By incorporating herbs like neem and tulsi in her collection, designer Reshma Merchant has developed a "non-toxic" range for wellness of women under her label House Of Milk (HOM).
Showcasing her line at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2017 here, Reshma, the wife of Bollywood music composer Sulaiman Merchant, says she wanted to make a difference and give something back to the society.
"I have always wanted to do fashion. I am a thoroughbred corporate girl and by the time I got around to working on my passion, I realised that it was time for me to also give back to the society...It was not just about trying to create a name or a brand. It was about doing something that made a difference," Reshma told IANS here.
The designer visited an ayurvedic hospital and worked on the research and development for the project, which took her five years before she launched the line.
"We started with trying to find people who knew the art of ayurvedic dyeing and then we evolved it by creating it into white because every single product that has any leaf, root or flower will leave a colour," said the designer, who works on fabrics like organza, crepes and satin.
"We started with the process of detoxifying everything and we realised how much toxicity was there...Our mission first became to detoxify first...because what touches my patrons' body is beautiful and not harmful and then we gave it the additional benefits of healing by adding aloe vera, neem, gulab (rose), lavender, tulsi and wild sage," she added.
It has the same benefit of ingesting herbs, says the designer, adding that wearing the right fashion can also help in wellness.
"It gives you wellness. If you talk about tulsi, you know the benefits of it, gulab works on your hormones, nochi works on hypertension, lavender is for tranquility, aloe-vera is for moisturising...," she said.
Talking about her clientele, Reshma said: "There is a certain type of client, who understands my fashion. She is very well travelled. She is ... for whom wellness comes before having to put a logo on it and yes, we have been identified very quickly. We only create pieces in white."
The designer also thanked ace fashion designer Wendell Rodricks for recommending her to the fashion event.
"When he launched my work in Goa... being a 10-month-old brand this November, he recommended us to LFW," she said.
(The writer's visit to Mumbai is at the invitation of Lakme Fashion Week organisers. Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)
--IANS
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