Ace Designer Shruti Sancheti Interview for Fashionmate
Finally our wish has come true!! Ace Designer Shruti Sancheti agreed for this much anticipated interview of hers! She has spilled the beans about her upcoming collection at Lakmé Fashion Week Winter Festive 2014 (stay tuned!!), her personal style statement and a lot more!! For those who do not know, Shruti Sancheti is a Nagpur-based designer who is has achieved Advance Diploma in Fashion Design from JD Institute of Fashion & a Diploma in Textile Design from INIFD & Jewelry design from JD institute of Fashion after graduating in History Honors. She has been a regular face at the Lakmé Fashion Week. Her love for design has known no boundaries, thus after being Head of Design department at INIFD for several years, she came up with her own brand “Pinnacle by Shruti Sancheti”
Shruti Sancheti
In Conversation with the Ace Designer Shruti Sancheti,
FM: From teaching to designing, you have come a long way. Tell us about your journey so far. How did fashion designing happen to you?
Shruti: Ever since childhood in kolkata , I was very fond of drawing croqui’s and also had a deep interest in art and craft. However fashion design was not a recognized vocation back then, so I pursued history honours from Loreto college kolkata and in my third year got married to Anand Sancheti from Nagpur. I was pregnant, appearing for my final exams and was clueless, confused and did not know what to do next. I joined a freshly opened JD institute of fashion technology for an advance diploma in fashion design, starting my journey into world of fashion followed by a Diploma in textile design from INIFD and a Diploma in jewellery design from JD institute. Design matters established, I decided at the insistence of my husband to understand numbers and commerce I pursued a PG diploma in business management from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan followed by a MBA in marketing from IGNOU. Meanwhile I started teaching fashion in INIFD and also gave guest lectures in other institutes. Then i was invited by Nagpur university to formulate module’s for Master in fashion design and I have been working with them ever since. Besides this I have been writing columns for local dailies and magazines.
FM: What was the inspiration behind “Pinnacle by Shruti Sancheti”?
Shruti: The unsurpassed legacy of weaves ,textiles and crafts along with rich treasure trove of surface ornamentation and printing techniques are the source of inspiration for my brand. As a brand, it is difficult for us to get inspired by abstract concepts and history, geography, society all play an important role in our collections.
FM:If not designer, what would rather be?
Shruti : I am first a Teacher then a Designer, so I already have an alternative chalked out for me.
FM: Key elements or important facets you keep in mind while designing a collection
Shruti : I always keep elegance,restraint and timelessness as key factors while designing along accounting for figure flaws of average woman. We keep the 4 C’s ie creativity, cut , colour, construction along with 4P’s ie Product Price Promotion and Place in mind too.
FM: Tell us more about your collection ‘Le Pondi’ that was showcased at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014. How did you come up with that idea?
Shruti : My summer resort collection Le Pondi was based on Pondicherry, a quaint French town in Tamil Nadu, It was an amalgamation of two conflicting and contradictory cultures and I used Tamil temple weaves along with French blooms as my primary inspiration.
FM: So many seasons, so many fashion shows. How do you make sure to keep the creativity flowing? What keeps you inspiring?
Shruti : Creativity is a state of mind and I feel the more you use it , more it flows. So touch wood till date there has been no dearth of ideas or inspirations for us. It is indeed a scary thought for a designer to find no inspiration or be creativity deprived.
FM: The next season of LFW ’14 is already announced. What surprises are you going to throw this season?
Shruti : I am again working with a cluster of weavers down south but though it will be a festive,vibrant collection, the styling and look will be totally global and international.
FM: We loved the “Saaj” collection with its Maharashtrian weaves & peacock brooches. Juhi looked fabulous as showstopper. Which other celebrity would you like to work with?
Shruti : I have worked with many celebs and Vidya balan has done justice to my collection. Her sense of aesthetics completely matches mine. Its been a pleasure to dress women like Shaina Nc , Kiran Kher, Sangeeta Jindal Etc
FM: Who is your favourite Muse?
Shruti : Vidya Balan
FM: What is Shruti’s personal Style Mantra?
Shruti : I believe in understated luxury and restrained opulence in my clothes and I love the unsurpassed legacy of weaves, textiles and crafts the country has to offer and I try to incorporate them in my wardrobe with a global look. I personally love woven or Mul kurta’s ,Cotton or linen pants,printed dresses and jackets of all kinds.
FM: One piece of garment every woman should have in her wardrobe?
Shruti : A piece of garment every woman should have is a crisp white cotton shirt or Kurta depending upon the personality.
FM: Where can Fashionmate readers find more about your upcoming collections?
Shruti : Fashionmate readers can check my Facebook public page pinnacle by shruti sancheti or my Twiter handle shruti sancheti
FM: A Quick advice you would want to give to aspiring designers in India?
Shruti : Always follow your instincts, don’t be dictated by Trends and if you cant do different things, atleast do them differently.
