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Dipti Nair
Doha
When your name itself speaks of your culture, heritage and all that you stand for, then your job is already half done. For Indian fashion designer Pallavi Jaipur, her name is not just a representation of the city that she is from but a symbol of everything that she stands for. A representation of her roots, culture and style is what her fashion label is about.
Jaipur was one of the many exceptional talents that the Shop Qatar Festival brought to Doha through their fashion shows and events. Jaipur not only showcased her collection of exemplary outfits during the Bollywood Fashion show but she also had pop-up shops at popular malls in Doha in celebration of the Bollywood week.
"This is my first visit to Doha, and I'm here with my artists and craftsmen. We did live demonstrations of handmade embroidery at the Gate Mall, The Villaggio, Gulf Mall, Hyatt Plaza and others. We opened pop-up shops and demonstrated live embroidery stitching that you usually see in our elaborate outfits. It was like a seven-day workshop to promote Indian craftsmanship," said Jaipur.
Her pop-up stores also had hand-crafted goods like scarves, stoles, the very traditional batuas, bags and embroidered earrings for sale.
Jaipur followed up her pop-up shops with a fantastic show of her latest collection, 'The Jaipur Princess' at the Bollywood Fashion show held at the Mondrian Doha. Her designs were a fusion of traditional aesthetics with a very modern silhouette.
"The Jaipur Princess is about me and any girl who lives in the beautiful, pink city of Jaipur. I feel any girl who lives in the city should feel like a princess and that is what I've tried to portray through my collection."
Jaipur's fashion story begins in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in Northern India, where she grew up. The city is rich in heritage and culture and is known for its unique handcrafted textiles and fabrics.
"Growing up in Jaipur amongst all the colourful people, the buzz of the fabrics and textiles made me want to do something. I always loved clothes and used to dress myself and also my friends. My friends used to push me to make a career out of my interest but at that time I had zero knowledge about the fashion industry. I took up fine arts in school and college as I knew that I just had to be in art and craft. Also being away from the fashion capitals of Delhi and Mumbai, I never really had a mentor or someone to guide me on the right path. I just did my own research to find out how to be a part of the huge industry," said Jaipur.
She went on to study fashion designing in Delhi and interned with some fashion houses to understand how the market works.
"I was still trying to find myself and wanted to see what I could do. Once I got the relevant experience in various fields of fashion, I returned to Jaipur. There I joined another firm to get a more hands-on knowledge of working with local artisans. After a year and a half, I put together my own team and launched myself with a small label called Pallavi and Pari. At the time, I was still new and did not understand the substance of having a label or the importance of the name. I just started at this little garage at the back of my house. I met a lot of people during this time, who genuinely liked my stuff and this gave me the confidence to take it further and make a proper business out of it. Soon, I got an opportunity to make it a full-fledged business and I launched myself with 'Pallavi Jaipur', a name that will always be associated with me and will speak about what my brand is about."
Jaipur debuted with her new label at the Lakhme Fashion Week where her designs were not only appreciated but sought after too. She went on to showcase her creations at the Wills India Fashion Week and has not looked back since.
She said that her journey into the highly competitive fashion industry hasn't been an easy one mainly because she had no prior knowledge about the industry and had no one to mentor her.
"There have been a lot of struggles, plenty of ups and downs. Understanding the business, handling finances, getting the whole thing setup, understanding labour issues and getting the right people to work for you...my work is all handmade and so you are dependant on a lot of people to create the right structure for you. That took time. At times, there was a lot of pressure and in times of pressure, you either perform well or you don't. Luckily for me, it has been good so far."
While Jaipur's designs are inspired by traditional Rajasthani clothing and technique, she has coupled it up with a contemporary style that is suitable for the modern woman. There is a lot of customisation involved in her designs and she can adapt her designs to the requirements of her customers.
"When I go shopping, I like to be treated well and that is what I want for my clients when they walk into my store. My USP is variety. Even if a group of 10 people come into my store, each of them will find something different and unique to pick up. Each and every outfit is different from the other and is quite distinctive."
After her successful showing in Qatar, Jaipur is now all set for the Amazon India Fashion week in March, where she will be showcasing her Autumn/Winter 2018-19 collection.
"I left a lot of things pending when we flew to Qatar and now I need to go back and work on the Amazon India Fashion week. It is another story, another set of beautiful clothes that we have to make. There are a lot of things in the pipeline that I am excited and nervous about. But one thing I know is that there is no escaping hard work and there are no shortcuts to success."
(PHOTOgraphS BY JALAL PATHIYOOR)
