Trousseau trove  

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The story always comes first, I then build in the trends, the colours and the silhouettes and add to that the music and the presentation,” says Narendra Kumar about the process involved in the creation of his collections. Despite being known for translating societal fault lines and prejudices into striking runway narratives, the Mumbai-based designer was one of the first couturiers to go online as early as 2003 gone online and now looks to expand his brand with the launch of his online retail store making his creations accessible to Kochi fashionistas. Also the creative director of Amazon.com, Naendra Kumar recently unveiled his Winter/Festive ’17 collection ‘The Marriage of Shayla Patel’ at LFW and forayed into film making releasing a four-part video series on social media alongside the launch of his trousseau line.  

The four-part collection, each represented by a colour, features tailored jackets, jumpsuits, pleated kurtas, cocktail gowns, embroidered pants, anarkalis and grand embellished cholis and lehengas in fabrics like taffetas, silks and velvets making for a complete wedding trousseau for the bride and her entourage.
Tell us a little about the thought that went into the creation of the collection? How did it develop into four chapters, with one colour representing each chapter?

The film and collection took us through the mind of Shayla, who born to rich Indian parents was asked to come back to India to marry a husband chosen by her family. Her turmoil was divided into stages from beige (environment), green (nature, nurture and family), blue (her own internal turmoil) and finally red (about the decision to be made).  Each of the colours represent a state of mind and therefore dictated the palette. The silhouettes though were dictated by a contemporary global appeal of what I would like to see people wear at a cocktail party while infusing a sense of Indianness. 

The Marriage of Shayla Patel deals with heavy embroidery and embellishment. Could you tell us a little bit more about the surface detailing that has gone into the collection?
The collection focuses on embroidery that is both lightweight and elaborate in nature, comprising of gold leaf work, organza appliqué, sequins as well as zardozi work. The motifs are inspired by 15th Century Iznek ceramic tiles from Anatolia (Turkey), with floral interpretations of Art Deco.
Trousseau is big this year, with multiple designers foraying into the creation of such lines. Do you see it as a trend? 

Wedding trousseau has always been the mainstay for the Indian designer. All our careers are built around it as most Indians spend lavishly on it. But as the trends show, the community of spenders is getting younger both in spirit and age and looking for things that are compatible with their changing lifestyle — clothes that have an Indian feel but with a global appeal. It also signifies the rise of the Cocktail Party and Sangeet as being an important occasion to dress around where there is greater freedom to experiment.

Future projects?
While my focus continues to remain on the Narendra Kumar brand and its expansion by setting up my e-commerce portal, having found a new passion in filmmaking, I am exploring the idea of directing and producing a feature-length film, in a fashionable package, ofcourse. We are looking at a summer release. I am also looking forward to the invitation to showcase The Marriage of Shayla Patel at the Film Festival in Brisbane in November this year.