Nine Yards of Heritage

Known for her drapes,it was only expected of Shaina to demonstrate her excellence in 54 different styles of draping saris,which showcase the textile heritage of Maharashtra. “Very few Indians patronise what is truly Indian. Maharashtra has a variety of traditional weaves and a fascinating textile industry,but it is not highlighted much,” says Shaina,citing the motive for choosing the weaves of Maharashtra as the theme for her latest bridal wear collection.

Working on the collection for three months,Shaina travelled across Maharashtra to source right fabrics. She picked up authentic chanderi from Solapur,cotton chanderi from Vidarbha and paithni from Nashik. “The beauty of chanderi is in its stiffness. The fall of the sari also depends on it. Different parts of Maharashtra offer different types of chanderi,all of which give a different look when you drape it,” says Shaina.

She worked with weavers across the state to produce the fabric required for her collection,but preferred not to interfere with their respective techniques. Stressing on the fact that her collection involves only authentic weaves as opposed to blended fabrics,Shaina says,“I let the weavers do their job as they have been doing it since ages. They know best about the fabric and how it must be produced,so I leave the entire process of fabric production in their hands.”

“The days of blouses with hooked-down fronts are gone. There is so much you can do with the blouse,which may even change the whole style of the sari,”says Shaina,whose range of blouse styles included tubes to low-cut sweetheart necklines to one-shoulder to corsets. Her colour palette was made up of hot pink,parrot green,purple,red,gold and silver.