A culmination of her experiences in the world of design have been put into her collection, titled, It's a Beautiful Life. Twenty-two-year-old Kanika Mehra's ensembles on silk have been chosen to be a part of Lakme Fashion Week's Winter/Festive 2012 Gen Next Designers category.
The Kanpur girl, who is a student of INIFD (Inter National Institute of Fashion Design), Chandigarh, is amongst seven young designers from across the country who are set to be a part of the Mumbai show's razzmatazz that starts on August 3.
To be mentored by ace fashion designer Aki Narula, Kanika will be sharing the platform with the likes of Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal and Neeta Lulla. "Aki, who has recently designed for Bollywood films such as Rockstar, Agent Vinod and Housefull 2, will be working closely to ensure that my final collection stands out on the runway. It's a dream come true," sighs the exhilarated young girl.
Her inspiration behind the collection, which will be a part of her label Kavvi, comes from her life's experiences Chandigarh. "Realisation of the fact that life is like smoke and burns and ends in ashes, is what my collection is about," clarifies Kavita.
The works, meanwhile, have an eye-popping visual appeal in a semi-formal range that has a classy style. Ten of Kavita's best outfits have been selected, all of which employ a unique technique that involves burning of the raw edges of pure silk, creatively put together to create scenes from the surroundings. She adds that it involves using a spirit lamp to heat a safety pin, which ultimately makes various patterns on silk. "To create ruffles on my outfits, I converted the square fabric into a cone and then burnt it further," Kavita informs.
{{/usCountry}}The works, meanwhile, have an eye-popping visual appeal in a semi-formal range that has a classy style. Ten of Kavita's best outfits have been selected, all of which employ a unique technique that involves burning of the raw edges of pure silk, creatively put together to create scenes from the surroundings. She adds that it involves using a spirit lamp to heat a safety pin, which ultimately makes various patterns on silk. "To create ruffles on my outfits, I converted the square fabric into a cone and then burnt it further," Kavita informs.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from this, the design student has also made use of appliqué work, tucks and fabric painting, while the motifs used are telephone booths, clock tower, ice cream parlours and zebra crossings. Why only silk?
"It's silk or its blends such as silk chiffon, jute silk and royal silk, which are best suited to the burning technique," Kavita shares.