Abraham & Thakore bring their Autumn/Winter 2022-23 collection to Chennai
The Hindu
Abraham & Thakore return to the city with printed tussar silk coordinates and sequined sarees from their Autumn/Winter 2022-23 collection
After showcasing their Autumn/Winter 2022-23 collection at the FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week earlier this year, fashion duo David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore have now brought it to the city this week. Returning to Chennai after almost a year, their label Abraham & Thakore will launch the new range that comprises “the full complement of womenswear” today, says David. Look forward to dresses, coordinate sets, sarees, footwear, and more.
The inspiration behind the new range, he says, was celebrating the return of normalcy. “It celebrates us starting to live our lives outside the confines of our homes due to the restrictions of the past couple of years. It focuses on elegant separates that are designed to see through a full working day or a social evening get together,” says David, adding that they are also launching their menswear collection of shirts, kurtas, easy jackets and pants in a range of exclusive prints, colours and patterns. As for homeware, there are bed covers, robes, cushions and accessories such as tea cosies and hot water bottle covers.
A quick look at the collection (upwards of ₹4,900) reveals that tussar silk is the conceptual pivot around which the apparels have been crafted. Shades of natural tussar — pale beige, sand and deep hues are a prominent part of the colour palette. “It includes a deep madder red and shades of warm colours ranging from clove to the golden hues of tussar. These are teamed with the perennial combinations of black and white that are an important part of the brand signature,” says David. The fabrics, he says, include silk and cotton along with sustainable cellulose blends such as tencel that are used with wool and wool blends for winter wear. His top picks from the new collection include the triangle block printed silk separates in madder, black and tussar; a multi-colour sequin dot saree with the coordinating saree, and a trench coat dress with tussar embroidery and sequins.
Addressing the collection’s sustainable quotient, the designer explains wild silk i:e tussar, “is a form of silk that is completely natural and is highly sustainable”. “While we have garments in tussar silk, as an innovation, we have also used tussar yarn as an embroidery yarn in many of the techniques this season creating a special tactile quality from this natural undyed yarn. We have also used organic cotton for many styles as well as sustainable tencel fabrics,” says David, adding that the duo is now working on their autumn-winter collection for which they are developing new designs in ikat and jamdani. “We are also looking to develop a small module of basic knitwear separates,” he concludes.
The exhibition is from 11am to 7.30pm until November 30 at Amethyst, Whites Road, Royapettah
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.