Indian couturier Ashna Kalra will showcase at the LA Fashion Week later this month

Romancing in style

Indian couturier Ashna Kalra will showcase at the LA Fashion Week later this month

It will be quite an achievement for desi fashion designer Ashna Kalra, 27, who will be showcasing her collection at the upcoming LA Fashion Week. The line, describes Ashna, is “like a walk through my dreamland, a walk through the broadways and outlines of my imagination. The inspiration is so amorous; I wanted to splash the collection into colourful and romantic elements.” With a strong focus on the silhouettes and textures, the collection is also characterised by bright colours — mostly soft colour palette of reds, pinks and yellows. A young couturier, Ashna has worked as a freelance designer for many global fashion brands including French Connection, Burberry, Nicole Farhi and Aurora Fashions and it was during this period that she also launched her individual handbag line, and after a while, came up with the couture label — Ash Haute Couture. Enhancing the feminine feel with fabrics like chiffon, net and silk, the collection is designed to exude passion and romance. “The silhouettes for this collection have a soft and gentle form, adding to or enriching the curves of the body. The look is chic, modern and very delicate. It also has an element of female beauty where the woman is strong yet maintains her femininity,” says the young designer who will be showcasing her collection on October 18. Ask her what was the real inspiration behind these creations and Ashna insists that the collection is more about a mood than about a specific inspiration. “Softness was the key appearance of this romantic attitude. Interlacing grace and strength, the natural essence of these fibers explodes in the nobility of the fabrics. The touch of the fabric shows the desires of the skins,” she adds, hinting that the idea is a spin off from her own life and aims to celebrate love, joy and flirtation.