Featuring pieces by designer Aaron Borthwick
I was just like most of you a few years ago, constantly looking out for deals and sales to shop from big chain brands. It was not until I got interested in saris, that I started to understand the different weaves and materials that are made in India, and discovered a love for slow fashion. I started to explore different types of saris and homegrown weaves, and one such weave that has been on my list for a really long time is Pochampalli. (I did finally get one sari that has a Pochampalli border. You can see how I have styled it .)
Pochampalli comes from the state of Andhra Pradesh (rather Telangana now) and is a beautiful geometric design on the border. It was only on researching further that I came to understand that Pochampalli has the same technique as Ikat, which is a combination of printing and weaving. Nowadays of course we see the Ikat digital print more commonly than the weave and that is why Ikat has become popular.
Sometime last year I came across this brand on Instagram called Aribo(originally called Label AB) started by Aaron Borthwick. Aaron is a young designer who focuses on working with his own set of weavers to create material for his designs. He also gets it dyed to the colours that he wants, and puts together the most beautiful wearable designs. Finally! Another homegrown brand handloom brand. (I was checking his page recently had has handloom saris now! Woohoo!)
I was super excited when they reached out to me and sent across some pieces from one of their first collections called Enakshi (I have worn these pieces so many times but never got around to doing a dedicated blog post till now. Apologies for that). The focus of this collection was pure cotton pieces with a hint of Pochampalli design, some flare and some frills in a contemporary amalgamation.
Outfit 1- Rust Orange dress
Rust Orange Dress
A beautifully fitted dress with a yellow yoke and the Pochampalli design is found as ever so subtle stripes on the yoke. The length of the dress is perfect such that it works well as a dress or as a kurta with leggings. Here I have paired it with leggings and ethnic earrings. I also changed up the earrings in between just to jazz things up a bit. It has a zari type border which makes it formal to be worn for functions/
Rust Orange Dress
Rust Orange Dress
Rust Orange Dress
We had gone to Dakshina Chitra, and that is where we did this sort of impromptu shoot with Sharada.
Outfit 2- Green Angrakha style
Floor-length angrakha style kurta
Honestly, I was super excited to see this because I don’t have any kurtas with this silhouette. It has this really long slit in the front, so I am thinking that this would look fantastic with palazzo pants or even a long skirt (I will definitely be trying those styles when I find the right pieces). I kept it simple here and wore with contrast orange leggings and kept my makeup really easy breezy. This was shot at Asian Aroma (which I have reviewed on ).
Floor-length angrakha style kurta
Floor-length angrakha style kurta
Floor-length angrakha style kurta
Photographed by Poornima Reddy.
I love how the Pochampalli design has been incorporated in a really contemporary subtle way. The fit of both is fantastic, and the material is cotton, so perfect for Chennai weather. Which kurta did you like better?
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miss kays
🙂