Power dressing

Though the election dust has settled down,people who were glued to the television on May 16,the day the 15th Lok Sabha results were declared...

Though the election dust has settled down,people who were glued to the television on May 16,the day the 15th Lok Sabha results were declared,would remember a triumphant Sonia Gandhi in a deep crimson sari,smiling alongside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when the Congress marked a historic win. Besides the electoral drama,the moment was marked by a style statement too. While Congress President Sonia Gandhis daughter Priyanka dug into her grandmas old trunk for saris during campaigning in Amethi and Rae Bareli,Sonia trekked to textile designer Neeru Kumars colourful boutique in the upscale Santushti shopping complex for ikkat (handwover Orissa textile) saris.

Delhi-based designer Kumarwhose success in hand-woven textiles has given her a place of pride in Muji in Japan (one of Japans largest lifestyle boutiques with 300 stores in the country and 70 overseas),Maison & Objet and Le Bon in France,Bloomingdales in New York and at Liberty and Selfridges in the UKacknowledges that Sonia is a frequent visitor. Madam is very interested in textiles and her taste is understated. She wears a lot of ikkats,cotton and silks for summer with a simple plain border that makes a very strong style statement. Its also very graphic in character, says Kumar,52.

The sari Sonia Gandhi wore on that day was a moga silk and cotton sari. It has the sheen of silk and the lightness of cotton. Its extremely comfortable and the combination of silk and cotton prevents it from getting crushes, says Kumar,who has been designing saris since the 1980s.

The boutique,called Tulsi,set up in 1987,sees an exclusive clientelefrom women walking down the power corridor to those from the film fraternity. Renuka Chowdhury,Sheila Dikshit and Priyanka Gandhi often shop here,and so does writer-activist Arundhati Roy. Kumar says,I dont really follow who wears what. I love creating textiles using weavers skills. Nobody gives me a brief. I am lucky to be discovered by the right people. People who have an understanding of textiles buy my designs.

Deepa Bajwa,who has been managing Tulsi since 2002,says Sonia is very humble and she usually picks up the clothes herself. Priyanka often comes along with her mother. During the swearing-in ceremony,Priyanka sported a deep mauve sari from Kumars collection. Priyanka has a lemon green sari with stripes which she wears quite often and its her favourite, says Bajwa.

Kumars contemporary ikkat saris are popular among expatriates and ministers for their textile value. The borders are not heavy with motifs and the pallu has also been simplified. Usually,you see traditional motifs such as fish on the border that render a very heavy look. And the pallus have a lot of pattern. I have reduced the ornamentation, says Kumar.

(Tulsi is at 19,Santushti Shopping complex,Race Course Road. Contact: 26870339)

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