Fashion is a true art and if one look at the creators behind the clothes, they are always bound to find something interesting and creative. The land of India harbors some of the finest craftsmen and artists. The designer couturiers from India are unparalleled. Skyscraping to the standards of Paris and New York, Indian designers have established their names in the market. They are the artists in their own right, and many of them have become pretty acclaimed for their personal wardrobe choices. Behind every fashion industry, there is a designer who gives significance to the quest of making the fashion the ‘New Form of Art’. The brands that made a name for themselves and became symbols of quality, luxury, and perfect apparel are the result of a fashion genius able to shape a vision into a piece worthy to be called industry. Ayesha is a true Fashion genius in herself. Her works, designs, and dresses reflect just that. This savvy fashion designer understands color and how to use it to capture the essence of the design.
A Self -Made Couturier:
Ayesha is a true Epitome of Creativity, a Fashion Designer who has an ability and desire to generate creative designs. She is a self-made woman and is popularly known for her uniqueness, elegance and style in the fashion line. She is the synonym for how a genius fashion should hold as sacred: a theatrical vision, a taste for the unusual and an out-of-the-box creativity. Ayesha is a free spirit, making fashion a game of creativity and volumes. She is bold, creative and daring, a lady of fashion with a very personal attitude. Delicate and completely natural her style is focused on bringing the best in the woman and making the woman shine with pleasure. Detailed and passionate about fabrics Ayesha’s collections are a ‘Synergy of Colors’. She finds the right touch in every dress and the right combination of style to create that original feminine look able to conquer at the first glance. Ayesha is definitely, the designer one can count on to make them look amazing but completely natural. All her collections carry the touch of a personality for which colors are the second nature. The cutesy intricate floral patterns, subtle colors and layers in her fabrics turn fairytales into reality. Without even doing anything out of the box her designs are extremely wearable yet most classic.
The Birth of a New Fashion Lexicon:
Ayesha, the name itself symbolizes ‘Woman’ in Arabic. And yes, she completes a woman through her skillful artistic touch of vibrant creations in her costumes. The transformation from a Homemaker to a Fashion designer was not so easy one for her. Her journey to the world of Fashion, began when she designed a floral costume for her daughter Bindiya for Miss Thrissur competition. Ayesha took up the challenge to create a floral gown and a head piece as per the theme, completely handwoven with over 500 pieces of handmade flowers, sophisticatedly cut and stitched to perfection. Though, it had not won a prize, but the design struck a chord in the competition. This distinguished creation garnered many appreciations from both judges and audiences alike.
It was a beginning to Ayesha’s journey from a simple home maker to a designer. With this success, Ayesha decided to take up crash course in Fashion designing to improve her creativity and understand the technical knowledge of designing. To enhance her skills, she also opened a designer boutique under the name of ‘Peaches’ in her hometown Guruvayoor. She stumbled upon fashion, and turned into a designer label with the help of her friends. It was a struggle in the initial days as she had to be at par with the latest trends and designs. There were better established and huge competitors in her place, still she seized every little opportunity that came in her way and initially started off by designing wedding collections for few personal clientele and friends. From there, she worked her way up the fashion ladder, and made a name for herself.
‘Peaches’ Boutique: Crafting creativity from small piece of cloth.
Kerala, God’s own country is also home to some of the most fashionable and traditional boutiques. Ayesha has an exclusive Boutique for women in Guruvayoor, Kerala named ‘Peaches’ which offers traditional and ethnic clothing, which she plans to reopen post July.
To experiment new fashions, one must break the clothing rules of society. This is exactly what Ayesha loves to follow in her designs. Her collections are heavily inspired by Indo Western and Arab culture. She finds satisfaction in the work she does, when she can meet every whim and notion of a well opinionated new age customer. Ayesha is of the opinion that the designs should not be dictated by trends but focus on high glamour, good choice of fabrics, and sensational choice of colors. She loves the interaction with her customers who know what they want and is not willing to compromise on their style.
Definition of Style:
When one look at her journey and see her work, it is both incredible and intriguing. Her efforts to bridge the long gap between fabrics and style are commendable. Ayesha’s first show rocked the ramp floor when she accepted the challenge to showcase forty five designs of wardrobe ranging from trendy Kerala sarees, lehenga choli’s, cocktail dresses, evening wear to partywear. She is the first designer to introduce the amalgamation of Indo- Arab and Indo-Western and curating it to design mixed creations of Indo Arab costumes at the grand finale of K.F.F (Kerala Fashion Festival) associated by her friend Bhavitha. K (Mrs. Kerala 2018-South India). For her talent and innovation, she bagged the Best Designer Award along with five other designers.
It was then no looking back for Ayesha as she was flooded with offers from various parts of South India such as Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Ayesha created a unique signature trend among upcoming designers in South India through her unique floral and cross cultural designing patterned techniques. At her next show at K.F.F, she designed a unique hand worked sequins embellished Kerala set saree for the film actress Anjali Nair, her celebrity costume designer for the show.
Ayesha also showcased her designs at Chennai for a show F.A.T (Fashion At Tea). She also went on to judge the fashion show Mrs. Malayali along with celebrities Salaam Bappu and Ranjini (film actress). Apart from this, she has also distinguished herself as a Model for many of her creations.
A Story of Determination:
Ayesha’s story and struggle is equally inspiring too. Unlike many other millennial designers, fashion did not occur to her at the snap of a finger. She juggled and struggled with a lot of things before she earned herself the title of a designer. Ayesha was born and brought up in Saudi Arabia of the Middle East and she hailed from a minority conservative Muslim background. She fought all the odds and took up all the challenges set before her with positive attitude, hard work, skill and dedication. She was criticized by many from near and dear ones for crossing the cultural barriers set up by the society. Through many hardships and struggles, she attained a name for herself in the Fashion World and is constantly supported by her kids Bindiya and Benyamin, her close confidante Ms. Bhavitha (Mrs. Kerala), her business partner Navaneeth, and her mentor Jude Felix (Fashion Choreographer).
Fashion trends in Kerala:
Kerala is the land of tradition and culture. The state is at no lack for talent in the field of fashion design. From the metro city of Kochi, to Thrissur the heritage city to Trivandrum the state capital and more; most major cities in Kerala have extraordinary designers with enough ideas to please even the pickiest of customers. Ayesha believes that Kerala followed by culture has always brought people together. The people of Kerala have always been modest in choosing appropriate fashion to appeal the senses. It has always had a moderate dressing culture and has taken pace moving into the western culture a bit. The new generation has come to understand and believe that clothing is an extension of their personality than set of predefined social rules. When new fashion trends are stitched by highly talented designers, different shades of modern women are exhibited through each clothing styles. Thus, the Kerala’s fashion revolution is highly productive, without losing traditional morals but competing with new fashion stories. Ayesha is leading this Kerala’s fashion renaissance by bringing more grace and beauty to the Malayali women.
A Fashion Aficionado:
Fashion has always been a powerful tool for Ayesha- to Express her Emotions’. She is a woman who likes to explore her roots but with a free-spirited attitude. The design aesthetic of her collection is empowering and inspiring. Ayesha’s creations display the Fusion of Western and Arab Traditions. Her couture collections is all about blending tradition and heritage with a modern aesthetic. Ayesha blends the elements of both Arab and the West with her own designs, thus producing something unique yet in alliance with what is going on in the Fashion Sphere around the World.
Indo-Western and Indo-Arab trends in Fashion:
Among the youth, there appears to be an enthusiastic approach to combining traditional clothes with a western touch. In the era of globalization and digital revolution, fusion has been immense. Nowhere in the world now can we be immune to influences from other cultures and trends. We see the spiraling effect influences from all corners of the world – and not just the West. We see inter-mingling of elements from India and Middle East, India and Pakistan, India and European dress sensibilities, and of course rest of the western world.
Fusion is super fun and, when it’s about combining different, disparate dress elements, it’s even more awesome. It is always beautiful to mix and match Indian and Western design sensibilities. With increasing exposure of the Indian subcontinent to the Western world, the merging of women’s clothing styles is inevitable. Indo-Western is the reversal of the established tradition of Western fashion being influenced by Asian design. The Indo-Western fusion or the Western Ethnic fusion has been one of the biggest and most versatile fashion trends, ever since it started many many moons ago. Indo-Western dresses symbolize the perfect fusion of Indian wear and Western dresses. They are basically colorful and consolidate the best of comfortable textures, magnificent prints and beautiful combination from both ethnic and indo-western dress. This gives them a novel appearance and sharp difference from different dress designs and styles.
One can see the Arabic styles influencing the street fashion. Indo-Arabic designs are both cutting edge and reflect their own artistic and cultural aspirations.
Her Novel Creations:
Ayesha has won numerous awards for her eminence in the fashion industry. She has redefined finesse by balancing Color, Embellishments, and silhouettes tactfully. Her work of Art is truly Spectacular and a feast for the eyes in a true sense. The attention to detail, with Indian touch brings opulence to the overall aesthetic of her outfits. Her designs were recognised by a Guinness Award Winner/International Caricaturist, Guinness Dileef and in collaboration with him, she designed the World’s largest Cycle – Cosmos in Trivandrum, World’s largest Caricature Shirt in Shobha City Mall, Thrissur and World’s largest Pen in Oberon mall, Cochin as a part of Guinness Attempt. All her works were well appreciated and these achievements made her entry to the real world of fashion.
The Guiding Spirit:
“Beauty doesn’t possess a singular definition, but rather emanates from a confident woman in many unique forms”
Ayesha loves to believe that inspiration is everywhere if one knows where to look. She considers Jude Felix, the Fashion Choreographer as her Role model and Mentor who catalyzes her own dedication to inspire others.
A Designer’s Dream:
Almost every designer in the world dreams of having a Fashion Show of their own. Ayesha too dreams to own a fashion show hosted in Kerala. A show with all its ‘Might and Glory’. A show which takes its planning and organization and showcases a ‘prove’ moment in front of an audience of peers, buyers, media and fashion lovers.
To the fashion Lovers:
Ayesha is of the opinion that fashion is a world filled with a lot of opportunities. If one ever gets a chance to be part of it don’t even hesitate a bit, roll your sleeves and learn the basics. It will definitely lead you to greater heights.
Upcoming Projects:
Ayesha would be launching her signature collections soon in Cochin with a unique brand name. Her creations are on the verge of publishing in the famed Malayalam Magazine ‘Mahilarathnam’ by June. Ayesha also seems to recognise the unique creative talents of her daughter Bindiya, who seems to be a young prodigy in fashion design. She would be introduced to the fashion world very soon to showcase her talents. It is just a matter of time to watch how this designing maestro duos would rock the fashion world on fire.
A Designer with an Attitude:
Fashion is a way of expressing ourselves. True fashion enthusiasts dress the way they want to with no regards of what others really think or care about how they are dressed. In reality, social phenomenon does dictate how the majority of people dress. But, it does not have to be what defines one. Ayesha voices each one to break the fashion bond that holds within. She advices the generation to wear what one want, whenever you want. A truly commendable designer, we all need to follow not just for her fashion sense but also to get inspired by her sensibilities. Ayesha definitely has come a long way.
