“Her work has global appeal but represents all that is wonderful about Indian textiles and techniques ”
How does Indian Fashion evolve? With practically every young designer wanting to enter the bridal market, the current scenario is one glittering mess! But there are quieter voices that strike an alternative path, with designers like Rajesh Pratap Singh, David Abraham & Rakesh Thakore who have created a space where luxury does not necessarily mean a bridal viewpoint. They have viewed their collections through a prism of heritage art and craft, helping modernise and make relevant again the sensibility of ‘handmade’ in India, showing the potential Indian products could have in international markets. A few months ago, I was in Tokyo for a tribute exhibition for Martand Singh, being organised by the Issey Miyake foundation. I realised how much the Japanese value Indian khadi and other textiles, which for long have been used in the masterly collections of this great designer. One afternoon, I spotted a group of elegant Japanese women shopping, and as they passed me, I noticed that a couple of them seem to be wearing an Indian designer whose work was familiar. The designer was Rimzim Dadu, who had developed a beautiful collection for a project at Rajasthan Heritage Week, using the fragile and delicate Kota doria fabric as the base for her extraordinary, three-dimensional embroidery. I checked with the ladies just to make sure, and it was indeed Dadu’s work. Coming from a family involved in garment exports, Dadu