Read on as we speak to Priyanka about her recent collection at the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015. Excerpts here…

Be Beautiful: Tell us something about your new collection this LFW and the inspiration behind it.
Priyanka Lama: My collection for Winter/Festive season at Lakmé Fashion Week was reminiscent of my school days at Loreto Convent in Darjeeling. Set in an era of the Catholic Convent, the collection revered the vows, rigidity, softness and resilience of the human mind. I have used high quality handloom weaves of pashmina, cashmere, angora and silks in midnight hues for my designs. For bringing this theme to life, I spent some time with the Sisters of Good Shepherd Convent in Bangalore who generously allowed me a rare inside view of a Convent life.
BB: Does your current collection draw any parallels to ‘Utopia—your theme for LFW S/S 2015—where you mentioned you drew from imperfections and natural beauty?
PL: My brand is deeply rooted in the wabi-sabi school of thought which celebrates beauty in imperfections. Conforming to this, the collection used simple non-imposed organic forms to create complex pieces which were made to look simple. A closer look will tell a story of its own, which in essence is wabi-sabi.
BB: The color code for your collection was kept to purely white and organic shades. What can we expect this time?
PL: The color palette this season was blue black. Black being the colour of professed members in the order once the permanent vows are taken by the novices. The colour is symbolic to the embracing of a simple and unpretentious life, bared to the minimum.
BB: Which international trends have inspired you to the most; is there one designer in particular?
PL: More than trends, I vote for fashion that surpasses time. I admire Yohji Yamamoto for bringing poetry into fashion.
BB: What do you think is going to be the biggest trend this LFW?
PL: I love the fact that Lakmé Fashion Week is promoting Indian Handloom and Textiles actively this season with celebration of the very first National Handloom Day declared by our Prime Minister on the 7th of August. I am very proud to be part of the Indian Textiles and Handloom Day at Lakme Fashion Week and the ‘Make in India’ movement.
BB: The 5 things one can always find in your wardrobe…
PL: My go-to maxi dresses, platforms to run around in, wigs to experiment colours, muslin fits from my NIFT days and pearls.
BB: If you were to describe your collection in three words, you’d say it was…
PL: A quiet authority
BB: Any contemporary whose work you are looking forward to in particular?
PL: Kaleekal by Alan Alexander on the 29th of August
Credits -
Photographed by Praveen Munniyappa
Styled by Sid Do
Collaboration with Studio C9.
Model – Lakpa Yanki
Written by Khubi Amin Ahmed on 9th Sep 2015