Debyani’s Peacock Throne
Debyani's Peacock Throne
S/S 2019
Trained by the king of opulence Sabyasachi Mukherjee, designer Debyani Malhotra gives brides edgy embroideries with a flavour of Mughal architecture, in her SS’19 line
Debyani, a NIFT graduate, started her first job with designer Sajid Khan in Mumbai. She did not enjoy the experience and decided to quit. After that, she tried her hand at something new. “I joined American Express’ call centre and the experience was amazing. I loved working there; everything was perfect,” she grins.
Life took a new turn for Debyani when she happened to travel to Kolkata with her mother where she learnt about Sabyasachi Mukherjee. “I admired his aesthetics and aspired to work with him. I kept trying to reach him, but there was no response. The day I decided to leave the city and was heading to the airport, I got a call from him for an interview. I was carrying my folio and he liked it. I got selected and worked at his atelier from 2003 to 2007,” she smiles.
Having learnt the ropes, Debyani made her next move; she started her label Studio Petticoat in collaboration with her friend Divya Sahaya, who studied with her at NIFT. “A major part of our label included kalidars and lehengas with edgy embroideries. I worked with her for seven years after which she got married. We decided to launch our own labels and that’s how Debyani, my fashion foray, took shape,” she explains.
The philosophy behind her label is that each design and silhouette is unique. “Each garment is different from the other and we never use market bought embroidery,” she explains. Her garments go through a tedious process. She uses machine designing on print and dyeing on embroidery. There are many treatments that are hand done. “It is not just a simple cut and pasting storyline that work; we tell our own through research and development. We only make two three pieces of the same garment and the rest are made-to-order. It may look simple, but there is a whole process of days and hours that goes behind each silhouette,” she explains.
She also discloses that her S/S 2019 collection has been inspired by Mughal architecture. There will be embroidery, rich colours like ivory, cream, almond, powder blue and pastel yellow. “I’m going to be opting for neutral tones for fabrics and will juxtapose it with vibrant embroidery. Fusion silhouettes are going to be the key this season,” she explains.
This time she is also planning to showcase her signature line which comprises heavy lehengas for the brides and bridesmaids, priced between ₹28,000 to ₹3,00,000.
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