Fashion designer Sonam Dubal’s designs are a coming together of rich textiles, flowing silhouettes and feminine lines. By Navneet Mendiratta
It is a hot summer afternoon as I traverse the lanes of Shahpur Jat in south Delhi looking for Sonam Dubal’s new studio. “look out for a red door on the first floor after you cross the Potbelly Rooftop Cafe and Wishing Chair thereafter,” Sonam had directed earlier on. And it was as easy as that. In no time, I am cool and comfortable inside Dubal’s little treasure trove of rich garments sipping on some amazing lemonade spiked generously with fresh mint leaves. There is something very bohemian about the place, just like Dubal’s designs over the years. Even if the work on display is way more evolved to include the journey of a traveller or a soul searcher as I imagine him to be.
Dubal is comfortable in his zone. For someone who retails worldwide through well-known boutiques and big buying houses, he is more sought-after for his outer/winter wear which has patrons that include opera singers and senators. He loves designing for real (fuller) women and dreams of setting up a collaborative between art, meditation and design.
Talking threads
His Tsutra — an exhibition celebrating craft and textiles with an environmental awareness through contemporary ‘glocally’ styled ensembles for women and home accessories — is in its second edition. It is scheduled at Alliance Francaise from September 7 to 9 and Sonam is happy with the way Tsutra is growing. “It started many years ago. Though I had been working with Rupa since 2002, it wasn’t till 2012 that we thought of working on a collaborative where we could start a line that we would exhibit together. For me as a designer incorporating my designs into their textiles works is helpful in two ways — I get to work on their beautiful textiles for better priced collection and connect with people at the grassroots,” he says.
last year was the first experiment and encouraged by the response, they are now looking at taking it to different cities. “My link is not only to create a social initiative but also to get the buyer to understand that they are a big part of that world — to create awareness that they are buying something that is sustainable, useful and eco-friendly,” he shares. But this is not where Dubal plans to restrict himself. “I’m trying to set up a designers’ guild that includes not just fashion but pottery, art and other creative things. It’s a concept at the moment. I am yet to develop it,” he trails off dreamily.
Travelogue of a nomad
Sanskar by Sonam was born in 1999. But the label was launched in 2003 when he started doing the runway shows. “Though I finished my education in 1990, I spent a lot of time exploring different avenues of fashion. I realised that I needed to speak the language and find a way of communication. And having had exposure to Tibetan culture, I incorporated that into my first line. Based on a caravan (with snatches from Mongolia), it turned out to be very Avant Garde,” he remembers.
Only he didn’t realise it at that point. It hit him only when he showed it in Mumbai in 2003 and a big buyer from l’eclaireur selected his collection to be shown in Paris for Autumn-Winter that year. “It was strongly Oriental, which was strange for India and I was the first one to bring it out at that level, sensitively,” he recalls.
In the years that followed, Dubal realised that this was his forte and he started working on it. The good thing was that he had big international buyers who kept buying his collections and encouraged him to take on from there. And there has been no stopping since.
Strokes on the canvas
Dubal’s designs are a play of tradition and modernity. The thought is traditional but the way it’s execution is contemporary. “My clothes are for the mature woman, one who is well-travelled. She loves her clothes, has an essence both in the west and in India and has a strong sense of character,” he says defining his real life muse(s).
“My collections are based on textiles. I work a lot with raw silk burrey, an old textile that was woven in the Tibet and now in Assam. It makes for the base of the collection and I use a lot of intuitive inspiration,” he shares.
But that is not how Dubal began. In 1999, he started his collection with the old brocades. Gradually, he was blending the fabric with burrey and what emerged was a story of regeneration, recycle and re-preservation. “Somewhere along the line, though physically, as I was creating the collection, I figured there was a philosophical way of working simultaneously,” he shares.
“Then I started moving towards other textiles. I started working with chanderi and the weavers. And instead of changing the weaves — I think some weaves are traditional and beautiful the way they are — I started creating the silhouettes. That’s what I am better at. I don’t necessarily change the whole thing. Then, I set up a printing unit, started dying and got a hand painter from Hyderabad. And slowly and steadily the collection started growing,” he says.
As of now, Dubal works with different types of silks, wool, velvet and cotton. “The best part about working with a crafts organisation is that so many things can be re-used for fashion. My storylines came out with the embroidery that is picked from all over the world. The embroidery is Indian but the motif could be from all over the world,” he shares.
New Indian sensibilities
Design in the modern day is a combination of understanding your product line vis-a-vis the western market, feels Dubal. “Because the West gives you options. You just have to sync in with the market and stick to your roots. The idea is to take it to the next level,” he says. As of now, in terms of what we are giving to the West, the product line is perfect, he says. It is not necessary that the buyers are looking for a western product. They are looking at an Indian garment that fits the western body. Fusion works a lot and it works both ways. You can’t take the craft out of Indian wear, he insists.
As for the final cut, he says: “I have always believed in preservation and protection. You have to get the family involved in what you are doing. Because if you don’t do it then a lot of it is going to disappear.” The rest would be copied into by mass production countries like China.
And that is not a very happy situation, we agree.