Mumbai, January 30: Herbs like neem leaves, turmeric and jasmine will be incorporated in designer Reshma Merchant’s “non-toxic” line titled ‘The White Rose Collection’.
The collection will be showcased at the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2017 here. The designer will showcase her collection of “healing garments” under her label House of Milk (HOM), a boutique lifestyle brand co-founded by Merchant and Priyanka Kaul Lakdawala.
“With our healing garments, we are reviving a 2000-year-old craft and we will be presenting a very sophisticated, luxurious, one-of-a-kind healing collection,” Merchant said in a statement.
“Maya Angelou famously refocused the perfection of women in all her unique splendour in 1987,” reads their vision statement.
Following in that creativity, passion and the spirit of that phenomenon, almost four decades later, Reshma Merchant and Priyanka Kaul Lakdawala bring an understanding of a holistic, spiritual lifestyle that embraces wellness, sustainability and empowerment.
Ancient ayurvedic tradition of detoxifying fabric while enriching it with the additional benefit of wellness, is the mantra for the garments.
HOM has collaborated with experts of this practice to customise bolts of silk, linen and cotton spun with hand-picked herbs such as neem leaves, aloe vera, nochi leaves, curry leaves, turmeric, adhatoda, lavender, and jasmine amongst several others.
The result is a collection of fabrics which are therapeutic to the mind, body, soul.
The designer has taken inspiration by nature’s bounty and features motifs of roses, bees and caterpillars. She has worked with a muted palette, favouring shades of white and cream, in keeping with the soothing qualities of the cloth itself.
Embellishments and details are also inspired by nature and are minimalistic, yet very distinctive.
Reshma and Priyanka believe that a woman is made up of countless selves – daughter, sister, friend, student, teacher, lover, mother, child, wife, scholar, artist, dreamer, creator, doer, goddess, warrior, powerhouse.
“And her femininity and strength make her phenomenal in every role”. It is with this truth that Reshma and Priyanka celebrate with their brand – House of Milk.
The collection comprises cotton and silk garments, scarves, outfits for children, accessories and shoes.
Mishka Anderson
feature image: Reshma Merchant with co-designer Priyanka Kaul