How Yogesh Chaudhary Puts Together A Collection For Fashion Week

How Yogesh Chaudhary Puts Together A Collection For Fashion Week

There’s this common notion that a designer has arrived the moment a celebrity wears his/her creation. While it’s an arguable point, there’s no doubt that a celebrity’s sartorial choices can affect how a consumer perceives the designer’s success story. Keeping that notion in mind (and even otherwise), one can’t deny that Yogesh Chaudhary of the label Surendri is a designer to watch out for. After his quirky take on the 80s arcade game Pac-Man through his 2012 collection titled Ms Pac-in District (also his debut LFW showcase), Yogesh made a fan out of everyone from show critics to the stylish lot. And then, celebrities started paying heed: fashionistas from the likes of Sonam Kapoor to Jacqueline Fernandez and even Aditi Rao Hydari among others took a liking to his creations. But truth being, celebrity favourite or not, Yogesh is one among those in his circuit who has a penchant for intelligent design. His inspiration runs a gamut from the mundane to even ‘things you might generally not think of’, and that’s exactly why he has an edge when it comes to pleasing innate fashionistas. Proof: The designer’s shows, be it his debut collection, Chandrawal in 2014 or Mithu in 2015.

Prior to his show at Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2016, I interviewed the designer on his pre-fashion week preparation, what this year’s show Dot entails in terms of design aesthetics, and his plans post LFW. Excerpts…

Give us an insight on what pre-fashion week preparation is like for you. Take us through the process of putting together a collection.

Pre-fashion week is always a frenzy! It is hard to recall essentially because there is no sleep involved and it is all a haze. However, it is the best part of the year since you can see your vision and dream being actualised.

Tell me about this particular season… We know it’s called Dot and is futuristic in approach. Can you give us some details of the collection in terms of textures, prints, fabrics and techniques used?

The prints used, this time, are inspired by satellites both natural and man-made; you can see their colours and textures translated into prints. We bring together sizes and variations in the dot to create textures that are all representative of the lunar surface and other man-made objects in space. In terms of fabrics, we have brought together seemingly opposite fabrics to provide a 3-dimentional look and feel to the garments. Additionally, we have amalgamated traditional hand embroidery with the more futuristic foil work on top of a variety of fabrics.

 

Yogesh Chaudhary showcasing DOTS at LFW SR 2016_Hauterfly

 

What’s the inspiration behind Dot?

Anything that’s seen in space from earth, which is essentially a dot. ‘Dot’ is the beginning of all things and encompasses everything around us. From the smallest atom to the universe itself, everything has been made through ‘dot’ and is the inspiration for this collection.

You are known to work with one main motif (Pac-Man/Parrot) in your collection. Will we find a recurring motif this season as well?

Haha… in a way, yes! Motifs maybe not so much this time but there’s definitely silhouette innovations as well as recognisable textures that provide continuity to the collection. We at Surendri have always believed in is trans-seasonal collections. Be it Chandrawal (’14), Mithu (’15) or Dot (’16), our collections have not been limited by the bounds of seasonal requirements. Instead, we have adapted, modified and improved on our work to cater to the entire year and the years to come.

What’s the price point for your collection?

We have always catered to a wide range of buyers in term of prices and the trend continues with Dot. Our range starts from Rs 6,000 and goes up to a lakh.

Can we expect a showstopper at your show this season?

We have never given in to the showstopper culture. We love our influencers and clients alike. Our clothes and the models that adorn them are our showstoppers.

If I had to ask you what sells best for Yogesh Chaudhary…

Every season comes with commercial favourites. But there are some essentials that are wardrobe builders and I think they are great for every kind of woman. My personal favourite would be the chanderi silk maxi dress with a sunflower scarf.

What next after Fashion Week? Any upcoming collaborations to look forward to?

No collaborations in the pipeline but we are opening our first retail outlet in Gurgaon in the next couple of months. Work is already underway for that. Also, the current year will see us extending our Surendri accessory lines with iPhone covers, shoes, bags and more, keeping our new store and online shop in mind.

Simi Kuriakose

Read More From Simi
Seen it all?

We’ve got more!