Darning Designer Dreams

Sitting pretty on what is fast turning out to be Mumbaiacirc;euro;trade;s designer street, Payal Singhal has made her mark with a swank...

Sitting pretty on what is fast turning out to be Mumbaiacirc;euro;trade;s designer street, Payal Singhal has made her mark with a swanky store in no time at all. Called Payal Singhal after her label, the store enjoys its own place next to Sangita Kathiwadaacirc;euro;trade;s and Rohit Balacirc;euro;trade;s Melange, as well as Poonam Soniacirc;euro;trade;s Signature store for designer jewellery, on posh Altamount Road. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!

However, it would be wrong to assume that the Altamount Road-boutique which opened early last year is Payalacirc;euro;trade;s first claim to designer dreams. In November 1999, she opened her first boutique on Juhu Tara Road. And prior to that she had won the Shoppersacirc;euro;trade; Stop Designer of The Year award twice in a row in 1993 and 1994. Also to her credit are the prestigious Smirnoff International Fashion Awards in 1995 and 1996 and the Danabhai Jewellersacirc;euro;trade; Most Elegant Collection award at SNDTacirc;euro;trade;s Fashion Design graduation show. Plus, during the acirc;euro;tilde;instable periodacirc;euro;trade; she spent three years designing for MTV veejays.

As if thatacirc;euro;trade;s not enough, she happens to belong to a family that has been in the garment industry for long. acirc;euro;oelig;Well, in my family I was always surrounded by the arts: my parents were in the garment business and my grandfather was a painter. And then the two Shopper Stop awards just pushed me towards designing and I enrolled into SNDTacirc;euro;trade;s fashion designing course after completing HSC in Commerce from HR College,acirc;euro; says Payal.

Designing hip and hep clothes for Mumbaiacirc;euro;trade;s hip and hep teenagers is Payalacirc;euro;trade;s forte. acirc;euro;oelig;My clientele is very young, from 15 years to 29 years. And my designs are not traditional at all, with very less gold or zardozi work. Though the clothes I work on are Indian salwar kameez, sarees the designs are funky,acirc;euro; she says.

In order to keep up with the latest fashions and embellishments, Payal reads international magazines. acirc;euro;oelig;I pick up a lot of silhouettes from these magazines and by reading them I am also constantly researching,acirc;euro; she says. And are there any Indian influences? acirc;euro;oelig;Well, I love Suneet Vermaacirc;euro;trade;s handiwork. He is always experimenting with colours and designs. When I had been to Delhi and visited a few boutiques, nothing else but Suneetacirc;euro;trade;s work caught my eye,acirc;euro; she says.

Payalacirc;euro;trade;s labels can also be found at FFolio in Bangalore and Signature and Anjuman in Delhi. And while her trendy designs are fast catching the imagination of Mumbaiacirc;euro;trade;s affluent customers, she still remembers the design she created at SNDT as one she has not yet been able to surpass: acirc;euro;oelig;It was a black bridal-wear piece with an embroidered choli in lycra. I slaved on it for close to six months! The challenge and energy had a different feeling as a student. I have never beenable to match it in terms of both hardwork and enthusiasm.acirc;euro;

All said and done, at 24, Payal has a long way to go in terms of experimentation8230; and a long time to grow as a celebrity designer with class. With both time and enthusiasm on her side, it should not be too difficult to surpass that graduation design soon.