London Eye

For a designer whose label has recently completed five years — his first fashion showing was in the Gen Next category at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in 2007 — Nachiket Barve has done well for himself. Apart from garnering a loyal clientele,he has also won encouraging reviews. He was the first Indian designer to be invited to show at Coterie in New York (2008) as well as the Buenos Aires Fashion Week in Argentina (2010),and,adding to the international recognition,is his next outing,which will see him participate in the Festival of India in London on April 19.

Understandably,Barve is excited. “I am honoured by the fact that the British Council chose to invite me to display my collection at the Southbank Centre. It’s a great platform for my label; I will be showing a total of 10 looks from Caravan,my Autumn-Winter 2012-13 collection,as part of the show called Alchemy,” he points out. Interestingly,he had also won the British Council’s Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award in 2010.

In London,Barve plans to make the most of the opportunity and bust some myths about Indian fashion through his collection. “More often that not,people in the West are under the impression that Indian fashion is a Bollywood afflicted medium that’s driven by loud colours and heavy embroidery. But today,we have designs with a global sensibility and I want to communicate that through my line,” he asserts.

Back home,he also has other plans in the pipeline. “I am now designing accessories such as scarves,clutches and jewellery to complement my apparel line. I will also be launching a showroom-cum-studio space to cater to my clients’ bespoke needs; it should be functional in a month’s time,” he reveals.