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MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER - Karuna and Shraddha Khaitan
The last
isolated farmhouse in the avenue serenely tucked away in a remote suburb
on the outskirts of Delhi, is the warm cocoon from which the demure Karuna
Khaitan operates. Khaitan exudes a certain aura: gentle yet awe-inspiring.
Khaitan remembers her very first exhibition, put up jointly with friend
Shobhna Bhartia at Park Hotel, Calcutta in 1985.
Not having
included any overheads, they had priced their outfits so low, that everything
was sold out even before the morning was over. And they had to cope with
crowds of disappointed buyers for the rest of the day. She and Bhartia
had begun creating salwar kurtas, only the year before and because of
their initial apprehension decided to do it on a small scale. Prior to
this, she recalls how she would scout the nook and corners of the city
for buttons, threads and whatever else to create affordable-but-one-of
-their-kind sets for herself and her friends. What made her pound the
pavements to embellish her painted outfits when she could've sourced them
en masse from large stores?
Her matter-of-fact
answer: Necessity. "For the working woman who couldn't shell out
major bucks for designer outfits, I decided to provide an option. Value-for-money
basically." Even today, Karuna Khaitan caters to the same women and
their daughters. Those who don't buy her creation only to wear it for
one gala evening and then discard it. Because, she points out, she doesn't
create outfits with such a short lifespan; her creations reflect a timeless
appeal. Understandably, considering how she keeps in mind, the wearer
and her lifestyle when she designs her clothes. The idea, she says stems
from the fabric. "The fabric tells you what it is to be made into."
She adds, "I want people to feel comfortable in my clothes, not look
as though they're bedecked like X'mas trees," explaining the absence
of flamboyance in whatever she creates. She ruefully admits the limitations
of Indian clothing. "It's difficult to develop them in small quantities.
I don't find
the Indian line satisfying as these kind of clothes are affordable only
by the rich. So I want to launch an Indian line that's mass-based. I am
working on it. In fact, western wear is commercially viable at low prices,
so I have diversified into that." She remembers how it started, "A
Catholic friend wanted a black velvet skirt to match her blouse. I thought
I would help her pick one as I didn't think my tailors were up to it.
It was when I was going from shop to shop with her that I realised the
dearth of immaculately tailored western outfits and how buyers had to
rely mostly on foreign labels. These in turn were not exactly affordable
for the average buyer, who then had no choice but to break her heads with
indifferent darzis. This is how the idea of cultivating a classy western
look for the Indian woman took shape." But Khaitan didn't want to
enter the scene in a small way, the way she and her friend had tested
waters when they had begun almost a decade ago.
This is
where her enterprising daughter, Shraddha, stepped in. Khaitan had packed
Shraddha off to the London School of Fashion Studies in 1994 and after
the return of the prodigal daughter, the duo launched their western wear
line. Shraddha recollects how the system abroad emphasises individuality.
"The teachers motivate you to strengthen your strong points and discourage
a know-it-all attitude," she says. "They would encourage the
students to experiment and were very open to incorporating Indian motifs
and textiles like mirrorwork and bandhini." Both mother and daughter
are vocal about the Indian fashion industry lagging far behind. Abroad,
the student is taught to do everything from designing to cutting, sewing
and even making the accessories to create the complete look. This kind
of discipline enables the student to perfect clothes-making as an art.
Sadly, as
the mother-daughter duo lament, since their workers lack this sort of
motivation, the end pieces does not have that international finesse. But
Shraddha excuses their slip shod work by saying that considering the kind
of poor conditions workers live in they can hardly be expected to pay
attention to detail. Nevertheless the Khaitans, being hard taskmasters
are able to extract the best from those who work for them. And despite
all odds, the hard-working pair has managed to strike a balance, of re-doing
a piece till it's perfect. Their western wear label 'Pret' bears testimony
to their pain-staking efforts. Not content with this success, the enterprising
women have launched a unique bridal line, where each individual piece
can be worn separately. A bold step for someone like Karuna Khaitan, who
on the eve of her first exhibition all those years ago, had to be reassured
by her husband that if the outfits didn't sell he would buy them! Well,
he needn't have worried, he didn't know it then, but he had laid the roots
for Wild Orchid to bloom.
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MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER - Karuna and Shraddha Khaitan
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