Stylist Tania Fadte’s new clothing line, Mogachea, is full of relaxed silhouettes and summer layers that will transport you to Goa (mentally, anyway). Think angarakha-style dresses, and handloom-woven cotton kimonos that can be worn as dresses or layered as jackets. We caught up with her to find out more:
ELLE: What’s the story behind the name?
Tania Fadte: Mogachea means beloved in Konkani, it’s the local language of Goa where I grew up. It’s a sweet word but I’ve rarely heard people use it. Everyone in my family uses it though – more so, after I had my baby, Açai, So it just seemed apt.
While getting my labels screen-printed and typewritten, the artisans I worked with in Goa (who knew what it meant) giggled every time they saw me, and called each other Mogachea. I love that the word made everyone smile.
ELLE: What was the idea behind the label?
TF: The label, true to its meaning, is made with love and care. Everything is handmade: the water colour prints (my own), crochet flowers, hand-dyed fabrics, hand-woven fabric, and printing labels even.
ELLE: How did this idea translate into the lookbook?
TF: We shot the lookbook in the village I live in, in Moira (North Goa); in the fields I visit to watch the sun set every evening. Some of it was shot at the homes of friends. We wanted it to be very mood-based and more a story about two girls, rather than a straight up lookbook.
ELLE: What kind of fabrics are you using?
TF: All the fabrics are natural – a mix of khadi, malkha and handwoven organic cotton. These fabrics have all been dyed in natural dye baths. I travelled to Ahmedabad to learn more about the process of natural dyeing and to Secunderabad to find weavers who make soft malkha fabric. A few fabrics are screen printed and some are block-printed.
Prices are all under Rs 10,000. Find Mogachea at Sacha’s Shop, Swami Vivekananda Rd, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 0832 222 2035. Or at The Verandah, No 9, Haudin Road, Near-Jasmine’s Beauty Salon, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore. Tel: 098452 71006
Photographs: Sheetal Mallar
