Stretch a Story

It seems to be a month of alumni meets in the city and to top that star students have been making appearances. Even she agrees.

At a time when lycra was unheard of, Rina Dhaka remembers 8216;inventing8217; stretch Indian clothing! In town for a Carmelites reunion, the ace designer also talks of London, the Fashion weeks and Chandigarh that was once home

It seems to be a month of alumni meets in the city and to top that star students have been making appearances. Even she agrees. 8220;I heard JJ was here a couple of days back. I could have come with him! You know we are of the same age,8221; the lady dressed natty in a black jacket, jeans and boots spoke out loud. It wasn8217;t difficult to spot Rina Dhaka this Monday afternoon. Surrounded by a bevy of ladies her age, she was fast exchanging notes. 8220;I remember you8221; to 8220;did we spend a night at your place8221; to 8220;we used to go cycling with your cousin8221;8230;the ace designer was jogging her memory back and forth. And she had reasons to. Bringing her back to the city she schooled in 8211; class seven to eleven to be be precise 8211; and went a year of college to 8211; GCG-11 in this case 8211; was a reunion bash put together by her former classmates at Carmel Convent. 8220;I am so glad I am here. I have loved Chandigarh. It8217;s good to meet up with not just friends but even their families after all these years,8221; admitted Dhaka who incidentally is from the school8217;s class of 1983. 8220;We are celebrating our silver jubilee,8221; mentioned a former Carmelite as we got talking with Dhaka who is not just from the veteran though we know she8217;s young camp of Indian designers but is currently also on the board of the prestigious Fashion Design Council of India FDCI.

Before we bring up the back-to-back Fashion Weeks, Rina mentions her London trip. Though the designer has showcased her work at the Miami and Paris Fashion Weeks and is available off the shelf in London, this year saw her exhibit at the prestigious London Fashion Week. 8220;It was really nice for the business,8221; Rina mentioned. From what she tells us, the global meltdown is affecting the international fashion industry as well. 8220;But we Indians are lucky. We have festivities on our side. For example, there will always be a wedding and a Diwali to dress up for,8221; smiled Dhaka who is though upbeat about the Indian fashion weeks. 8220;FDCI organises the Wills Lifestyle Week and let me tell you there never has been such a platform for raw talent. The week is great for bringing in foreign buyers and revenue. Apart from that it8217;s given India it8217;s fashion image,8221; the designer made her point.

Interestingly, this Rohit Khosla protege who started out at 19 remembers her days. 8220;All we got to hear was shut up!8221; laughs Dhaka who through her role at FDCI is now planning to start a Model Rehabilitation Scheme for out of work models. Also keeping her busy this year will be, for a change, Bollywood. 8220;I am dressing up Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt for a film called 8216;Blue8217;,8221; mentions Rina who in the past has dressed up Urmila Matondkar and Katrina Kaif and actually did like Madhur Bhandarkar8217;s 8216;Fashion8217;.

Known for her smart styling, it8217;s a surprise when Dhaka mentions she 8216;invented8217; the stretch churidaar! 8220;What you get today in shopping malls was something I put together in the late 8216;80s,8221; Dhaka tells us. Those were times when lycra hadn8217;t shown up on Indian turf. 8220;I had catsuits which I would rip apart and make churidaars out of for a slimmer fit,8221; you hear her tell her 8216;stretch8217; story. And it8217;s an eye-opening one at that. Speaking of which, Rina tells us her copy cat industry is richer than her! 8220;What takes me months to put together gets copied in minutes,8221; she rues. Well, for the moment we are raising a toast to the original!