One of Kiran Uttam Ghosh’s summer ensembles

Walk in if you are wicked. When fashion designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh said this to the ladies of Calcutta on Monday night with her new summer collection, she didn’t have a clue that our good old laidback ‘conservative’ city plays host to such oodles of wickedness.

But by Tuesday evening, when most of the outfits of her Chutzpah line had just flown off the rack at Espee, a boutique on Rawdon Street, she knew her “clothes with attitude and spirit” are just what women want.

“The look is about hot summers, hot curries, hotter people... and cool clothes,” is how the designer describes her new line, which she launched at the store on Tuesday, after having unveiled it earlier in Dubai and Delhi. The collection for the summer has lots of cottons, mulls, chiffons, organzas and khadi, and is full of a crazy khichdi of layered, crushed and frilled skirts, tees, backless kurtas, saris, belts with innumerable pockets and much more.

The colour palette is dominated by pinks — fuschia, light pink, rose pink and ice cream pink — creams, reds and saffrons. And a variety of Indian block-prints has been used, especially Devanagri and Kalamkari.

To add some spunk, she has added a range of whacky accessories to the line. So, there are bags made from red-chequered gamchha with newsprint, jootis of zari and jute and bags with Devanagri prints.

Speaking about the essence of her line, Kiran says: “Chutzpah is about the woman who’s always game for the next adventure, the woman who has the chutzpah to get off the highway at an unknown exit, the woman who leaves life a little richer, a little more fun, a little more action- packed than she found it. I wanted a collection almost imperfect, done by hand, with an old-world hand-crafted spirit. A collection where each piece says, ‘Look at me. This is who I am.”

But wickedness is not the end of her scorcher line, explains the designer. “I find that there are times when you want to be wicked and other times when you want to be subtle. So, I have done two diametrically different lines for all your moods,” she says.

So, while there are clothes that say “you are wicked”, there is the regular sober stuff too which has been given a different twist. There are kurtas made out of net, with churi pants, polka dots with embroidery, simple shirts with gota work, T-shirts with ghungroos and block-prints, saris with collared shirts and much more.