“Kia, my mom, is a designer, so I’ve lived fashion all my life,” says Gabriella Demetriades, the model-turned designer from South Africa, who has made India her base for about a decade now. “I learnt pattern cutting and all the technical details that designers should know at a young age and also studied fashion marketing from Unisa in Cape Town,” she says, having started her brand in 2012. The ‘Audi Peaklife Fashion Capsule’ was launched Having made India her adopted country for the past decade and understanding that hospitality is its hallmark, Gabriella is gracious and courteous. “Please wait for just two minutes,” she implores, as she gives a couple of stylish poses standing in stilettos next to a sleek, extra long Audi. We are at the Cafe Lawns of Shangri-La’s – Eros Hotel. .
The show saw a bevy of foreign as well as Indian models walking in gowns, embellished outfits which were bigger, bolder and were in sync with the current trend. Nora Fatehi, the Moroccan-Canadian dancing diva, was the cynosure of all eyes as showstopper. She came in a menswear re-emphasising the He for She concept. “I am a big fan of women in power suit,” says the designer. We caught up with Gabriella for a quick chat
Take us through the capsule?
This is our spring-summer collection. The theme is modern Italian summer. We used a vintage Italian feel with sorbet as our inspiration. The clothes were designed in a way to be easy, fun, very wearable, using Indian textiles, but with Western silhouettes. There are indigenous fabrics like silk chiffon, mulmul, cotton that we dyed and printed on.
What was Audi’s brief to you?
Audi did not give me a brief. It was synergy of two brands. In terms of design aesthetics, we both share similar European designs. We focus on clean lines, symmetrical cuts and I feel it worked really well.
What was your inspiration?
An Italian summer. It was escaping summer life in India and get a relaxed holiday feel. I am a South African whose family has roots in Cyprus, an island next to Greece. One of my holidays at Puglia in Italy inspired me with its rich architecture and Mediterranean style. So I created sensuous, loung-ey, feminine wear.
Deme by Gabriella is available at Perniaspopupshop.com, azzafashions.com; ₹4,000 upwards
What were the fabrics used?
We do woven sequence which we make in India. We dye them. The soft woven sequence are our best seller and signature of our band. We use silk chiffons a lot. We have incorporated mulmul. We have also introduced suited fabrics for our womenswear.