Shantanu Goenka's fashion fairy tale

Shantanu Goenka, the ace designer from Kolkata, created a fairyland for his couture exposition'fashion in fairytale' at 85 Lansdowne, a famous multi-designer boutique of the city. A first of its kinds, the summer wedding line was set against a backdrop filled with characters from fairy tales. Scenographer Swarup Dutta and Shantanu, who jointly conceptualised this, brought alive characters from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess & the Frog and Alice in Wonderland.

Chatting with VM&RD, Swarup shares, "The concept of an art installation to launch an apparel collection is very new in India. The idea was to present the collection in an interesting way, which tells the story of the collection itself. In India, couture clothes are synonymous to bridal wear and the elaborate Indian weddings are more like orchestrated Fairytales. So we decided that we will present the clothes in an exaggerated fantasyland, and thus we zeroed down on fairytales as the underlying theme. The entire collection goes very well with the concept of fairytales as the palette is feminine, and the silhouettes are a mix of contemporary and periodic costumes.”
 
Shantanu opines, "The idea was to present the collection in such a way that as if it is pulled out from a fairytale book and I guess it wouldn't have been possible without 85 Lansdowne, as we got the perfect setting and the comfort level.” Goenka took over the 5,000 square-feet and two floors that comprise 85 Lansdowne, an 80-year-old mansion. He adds, "The theme is'frozen' and that's why white. The couture collection is very flowy and has huge drapes and the colour palette with lots of pink, purple, yellow, peach, lace and beads have a dreamy effect and romanticism, which is in sync with the characters we chose.”

The installation is a temporary one and Shantanu is optimistic about creating new concepts according to his different collections, as for him visual representation holds a very special place and also feels that such experimentation should be welcomed by the fashion and apparel industry.

On the entire visual thought Swarup informs, "The outside installation is an elaboration of 'flights of fantasy'. Fashion can make us whoever we want to become and can emancipate us, but it is also a trap! The installations were choreographed to have a greater impact as soon as one enters the space and then were stifled as we made them move through narrow spaces of a quaint colonial building.”
 
"We created a forest in the narrow corridors of the house as most of these'Fairytales' had a forest as an estrange or unfamiliar space which characterises the unknown and thus is also the space where the fantasty takes place and the hero / heroine of the story emerges as mature and brave individuals. We had many stories amongst which the prominent ones are Queen of Hearts from Alice, The Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland, The Pied Piper, The Sleeping Beauty, The Beauty and the Best and The Frog Prince to name a few. So while one meandered through the narrowed corridors and visited the rooms with the installation, the culmination of the same was at the veranda of the bungalow from where one may again look out and see the first installation afresh. It is almost like a release of the senses and like coming out of a dense forest into an open field.”

Shantanu adds on, "It was quite a challenge for us to develop such an installation which has to have an international appeal and we got great response from the entire fraternity.” On the similar note Swarup adds, "Everyone appreciated the fact that there is a trend of 'slow fashion' which is emerging as a new trend. Instead of fashion shows which only last for a few minutes, it is perhaps better to have installation which people can enjoy longer and also becomes imperative if the clothes are detailed. The audience can have a better integration with the clothes and can appreciate the detailing much more and it is almost impossible to have such an experience during a fashion show.”