Sanaya Mehta Vyas, Shruti Swaika, Malvika Periwal and Vasundhara Mantri, all strong personalities with distinct sense of styles were the muses for this special shoot at 85 Lansdowne. Post-shoot, the ladies sat down with The Telegraph to talk work and play!
Malvika Periwal — photographer
My work look: Since I mostly do weddings and events these days I dress according to the event, something that I am comfortable in and is easy to wear and move about in, so that I blend in. It depends on the event. Sometimes I wear tunics or kurtas or jumpsuits or long dresses. For me comfort is key. When I am shooting, I am shooting for long hours, eight-10 hours. I am a simple person and I also like to repeat my outfits.
Blessed to have in my wardrobe as a working woman: Accessories. I also have a lot of jumpsuits in many colours. Heels are a favourite and I love to look taller.
Vasundhara Mantri — jewellery designer and singer
My work look: If I am at the workshop, then I am comfortably dressed, in a T-shirt or tracks. Usually you will never see me in a T-shirt or tracks otherwise. I love dresses. I won’t wear a short dress at work though. Ideally I would wear something colourful and something to accessorise it with.
My play look: I actually wear a lot of dresses. At night I am comfortable with shorter dresses. I barely wear jeans.
Work to play: I’ll carry a jacket on a dress, just to wear on top of something.
Blessed to have in my wardrobe as a working woman: Just a lot of accessories, big neckpieces. I’d just wear something in black and wear a nice neckpiece over it. I wear minimalistic clothes and I like to accessorise with a nice earring or neckpiece.
Shruti Swaika — lawyer
My work look: I am formally dressed all the time and honestly, most of the time it can be quite boring. For court, it’s always white shirt and black pants. On days I don’t have to go to court, I try to bring in more colours to my wardrobe, or at least wear a marginally more stylish black- and-white! (Laughs) You can wear dresses or skirts. I have around eight-nine white shirts at least. I get away with charcoal grey and dark blue when it comes to pants, but even then I would have around five to six black pants. But I must say black-and- white still looks so good! It’s a classic.
My play look: After office, it cannot be black- and-white. My go-to are dresses. I find them easy to wear and comfortable. There is a lot of dark blue, emerald greens and reds. Solid colours, prints, practically any dresses work for me. It’s easy to slip on and accessorise on the go.
Work to play: I have to plan in advance and carry a change. At times, I just keep a backup in office also.
Blessed to have in my wardrobe as a working woman: Dresses and something that requires the least amount of ironing. I only have a steam iron at the office. So, whatever the office peon can manage. My go-to is actually just kajal. Also, I love wearing heels.
Do you think women are taken seriously in a sector like law if they dress up a certain way?
Not always, but this is more the case in Kolkata than in Bombay or Delhi. During my earlier days of practice, I have definitely felt the need to dress conservatively. However, being an associate of Fox & Mandal, one of the oldest and most renowned firms (it’s now over 125 years old), definitely helped. Now, as a partner, this doesn’t matter of course. I can bypass that barrier and set the trend and I wear whatever I please. If the established women lawyers don’t, who will? It’s also an issue that Kolkata has very few women lawyers at the top to begin with. My generation of women who are lawyers are definitely changing the narrative, but it’s still quite male dominated in Kolkata.
Sanaya Mehta Vyas — businesswoman
My work look: I don’t typically do anything. I can go to work in joggers and a sweatshirt or a dress or a kurta. I enjoy dressing up and I love fashion. I experiment with my hair and make-up. I don’t go wild in the morning, but I still do enough so that I am happy every morning that I am trying something different. For me, every day is another day to wear something in a different way. I have never worn a sari to work. I love wearing saris though.
Work to play: My play is really on the field. So, I would probably wear my leggings and a tunic and a nice bag and sneakers. In the evening, I would still be wearing my leggings and I’ll probably wear a crop top and a jacket. I love experimenting and mixing things up. I can wear jeans in the morning, evening and night.
Malvika was minimal cool in her Richa Goenka dress, just right for a fuss-free play look, styled with earrings from Pehr and clutch from On Our Own. “It was easy to wear,” she smiled. Shruti was dressed in colours in her SVA outfit, teamed with earrings and bracelets from Outhouse. “So stylish and statement. I simply loved wearing it! I feel I could wear this to almost any type of event with the right accessories,” she said of her play look
Who’s showing...
Maneesha Ruia
Studio Surbhi
Richa Goenka
Stoffa
East 14
Gaya
I Am Trouble
Couche
Aakaar
Richa Khemka
Wrapture
SVA
Saaksha & Kinni
Geisha Designs
Payal Singhal
Outhouse
Pehr
Doux Amour
Kaeros
Ara Lumiere
Sanaya rocked a Geisha Designs jacket, paired with a Couche jumpsuit for a play look. “I loved the jacket and the rock ’n roll vibe to it. It’s disco but the cut is edgy and sharp and I love the fact that there were sequinned tassels below. It just woke up the disco personality of mine. I’d be happy to wear that and go to work, but I don’t think anyone will think I am sane, if I do!” she laughed
What: 85 Lansdowne Party Edit 2.0
Where: 85 Lansdowne, 85B Sarat Bose Road
When: November 21 onwards, 11am-7.30pm
Vasundhara’s classic black LBD from Gaya was “well-fitted”. The earrings from Outhouse and clutch by Doux Amour complemented her play look
The beautiful table was laden with yummy delicacies from Basil by Trishya Beriwal
Shalini Nopany (left), director, 85 Lansdowne, and Pooja Goenka, wholetime director, 85 Lansdowne
“At 85 Lansdowne we have kicked off a glamorous season with a bang! Life has been anything but a party for the last couple of years, making our wardrobes somewhat tame. Now that the parties are filling up our diaries, life is dictated by the overlapping sense of being fashionable all day, both at work and play”— Shalini Nopany, director, 85 Lansdowne
“Looking at the trend of how people want to dress up, we wanted the winterwear — day-to- night styles — to be more experimental and classy as well. This is more wearable and that relates to real people. Of late, we have started looking at brands which are new and the younger generation can relate to them. We have also kept the price point in mind. I am a denim person, but I don’t mind a dress which I can accessorise in the evening. I am open to the idea of wearing easy and relaxed looks” — Pooja Goenka, wholetime director, 85 Lansdowne
