Style in six yards

Shaina NC is dead beat after a day filled with client interactions at the “Attitude” show in the city. “Sorry, sorry...” she yawns. Time’s ticking away — it’s almost midnight. But the designer-politician-workaholic is game for a chat fest on India’s haute heritage, her sari fixation and why politics means so much to her.

Fashion is as fickle as the stock market. But the style-setter from Mumbai is a steadfast campaigner for the sari. “I don’t believe in trends. I’m focussed about giving the sari its prime place on the fashion radar. It’s part of our heritage. All it needs is an urban versatility to turn on the hip young crowd.”

Miffed at Bollywood stars attending global red carpet events with contoured gowns that reveal miles of cleavage, the sari-and-drape specialist says, “I can’t understand why we take to Western attire when we have such a rich clothes tradition to take forward. Why can’t our so-called cultural ambassadors wear saris instead of gowns to international film awards? There’s nothing that matches the fine drape and slinky silhouette of a well-made sari. Sadly, it takes a Jemima Khan or Elizabeth Hurley in those six yards for us to go ‘Wow’.”

After a reflective pause she continues, “I know oversized aunties who want to get into gowns just because they’re in vogue. Please... follow trends only if they suit you. Style is about individuality, not compliance. Fashion forecasts are a waste of time. Saris don’t get dated. It gives me a high when clients walk up to me in saris bought several seasons ago. That’s the magic of the multi-yard attire.”

Determined to make the sari a style staple, Shaina creates lines in dreamy fabrics with intricate detailing. “The challenge lies in not making it boring or overly conservative — but an attire that smacks of attitude and style.” So she experiments with drapes and fancy blouses to give the sari its edge quotient. “It’s not a blanket, it’s a sari. The silhouette must make you look slim and camouflage those child-bearing hips.”

One among a small band of designers who base their reputation on their clothes rather than on their larger-than-life persona, Shaina says, “Indian designers have not done their share in promoting the sari. Of late, everything has become Western — from fabric and cut to even inspiration!

Talk about her “passion” — politics, and Shaina smiles, “It isn’t easy juggling a flourishing design career and a demanding political agenda. But I’m a workaholic. And I’m unbelievably focussed about what I’m doing. Sometimes, my obsession for work scares me!”

A fiery speaker since her school days (“I could address a thousand-strong gathering without batting an eyelid”) Shaina knew she had it in her to become a politician. A political science graduate, she recalls her dad — Nana Chudasama, former sheriff of Mumbai — being one of her early influences. “Looking back, I wonder how I got into design because politics was foremost on my mind. I discovered my flair for drape only when I took to design to help out my mom who founded Mumbai’s premier boutique Golden Thimble. And, surprisingly, I ended up studying fashion at New York. Now, I feel blessed. Politics is not a livelihood for me. So I can carry forward my social-political goals without compromises or worrying about the next elections,” says the young spokesperson for BJP in Mumbai.

Quiz her about her glam image complementing her political pursuits, and she rues, “To be honest, people wonder how a designer can make a good politician. It hasn’t really helped. But yes, name-wise, there is instant recall value.”

Keen on translating her wish into reality, Shaina is involved with a host of NGOs in Mumbai. “I believe in taking up tangible projects. We have beautified over a dozen paediatric wards in government hospitals. Every year, we distribute free saplings for a cooler, greener Mumbai. That’s not all; I work closely with cancer support groups and spastic children.” With a can-do spirit she adds, “I’m consciously involving students in my social work. I feel if they are motivated in the right direction, their future and the country’s future would be bright.”

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