A traditional ode to the modern woman

BANGALORE : The traditional yet modern attire, the saree, is a classic piece of apparel which has stood the test of time. The six yard cloth that is infused with intricate and beautiful craftsmanship, bright hues and the distinct designs adorns the woman and lends her not only an elegant look but one that can give any order style of clothing a run for their money. Simplicity and sensuality are synonymous with the traditional Indian saree.Launched over half a decade ago, the niche boutique, run by mother and daughter duo, Chandra and Neeta recently launched the third outlet of the boutique in Jayanagar. The launch saw a ‘Fashion walk by Women of Substance’, a representative mix of woman achievers from the city. The event that was all about glamour, style, music and flashbulbs displayed a stunning range of bold sarees by the duo.Speaking about the opening of the new boutique, Neeta says, “We are ecstatic to expand our presence in a fashion forward metropolitan city like Bangalore with such an eclectic mix of people. Sakhi admires, salutes and celebrates the modern Indian woman and her values - to stand out in a crowd, to be different, to have courage to question the ordinary, to take ones well deserved place, to be responsible, to take charge and to transform. ”The collection includes Kanchivaram silk, chiffons, georgette and banaras net which are the most preferred fabrics of the season. The lines sees a lot of fun and intriguing experiments by the designers. The combination of the classic Kanchivarm with plush velvet,  the pairing of French Chantilly lace with Indian chiffon silk and the transformation of coarse fabrics like jute into delicate Banaras silk have been achieved flawlessly by the duo.Bright colours attracted everyone’s attention. So are the sober colours which make one look stylish. Sakhi has collection of sarees and other ethnic wear which has hues ranging from creams, off-white, baby pinks, blues and deep maroons to fashionable modern colours like magenta, fuscia pink, aqua green and turquoise blue with a touch of brilliant yellow. These are some of the colours chosen for this season. As far as the embellishments are concerned they have used a lot of cut-work and patch-work in their collection. Broad borders and delicate patch work was another technique used by them to achieve exquisite sarees. As far as the themes and inspiration for the collection is concerned, apart from contemporary motifs and designs, the Chandras have cleverly imbibed nature’s elements as well in their work.Speaking about her collection she says, “Creativity is limitless at the launch of every collection. I wonder ‘What Next’? And the answer just presents itself. We are blessed with so many Indian crafts and fabrics and nature puts forth such wonderful colours, one only needs to put these elements together and a new collection is born. This season we have worked a lot with Organza silk, the feather light fabric, that is easy to handle. It may be a bit stubborn to drape but a fitted blouse and saree creates a gown like effect and is very glamorous. We have also used Banaras net, Tussar silk and experimented with Kanchiavarm Silk.”