Flaunt : Hide- The Prodigal Artificer!

Whenever we think of leather, we think of the that male dominated territory of shoes, belts and bags that much to a woman's dismay, pretty much don't make it to her closet. But then again, there are some people, working away in the shy Leather Design laboratories of Fashion Schools making sure that one day, the hides that men are so proud to wear might become a woman's treasure.

One such person, who I may add is one of the most creatively advanced people at the National Institute of Fashion Technology at Calcutta. This one's for the prodigal artificer:

Reetika Singh is in her Final Year studying Leather Design. Monster Ate My Couture loved the spark that this leather loving lass carries with her.

"I believe in story-telling. Simplicity, complexity or sometimes both, help me make my renditions and I strive to reach out to as many hearts as possible."

 This jacket made of Rexine describes exactly how her design philosophy translates into her work. Simple arcs that flip and meet with the superbly constructed panels make this jacket a stunner!

We also think that this jacket is a classic one, where attention to details make it unique. When asked what her USP is, she said,

"Perhaps the unique surfaces or shapes that I use to create my renditions which may or may not be of leather is definitely what sets me apart."

...And we couldn't agree more!

Her designs come across as a fresh burst of energy and her color combinations are stunning. Like how well the Turquoise and Nude combination looks on this multi-ridged duffel.

So who does this bundle of talent look up to or get inspired by?

"No single designer, artwork or designwork inspires me. My inspirations are drawn from everyone and everything around me. But yes, I really look up to Bottega Veneta's finesse and 

Fabergé egg's beauty."

Nothing less than the best, eh? 

Every designer has a dream client, so who is her dream client?

"Happens to be the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Her panache and confidence instills a certain drive to adorn her."

 Well MAmC thinks that her creativity is best fit for royalty, too. The class and edge in her designs ensure that she is meant to be between stars and here's hoping that she reaches the pinnacle of success that she is aiming for!

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Credits:

Photography & Editing: Subhajit Adhya & Pritam Pradhan

Styling & Products: Reetika Singh 

Model: Sasha Prabhakar

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Please note:

Monster Ate My Couture, under any circumstances, is not supporting the leather industry due to the toll it takes on animals. The post has products made of synthetic leather as we are against any sort of animal abuse.

Love and Peace :]

Monster on the Prowl: Chic-Hunt on the Streets!

Monster Ate My Couture was out hunting for the hottest divas on the streets of Kolkata. I feel that this city is so misunderstood about it's fashion sense! And if you have ANY doubts about that, then take the next bus to Salt Lake and drop by at NIFT, Kolkata to take a peek.

This college ups its style quotient and don't you have any qualms about that. "Never compromise on style". That's the mantra of NIFT Cal.

All that was needed was my camera.

MAmC's first outfit post and the honor goes to.... *drum roll*

Zuali reminds us of why we are insanely jealous of North Eastern beauties. They almost always make a statement with whatever they wear. 

Zuali has an amazing taste when it comes to dressing up. Matching the perfect accessory with every garment without over doing it is her personal style. 

 

My personal favourite pick from her accessories? Her boyfriend’s Burberry watch! Zuali mostly shops from malls at Aizwal and Metro Plaza in Calcutta.

Jumpsuit: Golden Colours, Metro Plaza

Cardigan: Flee Market, Aizwal

Shoes: Aldo

Bag: Millennium Centre, Aizwal

Watch: Burberry


Special thanks to Surabhi Singh for helping me with the shoot. Love you and you know it!

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Just incase you're interested, the backgrounds have been taken from this AMAZING Spanish illustrator  Fab Ciraolo. I love his works and am a big fan *respect*. His retro-ish style illustrations contemporizes almost everything people believe in. From Madonna to Alice (in wonderland).... even Jesus! Everyone we know in the way they would really be if they were a part of this world.

Happyness :]

Romancing the Crayon.

I clearly remember getting my first box of crayons.

I was 3 years old ready for my "First Ever Day in School" which was the next day. My mother took me to this little shop right opposite the very very old Park Circus market in Kolkata. Holding my mother's hand, I tried to stand on my toes to see over the dada across the counter searching for the box of Camel Plastic Crayons. As my mom handed me the box, I quickly opened the box of twelve neatly sharpened smooth crayons in all their majesty. The perfumed fragrance of those crayons is the the theme fragrance of my childhood!

I never took any formal training while growing up. Somehow, till date I guess the same 3 year old has managed to take over me ever time I draw or sketch something. I guess NIFT has to be the best thing to have ever happened to me. Not only do I study what I love the most, I also get to explore my second love- Illustrating.

Illustrating garments helps me know exactly what ideas are stored in my brain. It's like freezing my thoughts in paper. So I thought, why not ask my co-students the same? But I didn't need to ask. When I saw their works, I got my answer! :)

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

Arindam's style of illustrating  remains classic with an amazing sense of details. The faces somehow remind me of  the famous 1930's actress  Madge Evans.

THE ROUGH-IAN

What I loved about Abhishek's sketches were the many millions of strokes that make his illustrations what they are. A sense of unkempt lines with alot of blotches and smudges. Sketching in the true sense of the word.

THE PUNK PHENOMENA

Shubho's sense of  illustrating is something completely opposite of his persona. His work shows men with tattoos and kohl lined eyes and spiked hair- something very dark. Being a student of Leather Design, he creates sketches of beautiful bags and jackets. Shown below is also his remarkable "Shadow Sketch" made with black Chinese ink.

 

THE REALISTIC DREAMER

Soumen is one of the most creative people I have known. Each of his work inspires me. Be it his paintings or his strokes, you would fall in love with the very thought behind everything he does.

Most of his illustrations capture the exact detail of the human figure. A very realistic approach to art, he makes what he sees. His "Shadow Sketches" are one of the best in NIFT.

WEARABLE DELIGHTS

Surabhi's creation don't come under illustrations but I would especially love to mention her as her designing skills are out of this world! The prints she creates are brilliant be it the repeated motifs or the T-Shirt print she made [in collabo with Md.Zubaer of NIFT].

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DRAWINGS

Anurag Paul is famous in NIFT for being unconditionally in love with the Bollywood beauty Priyanka Chopra. So much so that all his illustrations are made with her in mind. According to him even if he wants to sketch out someone else's face he cannot. But that is only (thankfully) limited to his female croquis!

 

DEBAUCHERY

I really try hard not to sound flamboyant when I talk about myself in my posts. I've been trying to find my signature style of illustrations. So here I present that and my "Shadow Illustration".

At first it was the "Lady Long Legs with the  Rosy Cheeks" but then I finally moved to the black croquis with the red lips and the very extravagant hair. The male croquis with the dripping paint is kind of my mockery at racism. Black and White are just colors, right?

Please Read: I have copyrighted the drawings under Monster Ate My Couture. It is just to prevent plagiarism. But the illustrations belong to the person they are mentioned under.

Love :]

Hyper-culture: Merging Bengal and Africa. Like Never Before.

If music would play during epic moments of my life, it would be playing right now. (I can so imagine Somebody New by the Amplifetes. Dunno.) Maybe because I'm writing after 7 months after desperately trying to pull myself out from work, and if not work, out of my bed! *pleads guilty of being excessively lazy* 

But then again, I have nothing else in life except my love for fashion and friends. And what better way to kick-start writing again than the trip to the hub of Bengal handicrafts? With friends. And a heavy dose of fashion.

Shantiniketan is a small town in West Bengal, a 3 hour train journey from Calcutta. Here you get artisans who know ANY Bengal craft-work, special mention of the Jute artifact making, different embroideries and dyeing techniques. The market places are filled with amazing local craft-works. And oh, you would LOVE the haat which is basically a small fair where all the artisans exhibit their crafts. In between a forest. YES! It's beautiful with the Baul singers singing and the faint hint of monsoon lingering in the air.

Photo Courtesy: Arnab Paul.

We did a lot of Brainstorming to get to our theme which revolved around Africa. After numerous fights and misunderstandings ;) our team, which comprised of Snigdha Seksaria, Meghana Nyayapati, Surabhi Singh, Soumen Halder, Sandipan Das and Me, finally reached the theme Of Hyper-culture: Merging Bengal and Africa. Our brief was to make neck-pieces and belts, involving the traditional Bengali embroidery of Kantha. It took us 2 weeks to complete the embroidery part which was done after we traced all our patterns on the cotton fabrics. The motifs were mostly inspired by African tribes, wildlife and colors.

The tracing of one of the neck-pieces onto the Cotton Fabric.

The embroidery part, though highly difficult was actually a lot of fun. The artisans who were assigned to help us, taught us how to work with Kantha and also the basics of bead-work.

Surabhi working on the beading of one of the neck-pieces.

Soumen trying his hand at Kantha.

Soon enough our embroidery part was complete. We all were very satisfied by the way our products were turning out to be. Designing neck-pieces is easy but designing contemporary neck-pieces for up-scale market clients is difficult especially if it involves reviving the much ignored rural crafts.

Our group with our final embroideries. :) :)

The next part was actually making the neck-pieces and belts. We cut out the motifs we had made, and sandwiched felt between the embroidery part and cotton-silk to make it stiff. Somewhat like a bib neck-lace. What set our neck-pieces apart was the fact that we used cane rings as the supporting part around the neck. This was inspired by the Masai Tribe of Africa which wears similar chunky rings of beads around their necks.

These are our wonderful final products! :D

Photos Courtesy: Soumen Halder; Editing: Me.

Illustrations by: Soumen Halder & Sandipan Das

As we were getting closer to the end of our project, we were getting more and more excited about the photo-shoot. Getting out the illustrations really helped us decide upon various factors like the make-up, the accessories and the hair. We knew exactly what we wanted.

Too be continued. Watch this space for THE AMAZING photo-shoot featuring Meghana Nyayapati!! :)

Till then... Be fierce!