Category: Editorial

Where the kites fly.

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion, featured

My fascination with the sky has been like a love affair. After I moved to Bangalore, weekends and early evenings come together on the terrace, sitting and staring at the blue, endless sky and look at the kites flying above you. Majestic looking, their glide only adds to my fascination.

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Just how I love the blue sky, I also love design. And Urvashi Kaur. I think she is filled with great passion for her craft and her energy is infectious. I always want to know what her new range is like. There is a certain romanticism in the choice of weaves, textures, colours and cuts she puts together. Yet, such absolutely practical pieces that you fall in love. I picked  3 pieces from her label Urvashi Kaur (shirt and jacket) and Kapda by Urvashi Kaur (T-shirt) to shoot. The pants are my own. The shirt and jacket “touch and feel” amazing. One could live in them. I remember trying the jacket at her stall at Lakme Fashion Week for the first time and refusing to get out of it,

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These are only among the several other things that I love from her range. Out of the three, the t-shirt is the one that took me to the sky. The dye effect reminded of a black eagle. Rest all was a chain reaction from there. I hope I could marry the romance I feel for the sky and great clothes together here.

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Shirts and Jacket by Urvashi Kaur and Kapda by Urvashi Kaur.

Concept, Styling and Photography by me.

Sahdev Hooda

Suit it Indian

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion, what I wore

May life be filled with more travel plans and friends getting married at exotic locations.

I wore this look by NoughtOne (by Abhishek Paatni) for one of my dear friend’s wedding. The ‘bandhgala’ to me, is always appropriate for all indian occasions. I think it has been quite a while since I last wore a suit with a tie. Not the biggest fan of ties.

Made famous and followed by his name, the ‘Nehru Jacket’ is a style which I feel has a clear indian feeling attached to it. I recently blogged about a ‘bandhgala’ suit from another indian designer and I realise that they are spontaneously becoming a part of my personal style. This suit has a more modern edge with its crisp fabric and contemporary styling and details. One could even wear it with a mandarin collared shirt. I paired it with a bright blue shirt of mine. It was a perfect highlight for the light beige of the suit.

My friends poked fun at the look by calling it the look of Ladakh as the terrain is mostly rocky, hence beige and the blue of the sky is as clear and saturated as the shirt. I didn’t have much to argue about that and I laughed along with them.

I was once told at a French designer boutique that true luxury is reflected from the inside. Be it the finesse of the jacket lining or the way you maintained your drawers. Abhishek always scores well on that. I haven’t seen his office drawers but I am talking about his designs here. He always has a thought behind how he finishes the clothes he makes. Perfect highlights and impeccably finished insides. This is where a true gentleman would put his money.

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Shot in ‘Neh’ valley near Leh.

Photographed by Malvika Jain.

Softer lands. 

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion, featured

Something that Anuj Bhutani can never go wrong with is his colours. I have been an admirer of his work from the first time I went through his work. His refined sense of colour and fabric has always made see a great aesthetic value in his clothes.

I was going to Leh and Anuj can not be a miss. The moment I spoke to him about my plans of shooting in Leh, he knew what was it that he would like me to shoot. It started off with this beautiful jacket. I loved the volume of it and the quirky tie ups on the waist and the hem. The fluid cotton on the body of this jacket feels great to ear and the tonal embroidery on the lower left panel is absolutely beautiful. Subtle is the word when it come to this label. We matched it with a plain cotton kurta and ankle length pants from the same genius. His fits are always impeccable and it is a complete delight to be wearing Anuj Bhutani.

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This look was shot in a beautiful small village called “Nimmu”, very close to Leh .

Photographed by Malvika Jain.

Grunge that suits

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion

This is the first coming together of my blog and the Label Suket Dhir. I am glad to personally know even the person Suket Dhir. He was my senior at college. Seeing Suket win the Woolmark prize was a complete delight. The collection looked brilliant and all the looks photographed beautifully well. That is not always easy with handloom fabrics. I have been trying to participate in the idea of promoting indian, hand-woven fabrics and this grungy suit from Suket Dhir is a great way to begin the process.

Not only does he research and know his slubby, textured fabrics well, he also sees a great amount of beauty in the craft that our country weaves. This easy cut suit is a great example of that. The perfect blue on the weave is detailed with wooden buttons and a paisley print silk lining. The pants are the most comfortable pair of formal pants I have ever worn. The volume and the cut of it does have a slight sense of nostalgia as I remember the members of my previous generations wearing loose boxy pyjamas along with their kurtas and ease with the breeze. I am really in love with this outfit. This is a must have for winters. The ensemble does have the perfect balance of everything that you look for in designer wear.

I look forward to another post soon with Suket where I would love to talk more about his design journey and how the his sensibility evolved from the fibre level of thinking and making.

Also, excuse me for putting a little extra photographs on this post. But this is only for the complete viewing pleasure as I loved the location we shot at. We shot this look at this lovely place before Rohtang called Sarchu. We stayed in a cottage on the banks of the river ‘Baaga’. Delightful is the word.

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Photographed by Rahul Lal.

 

Rock and Feathers

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion, featured

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If life is a journey then it all happens when you are on the way.

Shot on one of the most scenic roads I have ever experienced in my life, this all Huemn look is one of my all time favourites from the brand. The sleeves are everything in this look. The white chevron stripe breaking the feathers embellishment into the all black of the whole look has an outlandish impact. I knew it deserved a certain backdrop when I picked up the look but what in particular that was, i didn’t. While driving through the rocky terrain that leads to Leh, mesmerised and humbled by the beauty and enormity of nature around, this look effortlessly found its aesthetic relationship with the colors and textures and some unclear emotion of it.

We stopped at different spots which we thought were right, driving at the height of 5000m or more.The last set of pictures was actually shot at 5500m approx.

This strong and impactful look got its place in places I had never seen before.

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Photographed by Rahul Lal.

Special thanks to Rigzin Negi. My partner in crime since 2004.

#5 Sports Tailoring

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion

Fashion is like a cloud. You can not define it as one thing. Some say it goes in circles where I believe it is a constantly evolving word. Similar is the case with this all HnM(+ Nike sneakers) look “Sports tailoring”.

Sitting next to each other, traditionally these two words don’t have much in common. Sports being defined around fluid body movements and tailoring has its definitions in structure. When put together after a long stretch of the sportswear paradigm shift, this trends marries the structure and formal elements of tailoring with the ease of movement inspired from sportswear. Not just the patterns, even the little tape highlights around the hems, pockets and more, are what define this look.

 

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With technical and special fabrics supporting the innovation of garment design, this trend trend incorporates a lot of special performance fabrics which have special fibres and blends that we do not find in natural fibre based fabrics easily, e.g. stretch or water resistant fabrics. One of the most relevant trends I think and I really look forward to how it shapes ahead in coming seasons.

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This look was shot at a helipad in Shimla. The clear blue sky was such a treat. One could see the muddy skyline above the city side and a clear, clean skyline towards the mountains. It is always a rejuvenating experience to be in the Himalayas. Soulful.

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Photographs by Rahul Singh Negi

Local Assistance: Johny Negi

#1 Tobacco Dandy

by SahdevHooda, posted in Editorial, Fashion

One of the most commonly spotted colours at Pitti Uomo this time was the colour Tobacco and the close relative variations of the same. This all All Anuj Bhutani look represents that very well for me.

Talking about Anuj Bhutani. I have always loved the label for its rich fabrics and richer colours. This modern dandy look is a combination of separates from him, put together to create this uber chic, uptown feel.

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Going back to our main man of the story, the colour tobacco, this look was built on that. The rust colour shirt and the tobacco jacket was broken with a grey textured waist coat and matched with grey trousers and grey suede shoes.

The rich colours are a complete win for me and the mix of shine on tobacco and textured greys gives more depth and enriches the visual appeal.

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Classic details like the three coloured, stacked pocket flaps on the jacket and the contrast belt on the waist coat are the subtle details I love and look for in designer labels. Anuj definitely aces on that. As you can see.

So Tobacco family it is for 2016.

 

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This look was shot in the beautiful vintage compound of Advanced Studies, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. This establishment is of great historical importance as this is where the final meeting over the partition (post independence) happened. It is a must visit spot, if you happen to be in Shimla.

Photographs by Rahul Singh Negi

Local Support: Parish Thakur, Johny Negi