fine clothing and its impact on personal well-being. She knew that a well-dressed person was a confident person, and she built her entire business based on that one, simple principle. When she started in 1995, she went to college for fashion design. After earning her degree in that field, Anita sought to start her career based on the philosophy of empowering women through fashion.
Anita’s empire uses sustainability which includes a vast lineup of organic clothing that has elements of formal and informal modes. Her current lineup embodies both the East and the West, and she’s created templates that produce clothing that’s purely American to the core.
Today, Anita Dongre has several boutiques across India that sell both clothing and accessories. Her mission is to stretch beyond urban borders and reach poor women who live in the most remote regions of India. She’s gone beyond boundaries to include them in her business and offer them career advancement opportunities through support and job training. Her fine business acumen has lifted several out of poverty and provided a way to a much better life.
5. Neeta Lulla
Here’s another one for India’s burgeoning wedding and formal industry. Meet Neeta Lulla, who designs attire for those and other milestone occasions. She’s created numerous lehengas for Bollywood’s most notorious clients. Her most famous one to date is the actress Aishwarya Rai. She designed the wedding dress for her marriage to Abhishek Bachchan several years ago. Her other dealings included clients such as Divya Bharti and Shilpa Shetty, to name a few. But where did she start her career in trendy attire?
It turns out that she began her career when she bought her first sewing machine at an early age. From there, she took an active interest in India’s fashion industry and started looking at rising trends in the field. From her old sewing machine came a variety of clothing that would later result in her receiving over 300 film credits. She then won several awards and accolades for her work at a national level. Her work started in 1985 when she started with her ideas.
A few years later, Neeta won an award for Best Costume Design for Lamhe, a love saga starring Yash Chopra and Anil Kapoor. She received three other major film awards for her work and went on to win seven other honors.
Neeta is noted for having a good attitude that includes her desire to create something that lasts. Her creations embody quintessential Indian history with a dash of the medieval. Those tastes are reflected in her many lehengas. The style reflects a hint of cloisonné, a form of art that’s used in painting with metal. And it appears to make her lehengas stand out as pieces that are metallic in nature.
Neeta once stated that style outlives fashion. And she’s absolutely right. If created rightfully, you’ll have style rather than fashion, which will live for years or even centuries to come.
6. Anamika Khanna
With Anamika Khanna, it’s all about the modern. Her contemporary style is centered around creating textile-like designs for her own style. In fact, her vast collection has nothing but that. So if you’re thinking modern art, you’ve chosen the right person.
Anamika Khanna adds a touch of the Western with colors and shading. Her floor length dresses have stucco styles that you would be more likely to see if you lived in the Midwest. One of her most noted creations is a formal dress that has deep brown angular designs that point downwards. These are cast in a solid light beige background. The figures come together amid this background, and because they point downwards, they somehow give more fullness and length near the bottom. This offers a hint of classic elegance yet brings out a lot of strength.
Anamika Khanna was born in Jodhpur in 1971. She opened a studio in Kolkata then went on to unleash her own brand, Ana Mika. She then showcased her work at international events in major cities such as London and Lakme. Anamika based her inspiration from clothing worn by famous figures such as Gandhi.
Her style became influenced and she started creating lineups with Western textile themes. Anamika continued sharing her work in Lakme and even went on to show her apparel at the local summer resort. From there, she attracted famous clients such as Sonaam Kapoor, who was seen wearing one of Anamika’s many creations at the Cannes Film Festival.
Perhaps one of the most influential people to ever sport one of her creations was Oprah Winfrey. Oprah loved Anamika Khanna and her talent so much that she was spotted wearing something created by her at several major events, including a Black Panther meeting.
7. Rita Kumar
If you value experience, think Rita Kumar. Her career spans a little over five decades. Now, at 73, she is fully seasoned and still doing what she does best: fashion design. Rita Kumar continues to hold herself to a high standard with her various projects.
Rita Kumar was born in 1944 in Amritsar. She relocated to Simla and started her education there. She attended Lady Irwin College and then transferred to New York City to study art history. She gained a sense of culture through her studies and went on to pursue museology in her home country. Both academic programs gave Rita a sense of culture, style and taste. She transformed those values and soon shaped her own fashion career.
Like most of her peers, Rita started her career by designing wedding attire. She later moved on to develop ideas for other occasions. Her collection spans many genres of fashion, from the formal to the informal. Her current interest is the sari, a women’s garment that wraps around your waist and has a piece you can drape over your shoulder.
Most of her other creations include a fusion of East and West, which drew her a lot of attention worldwide. Some of her most influential clients include Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, and the late Princess Diana. And with her emphasis on casual colors and traditional sewing techniques, it comes as no surprise.
8. Masaba Gupta
Born in 1989, Masaba Gupta is the daughter of actress Neena Gupta and Vivian Richard’s. She started her career at 19 by showcasing her work at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, where she got discovered. From there, Masaba went on to bring a sense of culture into her style by blending traditional Indian wear with a Western touch. Her vast collection isn’t limited to a single size. If anything, Masaba Gupta creates all types of designs that are meant for all shapes and sizes.
Her traditional saris are deep red with a nice gold trim and fine print to match. Archaic inlays adorn her long dresses and grace them with good taste. Yellows, pinks and deep bamboo greens add strength and vibrancy to her collection. She’s even woven ordinary icons such as cows into the tapestry of her apparel to bring out their inner beauty. Her work caught the eyes of many and even landed her contracts with big names like Puma India and Game of Thrones.
Conclusion
As previously stated by Neeta Lulla, style outlives fashion. It is, in fact, the reason for fashion. Whether it’s a peasants outfit from medieval times or a style from the 1960s, it can be used to create something brand new. Regardless of who makes the clothing, it’s all about bringing it together for everyone to enjoy.
