Sembiya Mahadevi

It may seem like a very odd idea for people these days to understand the fashion in our ancient history. I being the most interested in the history of fashion of women in almost every culture, learned that women of ancient India had a very elegant way of expressing their beauty. As you can see in the above depiction, she is not wearing any upper garment. Revealing beasts were never offensive back then. For the purpose of modesty, I have partially covered her breasts, but, back then, it was not necessarily covered. As you can see the lower garment is also well pleated and tucked. They usually used long elaborate clothes, which they pleated or folded or tucked according to convenience. Apart from clothing, the jewelry they wore were much elaborate and poping. Their jewelry was always embellished with shining precious gems and made out of silver, gold, copper or brass. It varied according to their social status.

Sembiya Mahadevi was a title given to the women of royal blood in south India. They were considered the mother or goddess of the kingdom. And keeping in mind that the beauty of women in our history was unimaginable, I have depicted what was considered beautiful back then.

• Face with no sharp angles.
• A curvaceous body.
• Lustrous, black hair that is fragrant (referring to the scented flowers adorned).
• Tender and big breasts and
• Almond shaped piercing eyes.

These were what counted a woman to be irresistibly magnificent in ancient India.

Mistletoe Guardian

It’s the season of Christmas and joy! What else would our theme be other than the one and only festive season, Christmas! Mistletoe is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology and that’s where the custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from. Being one the most wonderful and mystical creation, I wonder how it would survive in a world with the greediest men seeking the best of luck they want? This is just a very creative and imaginative creation of mine, where I picture a beautiful little guardian, pouring her blissful magic into every little pearl of mistletoe, protecting it from being taken by the undeserved and assuring it reaches the hands of people who deserve pure love and all the luck in their life when the ripening season arrives. To the human conception and perception the existence of such mythical creatures may sound funny, but who knows what nature has in store for us? 😉

Nefertiti

The theme for this design was drapes and instantly the first thought that came to my mind was ancient Egyptian clothing. In the ancient Egypt, they used many draping according to their status in the society. The royals had the most drapes and the amount of clothes reduced according to the hierarchy of the society. For this design, I chose the famous Egyptian queen Nefertiti. She was known as the most adored woman in the entire of the Egypt. She was wise, loyal, and the most beautiful woman known in the all of Egypt. This costume shows the drapes formed at the back of the dress forming ripples because of how it has been wrapped around her body. The colors used in the dress also gives a insight of the colors most used by the Egyptians. The neck piece defines a status symbol in pre-dynastic Egypt. It was a symbol of power, religion, and status. It enabled to show a greater focus for families of nobility, and royals. This created a larger demand for elaborate pieces. The headpiece shown in the illustration is a crown that is a symbol of identification of status, mostly worn only by the royalties. The waistband is a modified version of the waistbands the ancient Egyptians wore to hold their garments in place. It was used by all Egyptians but the royals always had more of a decorative touch to their way of dressing. The amount of clothing and jewelry used also shows her high status, power, and her royal elegance.

Semiramis

Semiramis is the name of a beautiful and brave Assyrian queen who was one of the women who introduced trousers. When the kingdom lost their king, she took matters into her own hands and ruled the kingdom for 42 years all by herself. Women were not admitted to positions of authority in the Assyrian Empire, and to have a woman ruler would have been unthinkable unless that particular woman had enough power to take and hold it. She was one of the most adored and respected queen in the history of old Assyria, because of the glory she brought to her kingdom and the number of wars she had won. Therefore, I could not think of a better name for this specific design. In this drawing the given theme was Arabian warrior princess. The picture shows a typical Arabian warrior princess who is clearly in a much later period of the history, which can be identified by the type of clothing. I have tried to show her fierce power, her relentless sharp eyes and her unstoppable determination. The Arabic print on her waist cloth, the Arabic word engraved on her dagger (it means ‘death’), her turban cloth covering her face, and the fact that her body is completely covered shows her Arabian Origin. It is my imaginative way of showing how the Queen Semiramis has been reborn as an Arabian warrior princess who still strives to fight for her kingdom.

Artemis

As a second theme was given, we had to work on a design that reflected on bare feet. My inspiration struck on the ancient Greek goddesses. At the very beginning, shoes were never invented and the gods roamed the planet bare foot. Therefore I chose to depict the Greek goddess Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, moon, wilderness, and maidenhood. She was one of the most beautiful and brave female goddesses, who protected all the women and gave them strength just like hers. Since she is the goddess of the moon, her dress reflects the color grey depicting the regular color of the moon and the color blue to represent the rare occurrence and sighting of a blue moon since it is very rare that she visits the mortal world. She is also the goddess of archery and she only uses silver bow and arrows which has also been shown in my design.

The Salvation Sorceress

The picture above is a design that I drew as an Halloween costume. This design was inspired by the Harry Potter series. The four different houses in the series, Gryffindor (Red), Slytherin (Green), Ravenclaw (Blue)and Hufflepuff (Yellow) are depicted in the dress in the form of the respective colors blending on her dress. The sorceress’s dress shows her as daring and brave as the Gryffindors, wise as the Ravenclaws,  loyal and fair as the Hufflepuffs & ambitious and cunning like the Slytherins. The interesting part is, it questions if she could be a salvation to the good or to the bad, therefore, filling the design with its own mystery.

My First Fashion Show

I have aspired to be a fashion designer right from grade 8, and now as a first year student of Amity University I have got the best opportunity to show case my design through my first fashion show, Faste. The basic theme of our show was about sustainability and this was a wonderful opportunity as well as an amazing experience to see our designs put out for the others to recognize our talents. This show has not only showcased what we have designed but also has taught us valuable lessons about the techniques in which a dress can be made. The theme on its own has spoken about the awareness and care for the environment, which is a catchy way to spread he awareness of sustainablity.