It was while growing up in Tirbin,a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh,that Jenjum Gadi got his first glimpse into the world of fashion. While the men wrapped a loin cloth around their torso and tied a rectangular piece of cloth around the neck,the women wore bright colours and sported bead necklaces. It is this imagery and its influence,amalgamated with modernity,that the 30-year-old designer is putting on the ramp at the upcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2012,in Delhi. It is tough to be commercial and still stick to your roots in this industry. In North India,gota is bling but in the place where I come from,colours and beads are considered bling, says Gadi,as he tries to coordinate a bead necklace with a short dress from his collection,at his Shahpur Jat studio in Delhi. After finishing school in his native state,Gadi travelled to Delhi,sluggishly finished two years in a Delhi University college,and finally went on to pursue fashion technology at the Wigan & Leigh College campus in Sainik Farms. His graduation collection won the best collection award at the finale,which was incidentally attended by designer Rohit Bal. Bal saw my collection and offered me a job. I worked under him for seven months. There was so much freedom there we could use 100 metres of cloth and he wouldnt mind as long as it looked good, he adds. It was after this that Gadi collaborated with his batch mate,Jasleen Kochchar,and the brand Koga took birth. They now supply to various fashion stores across India,be it Aza in Delhi or Creo in Mumbai,apart from their regular customers in the Middle East. Interestingly,this is Gadis first solo show ever since Koga debuted at the Lakme Fashion Week four years ago. Jasleen is busy handling her family business,so Im showcasing alone and in a way Jenjum the brand gets launched, he says. With his debut solo collection,he is treading a risky path as he drifts from the conventional winter colour palette comprising blacks and browns and adds more than just a dash of colour. Blues,reds,mustards,greens these are the prominent colours,along with beadwork that clearly has the Tirbin stamp. You dont get these beads anywhere except in Arunachal Pradesh, says Gadi,as he shows a short party dress,heavy on sequin work,with a striking patch of beads on it. While most of the pieces from his collection have a very tribal feel,with the colour palette,texture and bead work,a few garments stand out particularly for being heavy on gota. Gadi squirms a little and says,Its for the masses a more commercial range. With a growing clientele,the launch of a solo brand and Bal branding him as one of the brightest upcoming designers in India,Gadi has only one grouse. My father still asks if I would want to come back and do something serious. He hasnt seen my studio and has never attended my show, he says.
