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Meghalaya designer’s ethnic Khasi collection to debut at London Fashion Week
Shillong-based fashion designer Rupert Wanlambok Lynrah will showcase his tradition-meets-modern collection at London Fashion Week.
It is super Sunday for fashion fans in India and Meghalaya designer Rupert Wanlambok Lynrah. The Shillong-based fashion designer will showcase his tradition-meets-modern collection at London Fashion Week. The five-day fashion gala, one of the biggest fashion events in the world, officially kicks off on Friday.
More than his creations, Lynrah hopes to promote ryndia, an indigenous silk from Meghalaya.
The 37-year-old designer said his fashion house RWL Designs has been trying to revive the rich indigenous textiles of Meghalaya by featuring organic and eco-friendly ryndia and muga silks.
“Weaving has traditionally been the main source of income for women in rural areas of Meghalaya. Weavers use a variety of loom - lion, backstrap and flying shuttle - but due to decreasing demand for these exquisite, labour-intensive creations, they are giving up their age-old traditions in search of other work,” Lynrah said.
Elaborating on ryndia, he added: “Ryndia comes from a silkworm reared by rural people in Meghalaya. It provides warmth in winter and cool comfort in summer, like a natural product is supposed to.”
But working on ryndia is a challenge, he stressed.
“If you give the fabric some twist, like an embroidery or a lace detail, like I have done, it can add value to a garment,” Lynrah said.
The designer’s efforts for almost a decade paid off and he came up with the Ethnicity with a Mod Twist collection featuring jainsems – traditional wraparounds that Khasi and Jaintia tribal women wear.
The collection, Lynrah said, has a 1960s’ air about it.
Lynrah would also be showcasing a Hollywood Glamour collection, an assortment of heavily embellished gowns inspired by stars of yesteryears such as Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh.
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