Ladies Tailors

There’s a distinctive mark of each designer’s personality on the garments he makes. Ferreira’s philosophy is that fashion will end where it began—with a piece of cloth. It’s a philosophy he’s incorporated in every design he’s created. There’s a lime-green cotton shift,rather simple at first glance,but turn it around and you notice how the two sides of the garment cross each other to drape onto opposite shoulders. Ferreira explains,“I believe that a dress should be capable of being worn in many ways. Then,it becomes an extension of the wearer’s personality and,after all,that’s what fashion is.” The veteran designer’s concerns are simple. “Clothes should be so comfortable that it should feel you aren’t wearing anything. That’s the essence of Indian fashion—comfort. Even the sari was originally meant to be worn without constricting garments underneath.” The effort has obviously paid off. Stylist Akanksha Nanda,who is also Ferreira’s muse,gushes,“You feel like you aren’t wearing anything,but you look in the mirror and see this stunning dress.” Sensousness is obviously essential; which is why he’s put silk inside the garments,so that the wearer can feel the fabric next to her skin.

Jon,on the other hand,likes to pull apart our ingrained notions about how clothes are worn. So with his clothes,a leg turns into a sleeve and an armhole becomes a detail. “I like the do-it-yourself idea of clothing,” he explains,“it’s essential to think out of the box. I like deconstructing clothes,play about with proportions,throw in an unexpected colour.” But despite the quirkiness that marks his designs,the Goa-based designer has a huge fan following and it owes it to the fact that he places a premium on comfort. “I believe in effortless clothing,which is relaxed and contemporary,but also essentially feminine. I feel that is why women love my clothes,because they feel so good in them.” Tina Tahiliani-Parikh,owner of Ensemble,bolsters Jon’s statement by saying,“When I wear a Savio Jon dress,I don’t feel I need a cinched waist to feel feminine. The way the garment drapes over my body is enough.”

Both designers emphasise the need to get back to the very basic of Indian fashion—tailoring. “There’s no shame in being called a tailor. After all,a designer is a glorified tailor. We should move away from the over-embellished creations that have come to represent Indian clothing and get back to our roots,” they add.