Two Too Much

The low-profile couple met while working under Rohit Bal. As designers,their excellence at pattern-making distinguishes them in India’s crowded retail scenario. It could be a Japanese art of knitting or an ancient Polish paper cutting technique — their work so far,has delved into rich,handmade and folk techniques from various global cultures. One of their collections last year was inspired by ‘sashiki no donza’,a Japanese knitting technique with detailing,workmanship and soothing colour combinations. They got the first prize in the “Most Creative Design” category by the International Apparel Federation in 2011,the first for an Indian fashion label. “This time,we have been inspired by Wycinanki,a Polish folk art form,” says Pankaj explaining the art of folding a sheet of paper before cutting it with scissors to make a design.

A geeky pair,they spend hours reading and researching a craft. “It took us a few weeks to perfect Wycinanki. Every motif has been cut by scissors,not a machine,nor is it laser cutting,” explains Pankaj. “We’ve used felt as the fabric to avoid fraying,” adds Nidhi. If there is Wycinanki on short dresses,there are jackets and pants with cross-stitching leather giving it a new edge.

It is,however,their Indian clothes including salwar kameez that brings them the money. Never seen on the ramp,these are available in their stores and fetches them 80 per cent of their business. Pankaj argues that it makes better sense to showcase western wear on the ramp for buyers from other countries.

The duo is the favourite of Sonam Kapoor,Kiran Rao,Karishma Kapoor,and even Aamir Khan among other Bollywood names.