She has dressed Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Vidya Balan and Karisma Kapoor have made public appearances in her clothes. And now Ballygunge girl Vasavi Shah is hoping to see Deepika Padukone wear one of her outfits. “Deepika’s stylist just called me up for a couple of pieces that she will wear for a TV ad… I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works out,” she gushes, when t2 met her for a chat in her Broad Street studio. The label is only three years old. 

How did you get into designing?

It basically started as a hobby, you know how it is… when you are sitting idle and you start doodling and then you get a couple of pieces stitched from a tailor round the corner, thinking let’s see how it goes. Gradually when you start retailing and people start liking your stuff, then you get serious. So that’s how I developed. First it wasn’t like collections, it was more random pieces… Anarkalis, kurtas… whatever people are liking you start building on that. Slowly when you get in touch with Bombay, Bollywood, the stylists, and they want collections according to the seasons… autumn-winter, spring-summer, then you start organising like that….

Did you study fashion?

No, I didn’t… I studied marketing and management.

You grandmother (Shanta Daga) had the boutique Mahima in Ballygunge. Did that make it easier for you?

I was actually dragged before college... come have a look, see what we are doing... but I was least interested. I was like it doesn’t work for me. But slowly when I started doodling, I had seen them do it, so I had an idea about how to do it… it was quite easy for me that way.

What were your influences when you started out?

Basically when you start seeing movies, Bollywood… what they’re wearing… then you see the papers, what Sabyasachi (Mukherjee) and Anamika (Khanna) are doing… so you really get fascinated by seeing from where to where they’ve come… and you keep thinking maybe I can do that someday. So all that inspired me. And today wherever I am, I’m quite happy. Being married, you have to look into the house too… so what I’ve achieved so far, I’m quite happy.

How did you jump from a little shop in Calcutta to the Bolly fashion league?

Sonam’s stylist Rhea (Kapoor) got in touch with me. I’m very active on social media, I keep uploading my stuff. Rhea saw that and got in touch with me. Then the minute Sonam wore one of my outfits — she wore a fusion outfit, a kalidar jacket with palazzos — I got in touch with Pernia’s (Pop-up Shop). Then Vidya happened, she wore two of my outfits for the Bobby Jasoos promotions. Sonam is a fashion icon, so once she wore my outfit, all the other stylists got in touch with me. That’s how I started building my rapport with everybody. I travelled to Bombay, met everybody, then the models, the make-up guys around, they all helped out. Slowly people started knowing me, recognising me. Then Tisca Chopra called, she wore my clothes for two of her movies and I did a line for her for an upcoming movie. Then Karisma Kapoor wore an outfit for a jewellery event and Alia Bhatt for a magazine cover shoot. 

Why haven’t you joined the fashion week circuit yet?

Initially when I wanted to do Lakme, there was an issue with me not having a degree in fashion… so I thought maybe I’ll try a little later. Now that I have Sonam in my circuit, I have Alia, Karisma, Vidya, Evelyn Sharma… I was told I have to apply this year. So like maybe this autumn-winter we will.

We see a lot of florals in your work. Is there a love story there?

(Laughs) Completely, I have been in love with florals ever since I started. I try hard not to do too much florals, but it doesn’t happen. My entire spring-summer line is on florals. It is all on white, a couple of hand-painted, applique work, then butterflies, pastel shades, embroidery…. There are box-pleated skirts, assymetrical jackets teamed with kurtas, shirts, crop tops, kalidar jackets. It’s basically beachwear, what people could wear to beach parties. Everybody is in love with my flora and fauna now, every stylist has called me… even fashion bloggers are wearing it… I’m getting really nice reviews.

QUICK FACTS

Retails from: Vasavi Shah in Calcutta, and a host of fashion stores across the country. Also, Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop online
Fave brands: Burberry for “their silhouettes and chequered pattern”, Louis Vuitton for shoes and Gucci for handbags
Fave Indian designers: Anamika Khanna and Rohit Bal
Fashion fetish: Shoes. “I’m a shoeholic.” 
Shops from: London, every summer
Style icon: Sonam Kapoor
In love with: Florals
Most-often dressed in: Jeans and a shirt 

Smita Roy Chowdhury

Even as a kid, fashion designer Debashri Samanta was particular about what she wore, often driving her mother “crazy” — from a new dress every day to sleeping with her shoes by her side. t2 caught up with the 30-year-old who is fast becoming the toast of fashionable Bollywood.

Your label is around two years old...

I did my Gen Next Show (Lakme Fashion Week) in 2013. So, yeah, two-and-a-half years old.

And in these two-and-a-half years, you have seen quite a bit of success...
(Smiles) It has been a huge journey in terms of what I started doing and how much I have learnt... with my fabrics and the kind of craft that I do. With each collection I am learning so much about weaving, especially the Jamdani.

Bollywood celebrities like Tisca Chopra and Neha Dhupia have named you as a designer they like...

Firstly, it is very difficult to fathom that a Bollywood star would wear something which is so handwoven, so cotton, so Bengal and represent it on a global platform. When it started happening... Neha Dhupia was the first one to wear us. Her stylist came and picked it up... a long hand-textured dress and an origami skirt and a crop top. Alia Bhatt, such a young star, picked up one of my cotton Jamdani dresses from my Summer Houses collection. And, then Sonam Kapoor (the Hooked line) and Tisca Chopra have also worn it. Vidya Balan wore a sari from the Summer Houses collection. Yes, it has been difficult to believe but I love how they have embraced it. It feels great!

What do you think is your USP?

Reviving and revisiting our very own tradition but with an urban flair. Each season we are trying to make simple things luxurious.

Why do you love Jamdani so much?

I have always loved rich fabrics... weaves of Bengal... the booti Bengali saris. The usual Jamdani weave is not stitch-friendly. So, it started from there... to make a simple weave stitch-friendly. Making the placement weaves, where you weave the entire design in one length of fabric. The entire dress would be cut from that piece of cloth. That journey has itself taken three seasons. Everything is handwoven. I make new-age Jamdani using  tussore silk and cotton and tussore silk and wool. I feel the essence should be carried in the clothes. 

What other weaves would you love working with?

As a designer you have to explore and grow, but I would want to stick to Jamdani for a while. Everyone has seen it and loved it... till they get bored of it! 

Your motifs are interesting...

We started with houses, then Hooked and now Roots. We have used the banyan tree as the motif this time, an attempt to revive the Bengaliness. That is why red and white and the concept of a paar (border). I don’t like the idea of typical motifs... the tree with the roots or fish on a hook. We try to add a bit of quirk.

Working with textiles is a huge challenge given the fact that looms are closing down...

It’s an extinct art form. None of the second-generation weavers want to get into hand-weaving. They all want to work in power looms. It’s not only about the payment, it’s also physically exhausting. Initially, when we started, we faced a lot of problems, but now it is a lot more settled.

What have you learnt in these two years?

You have to put out your best collection each season. You cannot afford to slip up. The pressure is crazy. The moment one show finishes, I am thinking about my next line...

Did you have a back-up plan?

No... I did not. I didn’t want to have a back-up plan. I wanted to back this plan! That confidence was always there. Initially, I worked with Anamika Khanna and Ekru. I got bored and also wanted to develop my own style. I did think about the commercial aspect because everything was different. I did think that maybe I have to do a bridal line along with it, to sustain, but thankfully, I have not had to do that.

Have you done bling yet?

No! I detest it.

Who do you design for?

I design with a certain body type in mind. I always think how a regular girl would want to wear this.

You also went to Paris in January for Who’s Next...
The trade show was an amazing experience, a huge eye-opener, a reality check. We took the Hooked line... a Jamdani and woollen version of it because we were showing winter 2016. You get to see the kind of effort other people are putting in. You would see all kinds of body types wearing fashionable clothes... making it their own. That was a huge lesson.

BIO BOX

Stays in: Jadavpur
Studied at: Mahadevi Birla World Academy; NIFT Mumbai
Design dream: Would love to have an international presence
Likes: “Designers who work with textiles... Raw Mango and Rahul Mishra. I love Daniela Gregis. I like people who do something without thinking about the commercial aspect of it. That’s when you can be absolutely creative.”
Retails at: Ensemble, Bombay Electric, Ogaan, Anonym, Collage

Saionee Chakraborty