Babita Malkani on Indian Fusion Wear and Styling

Babita Malkani is a name to reckon with in the Indian Fashion Industry. A fashion career spanning close to two decades with a very distinct, urban sense of styling and a high level of comfort with international fabric and styles, epitomizes the ensemble of Babita Malkani, ‘Babita M, which was launched in the year 2006.

On the global front, she has earned noteworthy exposure. She was chosen to design the winning team’s jackets for the ICC Champion’s Trophy 2009 in South Africa, and in the same year, she also showcased her collection at the Dubai Fashion Week. 

With a knack to create high fashion in a chic avatar, designer Babita Malkani marries Haute Couture, rich fabrics with vivacious cuts and drapes, in a fun, edgy and one-of-a-kind manner. With International, cutting-edge silhouettes in mind, her outfits exude a global sensibility that enhances their appeal. 

We invited Babita Malkani to conduct a Masterclass for our students to help them understand the nuances of 'Indian Fusion Wear and Styling', and she readily accepted our invitation. 

At the masterclass she explained the story behind her recent collection called ‘Talim’ and the execution of the collection. Talim refers to a written code for weaving the oriental rugs and carpets created by Kashmiris for the pattern of knotting handmade carpets. 

Babita Malkani’s travels to Kashmir inspired her to work with 'Windows of Paradise', which form an integral part of the Talim carpets prevalent in Kashmir. She explained the making of the collection to the students, which has an indo-western appeal and lays emphasis on constructed silhouettes, signature drapes along with a blend of chic crops, pencil skirts and stylized pants giving it styles to suit the modern sensibilities of today’s women. 

At the masterclass, she suggested the students to create practical, wearable, trendy and creative designs for the graduation show collection. 

Later in the masterclass, Babita asked our students to illustrate 2 designs each on the basis of practicality, wearability & trendy, out of which she selected 2 students’ design which she really felt was different and creative. 

Babita also showed our students a few techniques of how to drape a dress.

Overall, at this masterclass our students got to learn a lot from the very talented designer, while also getting a sneak peek into the rich sartorial tradition of Kashmir.