Hall of Fame: Samant Chauhan

WIFW: Samant Chauhan SS14

Young Indian fashion designer, Samant Chauhan designs beautiful clothing for both women and men.  He exhibits internationally and is on an upward trajectory after many years of dedication to his art.

Samant was born in Rajasthan and is passionate about working with master weavers from his area.  The NIFT graduate embarked upon fashion after first completing a physics degree at Bhagalpur University.  Samant consistently selects neutral and softer tones to counter the colourful spectrum typically offered by other designers in India.

So Samant, please tell me about your latest collection.

This is the series of Rajputana and this is the fourth season we are doing the same concept.

What is Rajputana?

Rajputana is about reviving the Rajputana name.  Rajasthan’s ancient name is Rajputana and I belong to that place which is one of the reasons I wanted to work on it.

WIFW: Samant Chauhan SS14
The first season we did a collection, the story was based on how the Britishers influenced the entire Rajputana region … so we were inspired by a lot of Victorian motifs and shapes and volume. 

Fashion Victims and Villains

Top by new ethical fashion brand, sketch london.

Left-leaning newspapers have been running a series of articles ever since the Bangladesh garment factory collapsed.  The death toll has now sadly passed 500, mostly women, but why are consumers and fashion brands being made to bear the majority of the guilty burden? That fingers have been pointed at some brands was inevitable and fashion is regularly targeted for being a poison of the world: the very sick and visible face of capitalism and greed.  In Bangladesh and India the tragedy is being reported as a corrupt failure of building regulations not a story about Evil Fashion Brands.

The usual suspects of British ethical fashion have been carted out with the usual snippets of condemnation and hissing at the likes of Primark, GAP and so on.  Will consumers care they ask? Can they afford to I ask?  This could be a long article so please get a cuppa or a glass of wine.  I promise you will learn a thing or two.