Odisha Channel Bureau
BHUBANESWAR: RAAS, the high fashion handloom design studio ascended as one of India’s very few labels that displayed a classic collection in Paris.
RAAS team assembled a generous collection of hand-woven silks, linen, Erie & designer apparels to allure the French at the prestigious “WHO’s NEXT” International Trade Fair held recently at Porte De Versailles in Paris.
The brand exhibited all their products in the premium category along with international biggies like Asso, Barbara Lebek, and Linea Raffeli owing to the label’s finesse of IKAT, quality of raw materials & interesting design development theory.
RAAS shared the stage with three big shot Indian designers – Rahul Khanna, Rohit Gandhi and Rajdeep Ranawat – to represent India at the event.
In its 20th year, WHO’S NEXT is one of leading trade fairs globally with thousands of brands participating, and involves a 4tier screening method to get an entry to the Expo Porte De Versailles.
Brands participating have to undergo through a tough jury committee selection procedure that is carried out almost 7-8 months before the date of final show. The credit goes to the home-grown textile & fashion label that has been single-handedly promoted by our State weavers at various global arenas & stages.
RAAS offers a vintage line of contemporary designer ensembles which have been produced from traditional Odia weaving techniques of Ikat, Bomkai, Sambalpuri, Pasapalli and other weaving styles fused with latest fashions and design trends. In men’s wear one can find new trendy designer shirts, jackets and kurtas in vibrant colors and contemporary style.
“We have been trying to portray our weavers’ work in the best possible zones, and now getting shortlisted for such an enormous event is like a dream comes true for us. We have reinvented old patterns like Nabakathori, Ruturaj Basanta, Sudarshana, Shankha, and Pasapalli apart from developing newer styles of psychedelic and geometric IKAT and an entire range of varied new yardages like Organza, Erie & Ghicha. We aim at showing the finest our weavers can give to the world. Our designer Pritam has basically worked out on silhouettes to showcase an urban nomadic Odia along with styles of draped IKAT Sarees, Spencer jackets, trench coats, co-ord sets for women & waistcoats, shirts, footwear for men. There was an exclusive line of stoles that depicted the linear finesse of our weavers too,” said RAAS founder patron Rashmi Mohapatra.
With the effective abilities of Mohapatra & creative expertise of Pritam the label has already reached USA, UK, Bali, Dubai, Muscat & is now a household name with almost every socialite in the city!! The clothes are fabricated by designers specialized in high fashion garments. Highly skilled weavers from Odisha weave for RAAS to designs given by Rashmi Mohapatra’s team of designers under the guidance of internationally acclaimed fashion designer Pritam Panda.
RAAS aims to promote the cause of Odisha handloom artisans by sharing a portion of its profits for the upliftment and upkeep of families of participating weavers.