1. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Can you draw fashion inspiration from
where you live?
Born and raised in India, I have harbored a strong passion for textile arts since as
long as I can remember. My mother and I used to scout out artisan fairs for hand
embroidered fabrics from little villages in Western India. We would make innovative
traditional clothing from these fabrics that created a unique wardrobe with lots of
interesting stories and details. When I moved to the United States, I had a strong feeling
of nostalgia that kept bringing me back to my passion for hand made clothes. I started
to sketch designs that would amalgamate my strong passion for traditional textile arts
and western fashion, and that was when the idea of the Avni brand was born.
2. What is fashion to you?
Fashion to me is about uniqueness and individuality. Avni is for women who appreciate
the beauty of hand made fabrics, enjoy wearing something truly one-of-a-kind, and
celebrate their own femininity.
3. How would you describe your personal style?
My individual style changes on a daily basis. Some days I tend to put on a more
classic and clean look, some days I will go for bohemian chic. It all depends on my
mood. I always like to add something unexpected to my outfit with color, draping, or
accessories. I like to have that element of surprise that really makes each outfit stand
out. And always have confidence and a smile, anything looks good with that!
4. Describe your vision of a perfect outfit ensemble.
I believe in three things as far as a perfect ensemble goes: Impact, Comfort, and
Individuality. I always think about impact as being unexpected elements such as color,
drape, fit. Comfort will bring confidence and smile. Individuality is all about making any
outfit your own. I usually accessorize well and try to bring the whole outfit together with
every detail that expresses what I am all about.
5. Name your favorite and least favorite past or present fashion trend/fad.
Favorite: Pleats and drapes. I am very fond of feminine silhouettes.
Least Favorite: Don’t think I have any least favorite trends.
6. What is your favorite fashbo you posted? Do you have a favorite fashbo that
someone else posted?
My favorite Fashbo that I’ve posted is June 14th’s “Finale Dress”. The photo was taken
at Ophelia’s Wardrobe charity fashion event in Newport, RI on June 10th. The Finale
Dress is a hand textured silk one shoulder dress with a hand embroidered silk overlay,
laced silk belt, and 6ft train. It’s dramatic and regal. You can see why it was the talk of
the event. I’m so very proud of this piece.
I really enjoy looking at everyone’s Fashbo posts. They are all so inspiring and unique. I
can’t just pick one, they’re all so great!
7. We can see from your website, AvniFashion.com, and from the fashbo’s of your work
you have posted to fashbo.com, that you are a very talented designer. What is your
process in coming up with a new design? What inspires you?
There are three things that inspire me- culture, music, and people. I am very inspired
by folk and artisan culture, including traditional garments and jewelry. I love to travel
and have enjoyed observing cultural nuances in rural India, Egypt, South Korea,
China, Japan, Turkey, to name a few. Music has always been a driving force for my
imagination and helps me formulate the look and feel of every collection. Last, but not
the least, is my inspiration from people. I like to bring out various characteristics of
women in my designs. Our Warrior Queen collection was inspired by the contrasting
aspects of a woman’s personality. The ‘sweet’ and ‘spice’, that makes each woman
unique, strong, and passionate.
8. How did you learn the trade of fashion design? Did you study it at a University? Self
taught? Family business?
My training started in my teenage years in India when I would partner with various
custom tailors to create unique pieces for myself. I think the experience of working first
hand with obscure fabrics and clothing was what really taught me a lot about design and
construction. I continued my interest in design and fabrics as a passion and in 2008 was
when the idea of Avni was born.
In order to better equip myself, I did study part time and learned construction, pattern
making, design, and textiles to get a good understanding of the technical aspects of
design. Even though I had a full time job, I used all my free time to immerse myself into
the fashion industry. I researched heavily and talked to various contacts that I had in
Boston and New York to truly understand if my concept had potential. It was October
2009 when I concluded that it was time to put both feet in the water and I took up being
an entrepreneur full time in Jan 2010.
9. You also talk about using artisan fabrics on your site. Can you tell us more about
these fabrics and why you choose to use them?
What I call artisan fabrics are essentially fabrics that have been crafted by hand.
From hand weaving on pit looms, to hand embroidery and hand dyeing, all our fabrics
embrace unique textile craftsmanship that is slowly becoming a lost art. I believe that
when you make something by hand, there is a part of you that goes in every creation
and that’s why the people who make my fabrics are very important to me. I also want
to bring some of these dying arts to the limelight and help proliferate as well as sustain
age old traditions and crafts.
10. Please tell us about your SS ’2011 and FW 2011 collections.
Our SS’11 Amorous Drapes collection is a salute to the artisan women who have been
a true inspiration. Feminine and demure, yet vivacious and strong, these characteristics
are explored in the form of drapes, structure, and attitude. These unique qualities have
been shaped into elegant silhouettes and contemporary looks that showcase all the
wonderful hand made elements and provide a connection with the artisan world.
Our FW’11 Warrior Queen collection was inspired by the contrasting aspects of a
woman’s personality. The ‘sweet’ and ‘spice’, that makes each woman unique, strong,
and passionate. Our looks draw from our image of a fierce, yet vulnerable, Warrior
Queen. The look and feel of this collection is all about bringing out these contradictions
through the juxtaposition of structured silhouettes with irregular necklines, sharp pleats
and soft drapes, and dark earth tones with warm fiery colors.
The world is full of established and up-and-coming designers. In fact there are so many wonderful designers generating amazing fashion that at times it can blend together into what we like to call “fashion noise.” Occasionally a designer comes along with a fresh unique take on fashion and fashion design. Our latest fashbo profile, Avni of Avni fashion, is of one of these fresh designers with a unique point of view. The fashbo crew absolutely loves the fashbos she has posted and the looks she has designed and produced to date. We very much look forward to seeing what this talented designer delivers in the future. Our money is on Avni as being one of the few designers that breaks away from the crowd and becomes a household name in fashion.
Avni
1. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Can you draw fashion inspiration from where you live?
Born and raised in India, I have harbored a strong passion for textile arts since as long as I can remember. My mother and I used to scout out artisan fairs for hand embroidered fabrics from little villages in Western India. We would make innovative traditional clothing from these fabrics that created a unique wardrobe with lots of interesting stories and details. When I moved to the United States, I had a strong feeling of nostalgia that kept bringing me back to my passion for hand made clothes. I started to sketch designs that would amalgamate my strong passion for traditional textile arts and western fashion, and that was when the idea of the Avni brand was born.
– however i would be flat broke 100% of the time if that happened, instead of just 80% of the time at the moment.
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