Designer Nimish Shah of Shift is introducing a 20-piece capsule collection at Le Mill’s new address in October. It’s a Winter/Cruise ’15 line, but it’s very much trans-seasonal. Plus, the designer has introduced footwear for the very time – easy-to-wear Kolhapuri chappal-inspired slingbacks. We caught up with him for deets:
He experimented with a lot with textiles.
“We have a bespoke jacquard that resembles a distorted ikat pattern in funky multi-colours. There are also washed khadis, rich organdies, menswear shirt fabrics and so forth. It’s soft tailoring with enormous attention to details in linings, buttons and pockets.”
His mood-board looks to the ’60s.
“Shift is perfect for transitional clothes. My mood-board for the brand stays constant – I am always looking at the ’60s and ’70s; Jacques Tati kind of neatness; controlled feminine elements; movies like The Talented Mr Ripley, Summer Lovers, The Dreamers…”
His colour palette is signature Shift with a twist.
“For the first time ever I was extremely tempted to add vermilion. I have used it before but scarcely. House colours like navy, khakhi, and black continue to dominate the line. The fabrics we’ve chosen are silks, cottons, blends and an assortment of khadis.”
His footwear is practical.
“I have always wanted to do footwear – something that every woman can buy. It had to be a staple design and I was always inspired by the humble Kohlapuri chappals; no matter how old the design is you can never get enough of it. This is my attempt to Anglicise them.”
He shares the songs that played on his mind through the making of this line:
Available from October at Le Mill, Level One, Pheroze Building, above Indigo Deli, Colaba, Mumbai
