Little Shilpa Wows International Fashion Press
18-10-2013
The Little Shilpa SS14 collection GREY MATTER launched at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week to huge acclaim and then took Paris by storm with a dramatic presentation at the Silencio club.
The presentations reflected the alternate spectrums of fantasy and reality, with intimate presentations that created an immersive theatrical experience. Shilpa Chavan was thrilled to showcase her collection for the first time with Fashion Scout and also create a show in the stunningly designed club Silencio, David Lynch’s club named after the cult venue in his 2001 movie Mulholland Drive.
GREY MATTER sees Little Shilpa dismantle the sari and re-assemble it after an ingenious series of seven steps.
Little Shilpa plays with the decidedly orthodox norms associated with the sari and the katori or bowl choli (top/blouse worn underneath the sari) by transforming them into shirts, while the pre-draped sari-skirts are worn not with the conventional blouses or corsets but with men’s shirts, bow-ties, collars and tee shirts. It is an endeavour to open up the sari, or un-wrap it up, rather, to more sartorial experimentation. Little Shilpa also puts the perspex into perspective by pairing vertiginous headpieces (her interpretation of a contemporary neo-modern Bombay bazaar) with the outfits. Textiles used include tulle, brocade, silk and lace in a palette of muted green, blue, green, grey and black with a hint of old gold. The headpieces also incorporate the same fabrics, where Shilpa envelops cut-outs from brocade saris with perspex, in a move to hold traditions close, but with a modern outlook over it.
In the GREY MATTER collection the dramatic showpieces are matched with a collection of covetable, wearable headpieces, neckpieces and epaulets. Pieces are all individually designed and each piece carries its own story.
Little Shilpa, the eponymous label of Shilpa Chavan, offers handcrafted, wearable headpieces, accessories and jewellery drawing inspiration from travels, interaction with various cultures, local influences and observations. Each collection takes a vintage thought and transcends it into a modern product using a variety of materials.
