This time last year, actor Amrita Puri launched a clothing label, Akuri by Puri, with her mother, Smiley Puri. The duo is back to brighten up our summer with with watercolour prints on floaty dresses, crop tops, suits and shift dresses. We couldn’t resist a peek before the line enters Mumbai’s multi-designer store Atosa.
She’s got us geared up for summer
I wanted to work with cottons and lighter fabrics; fabrics that breathe. This collection has flat chiffon, different kinds of cotton, crêpe, and habutai silk, which is very fine. I also have select pieces in poly lycra because I wanted to give them structure. The prints are the highlight of this collection. I’ve had a lot of fun with colours; it’s a bright series.
She’s playing with prints
Earlier, I was experimenting with different Indian textiles in contemporary silhouettes. This time around I’ve developed prints that I have sampled on a wide range of fabrics. Different fabrics pick up colour differently; digital printing can be a lengthy process. And I had never used poly lycra, crêpe and poly crêpe, previously. I am also going about things in a far more structured way, scaling things up in terms of production.
She’s always adding something new
Even once the collection is done I tend to keep adding pieces as we go along. Sometimes I feel like trying something for myself and if it turns out beautifully it becomes a part of my collection. Sometimes, it’s because I feel a certain piece is required.
She’s inspired by her travels
I took a trip to Hanoi [Vietnam] a year-and-a-half ago. There is so much art in Hanoi; shops and shops of it line the streets. I ended up buying a lot, too. I loved Vietnamese landscape art; the colours that come with the change of seasons. I felt like I wanted to do something with it.
I have always loved the texture of oil paint/acrylic on canvas. When I decided to develop my own prints, it just sort of came together. I thought it would be exciting to recreate the texture of brushstrokes and paintings on fabric. It’s so exciting to see your vision come to life. It wasn’t just about fashion for me.
Prices are between Rs 3,000 and 15,000. From April 29, the line will be available at Atosa, Aman Villa, 6/B, Anand Vihar Co-Op Society, 20th Road, Opp. St Elias School, Khar West, Mumbai. Tel: 022 2605 2509
Photographs: Taras Taraporvala
