Talent Pool

Swati Jain,Jaipur

It was in the year 2010 that Swati Jain started her label,Swati Vijaivargie Jain,just after she quit her family business of home textiles and rugs. It has been a successful shift,with Jain now retailing in 14 stores across India — in Mumbai,Delhi,Gurgaon,Hyderabad,Pune,Nagpur and Ahmedabad. “Jaipur is the best place to work with textiles. I have experimented with the tie-and-dye technique and everything I design has bursts of colour,” says the 34-year-old. Not surprisingly,her last collection was called Rang. “It showcased a lot of colours,hand textures and patterns typical of Rajasthan,” says the designer,who line of 12 outfits — to be showcased at the Talent Box category — includes dresses,tunics,jackets,kurtas and saris in fabrics such as chiffon,khadi,georgette and cotton weaves.

Shubham Kumar,Chandigarh

A final-year fashion design student at Chandigarh’s Inter-National Institute of Fashion Design,Shubham Kumar is the youngest participant in the Talent Box category at LFW. He will present his capsule collection,India Lives Here,comprising 12 Indo-western outfits. “I went to the villages of Punjab to research for my collection. I filmed the way the weavers spun khadi,the way it is dyed and stitched,” says Kumar,who tried to print on the fabric but failed to get the desired results. So instead,he got images of people working in the villages of Punjab printed on other cotton weaves and stitched it to khadi. “I wanted to present the fascinating working styles of villagers and the cultural diversities of village life in India,” says the 21-year-old,who has been mentored by designer-stylist Aki Narula. The collection comprising jackets and dresses is handmade in khadi.

Shruti Sancheti,Nagpur

It is not just a collection but a movement,” says Shruti Sancheti,as she readies her collection to be showcased in the Emerging Designers category at LFW. On a “mission” to revive handloom industries and give Indian textiles a worldwide appeal,she has collaborated with the Maharashta State Handloom to produce an exclusive blend of cotton and silk for her collection,inspired by the Swadeshi movement. Asymmetrical patterns have been the USP of her two-year-old label,Pinnacle. “Indian weaves such as khadi come in darker shades of red and moss green. I have used fabrics with checks and stripes in pastel shades such as champagne pink,baby blue and violet,” says the 38-year-old. West Bengal’s famous kantha embroidery also plays a dominant role in her collection. “The identity of my label lies with the work that I do with Indian weavers. For my last collection,I collaborated with the weavers from Vidarbha,” says Sancheti,who retails at 26 stores across India and seven international stores. “I think living in Nagpur has worked to my advantage. It is very easy to travel to the villages where I can work with the weavers and innovate the fabrics I use,” she adds.