Fashion Inspirations from Wendell Rodricks and Anjana Sharma

The students of Whistling Woods- Neeta Lulla School of Fashion are mentored by acclaimed designers and professional from the fashion industry. Furthermore, our ‘Masterclasses’ expose the aspiring designers to the ever dynamic world of fashion. Our latest Masterclass held on 17^th April, 2015 was all about drawing inspirations from the works of leading Designer Wendell Rodricks and, Anjana Sharma, COO and Fashion Director of Stylista.

 

At the Masterclass, Wendell and Anjana discussed various aspects of fashion design with the students. Wendell started off by sharing his journey and experiences as a designer. He also spoke about how he draws inspiration from the the colours, serenity and beauty of  nature, sea, flowers and trees, which he demonstrated through a beautiful presentation and showed how he translates his inspiration into breathtaking designs.

Wendell was also inspired by his birthplace, Goa and its natural beauty. It inspired him to create some brilliant designs, which he shared and presented with stories of Goa and how it translate into his designs.

He believes that creativity and practicality should be given equal importance in the field of fashion. He also encouraged the aspirants, not to limit themselves to just one aspect of fashion, but to enjoy and explore as much as they can. Along with exploring, designers need to be well-aware about the different fabrics and textiles while creating new designs and his one golden advice to the students was that, “a designer should never be afraid of scissors.”

Anjana Sharma, on the other hand, shared great insights on fashion and market trends. Her discussion helped the students to better understand why the balance between commercial knowledge and creative brilliance is of importance, in the fashion industry.

This insightful Masterclass culminated with the two honorary guests conducting a one-on-one mentoring session with the graduating batch, where they shared their design ideas for their ‘Graduation Day’ collection. 

Overall, the Masterclass and post-Masterclass session gave our students some great insight regarding the aesthetics of fashion designing alongwith inspiring the aspirants to put their soul into their art.

In Search of Inspiration

No matter how skilled, talented or passionate you are, every now and again we need inspiration to strike. Be it a painter, writer or fashion designer, everyone seeks that burst of brilliance to achieve something stupendous. Inspiration can come in any form at any time, sometimes when you least expect it. Just as a painter can be inspired by the beauty of nature, a writer might find a lover to be his muse and a fashion designer might be fascinated by an era.

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana, for their summer 2014 collection, found inspiration in ancient coins from a bygone era. A coin type from Syracuse which was used in the fifth and fourth centuries BC was the focal piece of the collection. Once the most powerful city in ancient Sicily, Syracuse crafted some of the most spectacular coin designs, which Dolce & Gabbana incorporated these designs in their large belts and shoes creating something truly spectacular.

Neeta Lulla

Neeta Lulla, the leading designer of our country, back in 2012 displayed her extravagant collection in the Lakme Fashion Week that was inspired by the saga of Radha and Krishna. With it, Neeta Lulla reached new heights of elegance and grace. The line was based on ‘Radha’ and actress Hema Malini graced the stage as the character and stunned the audience with her performance. For the talented designer, Radha has been a symbol of grace and believes her to be the epitome of beauty and romance. Radha inspired Neeta to depict feminity and grace in a never-before seen manner. 

Inspiration struck Rashmi Thakur, an aspiring fashion designer and a student of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion. She found her inspiration in the busy streets of Mumbai. While travelling in a humble auto rickshaw, she realized that the rickshaws of Mumbai are an art in themselves. The hard and tough structure and the simple play of the two colors, black and yellow inspired Rashmi. The colors, for Rashmi, defined the vehicle, which she has portrayed in her designs. Her collection is inspired from the tough exterior and soft humility of the rickshaws.  

Below is the mood board, silhouette board and the rendered designs that she came up with based off her brush with inspiration.

 

Rashmi Thakur