Ethnic elements amalgamate beautifully with modern prints and silhouettes – we’re loving Palanquine and all that it has to offer! SC met with the talented designer behind it all, Sandhya Shah and asked her to share the brand’s story.
SC: How did you begin your career?
SS: “As a child, I loved sketching and painting, I was very artistic. Always gravitated towards colours and embroidery – so, naturally, I landed up in fashion. Initially, I never had any formal training in designing, I am self-taught. Although, a couple of years into the business I decided to go to NIFT to do a course on pattern marking, just to get myself polished and well versed with the tricks of the trade.”
SC: What challenges did you face initially when you started your line?
SS: “With my first lehenga! I will never forget that incident. We (me and my former business partner) had our first bridal client and we were in the process of making her a lehenga worth Rs. 25,000/- with a lot of embroidery. The minute it was stitched, it started going up from all sides and drowning from the center. Somehow we managed to salvage it with a yoke at the waist and at last, the weight fell equally on all sides! These challenges are always there, with fabrics and how well they adhere to the weight of embroidery. I learnt it the hard way, through this incident.”
SC: ‘Palanquine’, that strikes us as an interesting name! What does it stand for?
SS: “We loved the whole concept of dressing a bride and designing for her – so the name derived from the palki that the bride sits in when she’s arrives for her wedding. Palanquine is my prêt line and I have a couture line under my own name.”
SC: What kind of fabrics and colours do you love playing around with?
SS: “I use a lot of georgettes and chanderi’s in corals and peaches.”
SC: How do you feel you stand out from the rest of the brands out there?
SS: “I don’t compromise on quality! Women and young girls who have slightly larger figures come to me wanting to look trendy – keeping their body types in mind, I give them asymmetrical silhouettes and thin flowy jackets to wear with. I can design for the youth and plus-size clientele as well, and not a lot of designers can manage the two successfully.”
SC: Why choose StyleCracker as a platform to exhibit your collection?
SS: “I love the way your styling team works – going back to the first borough I participated in, I had an excellent response, and an overwhelming amount of bespoke orders. The way you market your events, you’ll paint the town red for that week and people want leave everything behind and come for the Borough. I’m happy to have myself associated with team StyleCracker!”
SC: What can we expect from your upcoming collection?
SS: “Prints, a lot of them, in forms of crop tops, jumpsuits and lots more.”
Visit Palanquine on facebook to know more about the brand.
