Saying adaab to winter

Sonya Battla’s latest collection is reminiscent of overcoats worn by Indian women in the early 1900s.

KARACHI:

Talking of grandeur and craft, Sonya Battla thrives on devoting her expertise to brace a scope of forgotten culture. With her studio located at E-Street, Clifton, and her winter collection launched in the market, she spoke to The Express Tribune about the idea behind the newly deliberated ensembles.

“It’s a fusion line, which is reviving old trends belonging to an era when people tended to wear waist-coats. This collection has been done up in modern times and in eastern wear,” Batla elaborated on the new rack of her store.

She strongly believes that winter time is “all about layering,” and her latest collection is directly focused on setting off a new trend. From quilted silk over-coats with the kanta work in perspective, to fitted over coats, ranging in a wide range of colours, she wants Karachiites to suit up. “The waist-coat and over-coat trend is an all eastern wear, which should definitely pick up this season.”

Reminiscing about old times, she recalls how her paternal grandmother would adorn herself in “ruffled kurtis and an over-coat in the heated warm summers.” Battla does not shy away from her heritage and says she has taken splendid cues from it. “I am innovating upon a tradition. Tradition is heritage and that certainly belongs to everyone, I am just innovating.”

Battla’s new collection features layering vests with chicken-kari and kanta technique. PHOTO CREDIT: RIZWAN UL HAQ

Citing the time of the 1857 War of Independence as the era the waistcoat became an important staple of men’s wardrobes, Battla asserts that later on between 1900 - 1930s the waistcoat and overcoat became very dominating in women’s wear in the Subcontinent.“Fashion evolved primarily in Lucknow and Delhi and to an extent in Bhopal, where you can find these strong, dominant women wearing such collectable items.”

On the subject regarding how she feels the Karachi crowd would respond to her culturally inspired designs, she exclaims, “It’s been tested! In summer I have had these ruffled kurtis with chicken-kari work on it, and these white ones have been an instant hit.”

She is proud of the fact that the initiative behind the ethnic designs originated very much in her own home, as she had witnessed her mother and paternal grandmother dress in them.

As far as prices are concerned, her collection is a touch expensive, “Yes, to an extent it is expensive. You create these discerning pieces and have the handiwork of craftsmen busy doing kanta or chicken kari, this adds value to the craft. This makes us stand out from the crowd in the West. All it needs is a little respect. Foreigners are willing to pay the price. It’s expensive but it’s worth every penny.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2014.

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