This not-yet-a-teenager designs dresses like a pro
How many kids do you know who’ve created 60 dresses? Dubai’s Apeksha Binoj has a record for being India’s youngest fashion designer
In early 2012, an enterprising seven-yearold got it into her head to design her own birthday dress. She asked her mother, Prasina, if that was okay. “Mum agreed and that’s when I made my first sketch,” says Apeksha Binoj, a grade 7 student of Our Own English High School, Dubai. On March 15 that year, she wore her first ‘made by Apeksha’ outfit, a violet, knee-length number with the entire top embellished with rosettes, and something of a shrug to go with. She shows us a picture. It didn’t take too long. “It took time to think about the design but sketching was done in about one hour,” she tells
Khaleej Times. Since then, she’s designed 60 dresses, including ‘party wear’ for three cousins. This is a 12-year-old we’re talking about, an only kid.
Her parents, Prasina and Binoj — as all good parents are wont to — assumed she was a natural. To help her hone her skill, they enrolled her (at age 10) in Dubai International Art Centre. This year, she completed a course in Advance Fashion Design from the institute. “She’s the first fashion designer in our family and she makes us proud. We try to support her in every way possible.” Her mother happily accompanies Apeksha when she needs to source fabric for her designs. And daddy dearest chips in with the finances.
What are her favourite fabrics to work with, and which ones are cumbersome to work with? Nothing is a challenge, she says, but she’s partial to satin, as is evident in her portfolio.
The models who wear her clothes are happily surprised when they first learn how old the designer is, in whose clothes they’re sashaying down ramps.
Russian national Yulia Orehkova, a freelance model says, “I thought Apeksha was 20! I was so surprised that she could design such beautiful dresses. When I got to know she’s only 12, I was speechless.”
The models who’ve worked with Apeksha describe her as cheerful and grounded despite the ‘mini-celebrity’ that she is. Lanita Noronha, who’s worked with Apeksha for photo shoots, says, “It’s an honour to be her muse. It’s rare to find such young talent and I think it’s wonderful to be a part of her journey. Her outfits are comfortable. And I feel beautiful when I wear them.”
Dubai-based fashion photographer Anshad Guruvayoor has worked with ‘Apek’ for a year. “She makes the models look really good on camera,” he says.
Apeksha has done four shows so far — including Runway Dubai and International Fashion Week in the UAE. A year ago, she launched her brand ‘Apek’. Her work is up on apekapeksha.com. She has designed eveningwear until now but her next show in India will showcase a ready-to-wear line. Why the fasciantion for evening dresses? She loves the sweep and grandeur: “My evening wear design is grand. I love detail, and I use very bright colours.”
What about school? And friends? It’s not easy, she says, to juggle her design interests with school work, but she pulls it off. “I focus on my school on weekdays but my weekends are dedicated to fashion design.” Eventually, she plans to get into the fashion world full time. “My goal is to study fashion design in France and also do a doctorate in fashion designing.”
And has she designed for friends so far? No, but it’s quite the shot in the arm that they ask her for suggestions about what they should wear.