Clothing that’s true to your mood

HYDERABAD: Does fashion mean being in vogue with appearances alone? Not necessarily for Sai Nikhila Adusumilli, 21, a Hyderabadi fashionista studying at NIFT Kannur (Kerala) who is now redefining style and chic with vehemence in her ensembles. A meritorious student, her journey towards fashion comes in unique hues, giving clothing a new feel. It all began when Nikhila accompanied her friend for the unprepared NIFT entrance, at which ironically, she cleared the entrance, and her friend did not.

Setting high standards of free spirited designs,  Nikhila’s final design  project was nothing short of a glam fantasy for any girl! Her collection themed ‘Narcotic Inflorescene’, does not signify drugs. Inspired by the semiconscious state of euphoria that the 2015 Bollywood movie Udta Punjab oozed and the colour palette that American pop singer Miley Cyrus sported at the Met Gala; Nude and Black, Narcotic Inflorescence screamed multiple emotions. “When you wake up, there is a daze right before you open your eyes.

My aim was to bring the daze to life. Why should your attire look happy all the time? There are ups and downs in life. My collection reflects the mood, yet glamorous,” says the trendsetting designer who worked for about four months to bring the idea into execution. After having differences with the teachers, the jury and practicality, she designed five garments with slits, overcoats and a hand shrug with depictions of the sleep induced person’s perception of different flowers using polyester fabrics and Lurex that brought shine and jazz to the garments.

Since childhood, Nikhila grew up watching all kinds of fabrics teasing her eyes and had her preferences in clothing straight. She took every opportunity to style her own clothes and thoroughly enjoyed the pouring compliments. “I liked it when people said, ‘Oh you look nice today.’ These intangible things lead me to fashion,” she says.  The BBA dropout decided to take up Bachelors in Textile Design while NIFT was the only do or die option backed by motivation and statistics by her parents. Soon, Nikhila landed at NIFT, Kannur in Kerala.

Her creative designs started incubating when she gave her best shot at block printing. While block printing basically works on a sequence, Nikhila broke the rule with a perfectly asymmetric galaxy background with block prints of different constellation out of raw silk. After prolonged arguments with her teachers on the unconventional idea, the constellations worked their way through her apparel with great appreciation. In her third and fourth semester, she was asked to work with the combination of Tie Dye and Batik technique. 

While coming up with quirky ideas, she often questions herself, “If it was me, what would I wear? What would people not expect?” After brainstorming for outlandish ideas, she picked certain dirty and pollution colours to work with. Looking at the colours only she could have chosen, her friends asked if she was hunting for a sewage design on a lighter tone. Her design was themed ‘Cities’ that she developed using the batik technique for the buildings and tie dye for clouds which was one of the most innovative utlisation of the two techniques put together.

A part of NIFT’s textile designing curriculum demands the students to design clothes keeping a particular brand in mind. Vero Moda was Nikhila’s brand in mind. Every brand has certain commonalities for a season; it may be certain prints, silhouettes or colours. Her print design project was themed ‘Crude Blossom’ that comprised of a crop top, a dress and an overcoat after several trials and errors. The designs are initially designed using Coral Draw and Adobe Photoshop and the colours for printing are then chosen. “There is never any favouritism in colours” says Nikhila who travelled all the way to Tirupur, aiming for perfection.  

An interesting element in fashion is the surface that a designer chooses to create like embroidery or embellishments. Inspired by Issey Miyake who deals with a lot of pleats using heat setting, Nikhila topped her class by recreating the pleats into slits.  

Nikhila is currently working with Behind the Seams, a contemporary ethnic wear brand at Banjara Hills as part of her graduation project where she will be designing two collections of her own. She plans on introducing her own label of clothing named after her post adequate analysis and research of the project.