Ria Kamat. 22. Jr. Fashion Stylist with Marie Claire. Works on the fashion pages of the magazine but is happiest at a shoot. Lives in Bombay. Studied at LCF. Large chunk of her childhood went in trying to dress like Spice Girls followed by Kate Winslet from Titanic phase(keyword:stockings). Admires Caroline Issa’s style. Has over watched Juno. Is listening to Bloom & Get Lucky over and over, one after another. Likes Huemn, Bodice, Shift, The Lumineers, Passion Pit, singing along to ABBA, Palace of Illusions, vodka…

Childhood
I was born in Mumbai. I am one of those people who has very distinct memories of my childhood right from the age of 4. Snippets of meaningless conversations, dreams, the way I felt about things…I remember majority of it. As all the kids in my building were boys, growing up around them had a strong influence on me. I was definitely not a girly girl and always dreamt of being a teenage mutant ninja turtle (the red one). I feel like a lot of my real ‘growing up’ took place when I moved to a boarding Sahyadri school which was essentially on a hill in the middle of no where. There was no encouragement of competition…education was everything that happened outside the classroom, friends were family, and teachers were friends. Technology was a foreign term, so every weekend I would write letters to my parents on inland letters. Life was like a little bubble with no connection to reality. I owe everything that I am to that time of my not so long life (so far).

While in London I did anything and everything I could and didn’t get a penny for it. I interned at Vogue india in both their London and Mumbai offices. I also worked on a film for Lilly Allen’s vintage store that she opened with her sister Sarah. I assisted the creative director of the film so my job was to build the sets, like physically build them. So I helped source all the material for the sets and then build it…from tiling a floor to building walls. I assisted a lot of freelance stylists in London on commissioned shoots that they were doing for magazines. I did apply for a job as a sales girl at Miss Sixty and I even got it. I worked there for a day and then fractured my foot so that was pretty much the end of my sales career.

Where do you hangout in Bombay?
Uhhh currently at the Marie Claire office. I don’t really have one place. I enjoy eating out at places where the space is as important as the food. I like The Pantry, Kala Ghoda Cafe, Cafe Zoe, The Barking Deer.

Do you find any similarities between London & Bombay?
Yes. Everyone is trying to be someone. In Bombay there are so many young people who are trying to find their calling and achieve their goals. It’s the same in London. And all these people are young…really young.

Delhi is beautiful; well, some of it. 15 years ago while growing up in Delhi I thought I’d never be able to leave the place. It was greener, and there were lesser cars and lesser people. It’s changed quite a bit now – there are more malls, many more flyovers, traffic jams are longer, & everything looks too clean like the entire city is trying to hide something. Some places look like they are about to explode..

However, it’s still amazing in winters, its back alleys have great character, and some areas still look the same as they did 15 years ago…

Models: Kaka. Aditi. Odette. Carol. Pranav. Richa. Arshia. Shoot styled by Tiny.

bhane clothes are simple and nice. Look them up here +credits(stuff used in the shoot). Read more about them here & here.

“Being an army kid, I grew up travelling around India — Delhi, Calcutta, Agartala, Shimla, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Pune (to name a few). I studied photography and film from Symbiosis, Pune. I juggle between commercial photography, theatre, and modelling.”

Fashion It intrigues me. I think it’s worth studying and observing on a day-to-day basis. Fashion habits can reveal so much about an individual or a society.

Style icons Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Margiela, Formichetti and Gaga, The Beatles, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol. Why? Because they have all realized the potential of fashion and have communicated heavily through it.

Favorite film: Ordinary People

Bombay Bombay is elusive. It comforts me as much as it vexes me. I continue being here doing my thing and I think I like that.

Himanshu Singh. Lives and works in Bombay. Likes Glen Hansard and the Ballet Men. Photographed in Lower Parel, Bombay in April 2013.

Pranav Kirti Misra, 28(much older in his head). Designer at Huemn, models occasionally, writes poetry. Originally from Lucknow, lives & works in Delhi. Likes Marilyn Manson, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Dastik, Gareth Pugh, Ricardo Tisci, Like A Flower In The Rain by Bukowski, Ghalib. Would like to date Adele. Can have conversations with himself for days…

So..is it weird, talking to yourself?
Not at all.

It was a Sunday yesterday. What did you do?
I did not go to the gym.

Other than making clothes and modelling, is there anything else you’d like to do?
Yes. I want to fly. I want to act in theatre. I want to hold seminars in schools and colleges and talk about random subjects for hours. I want to write, sing, entertain people, make people laugh…

How often do you go back to Lucknow and how is it like?
Once a year. In Lucknow, life is simple, there is more air to breathe, and more time to think. But in Delhi, you miss on a lot in just a blink.

Photographed at Hyatt, Bombay during Lakme Fashion Week in August last year.

Vibhash Sharma Phurailatpam, 20-something designer. From “the land of Jewels” Imphal. Lives & works in Delhi. Usually stitches his own clothes. Likes Margiela, Yohji, Modern Menswear by Hywel Davies, Singju, Oo-ty, rice, Ramen, boiled corn, smoked chicken Maggi, Notebook on cities & clothes, Amelie, Makoto Shinkai, Kurosawa, Lykke Li, Alex Turner… Has a thing for white shoes, paints them sometimes. Is listening to Princess Chelsea on repeat. Obsessed with post-its and tea. Loves Nutella.

How was growing up in Imphal like? 
Secluded. I was in my own world except for the occasional family gatherings. Growing up I got to witness a lot of bandhs/blockades, riots…

What’s the best/worst thing about Imphal?
The food, the cycle-rickshaw rides, Paona Bazaar, theatre, and of course the art & culture. // Insurgency, roads, power cuts.

Where do you buy your clothes from?
Saro, Paharganj, and when I’m in my home town, I shop from Ima market and Paona bazaar(or Paona international Market). Depends on how rich I am at that point of time.

It’s your birthday today and you just woke up. What did you do last night?
Dolly, Bini, and Smriti got me some lemon tart so I cut that because I didn’t wanna cut a cake.  A lot of unexpected people called me. I made milk tea for everyone at some point. My sister sent me an invisible pen because I like pens. There is a torch on the cap of the pen so when you put the light on you can read what you have written. She also sent an annoying card which had something sarcastic written with the same pen. Dolly and others also got me Oreo biscuits. Small stuff which I like. We were up till 6am..just sitting around..listening to music and singing Hiding Tonight.

Photographed on his way to work in Hauz Khas Village sometime in 2012.

Photographed in the summer of 2012 at Moksha — one of the biggest trance festivals in Kasol(very unusual).

Right after I photographed him he hugged a middle-aged white woman and kissed her on her mouth like old friends meeting after long. Later, he offered me his joint & asked me if I got a good photo. He had a steady smile, an iPod, an old steel mug, and a lot of tobacco. He said he likes it here because everyone is happy & hashish is good.

Bom Shiva!

Stephen Lotha. 29. Fashion stylist for Cosmopolitan India. Belongs to the Lotha tribe. Grew up in Dimapur. Lives in Delhi. Likes Guo Pei, Kris Van Assche, Sonia Rykiel, The Way we Wore, ACNE, Lana Del Rey, Keane, As Good As It Gets, Jessica Chastain…

Are you an optimist? Very much. I could’ve been a good pessimist but then I wouldn’t be happy.

How important is fashion to you?
I enjoy fashion. It makes me happy. I don’t mind people forming opinions about me because of what I wear. I care a lot about what I put on my back. I feel naked in denim and t-shirts alone. I feel the world is my prom and I need to dress up.

You studied English Literature at Loyola. How was it? And how did you get into fashion?
It made me speak better English. My feminist professor adored me. Nice people…that city. However, studying there was just to make my mom happy with a college degree. Fresh out of college I wanted to be independent so I took a job at a call center. Worked there for 3 years. Then one day Carol wanted me to style her portfolio. I helped her. A make-up artist called Chandni Singh liked my work and helped in spreading the word. It moved from there.

What’s the best and worst thing about Dimapur?
I like the fact that alcohol is cheap there. Also, the fashion for sure…the flea markets, and the quality pork. Worst: Well the roads are only meant for cows.

How often do you go back? Any favourite hangouts?  I go back once in a year or two. Hang out mostly at cousins’ places or occasionally at some bars. I love Dimapur but I could live without going back ever.

What do you think of fashion in Dimapur?
Fashion is ‘the all’ for Dimapurians. We thrive on it. Ask anyone. It’s fashion before food and air. I used to love it before people became richer. Now it’s a little vulgar with everybody acting too uptight and dropping brand names.

You told me you grew up dreaming about making clothes..
Yes. Since I was 9ish. I used to sketch gowns and shoes all over my books and mom used to thrash me. Once mom collected all my sketches in a huge bag and handed it to my principal. I got 10 blows on my back. My grades were not too good either. She wanted me to do/become something else.

How was your childhood like?
Adventurous, really. I saw things that I wasn’t supposed to see. It wasn’t all gas balloons and butterflies, and hence it made me search for wonderful things beyond. The television was a box of magic and it made me giddy(not that we owned one). Back then I felt I should be on tv and make people love me.

Things like?
Mom and I used to live in a house made for poultry. Two years. We would lie in bed and see the stars from the holes in the roof. It was fascinating..but not during the rains.
I stayed in an orphanage for a year. Mom was poor. The place gave me free food and stay but made all of us work like crazy. I used to pull a cart carrying pig feed up to like 5 kilometres in Dimapur. I was 9. I know what is embarrassment, shame, what it feels like to be hungry, broke, and hopeless.

Any happy memories?
Well maybe the sundays when we were served meat for dinner. And mom visiting me once in a while. I used to cry when she’d leave.

What keeps you going?
Comic books. Strawberry ice-cream. My dreams of living in an Andy Warhol inspired house one day and a lot of money to buy good stuff pushes me. And on a trying day, a sincere prayer.

—
Photographed in Delhi & Dimapur.

Natasha Ramachandran. 22. Fashion model. Half Tamil/half Bengali. Likes oversized clothes, Haider Ackermann, Di Caprio, Thom Yorke, & The Black Keys. Has been listening to Alt-J’s Fitzpleasure on repeat. Has a thing for Bradley Cooper. Wanted to be a journalist as a kid. Has a degree in fashion design from NIFT. Thinks she’s a loud person.

Has been in Bombay for about 8 months. Likes the pace of Bombay. Hangs out mostly at The Bagel Shop.

Is signed up with Next Models, London.

Photographed at Lakme Fashion Week in Bombay.

Boys from Bodice in Bodice.
Both studied fashion design, thrift shop excessively, like Yohji, are good with drapes, and mostly make their own clothes.
Good People.

Photographed at Delhi Fashion Week in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

“The white shawl on Azi & Lulu is Mhusu Khwu or young girl’s shawl. Mercy & Kuku are wearing Chipi Khwu – the chief of chiefs’ shawl or the shawl of merit.

The big necklace is called Tida(rich man’s necklace) - it’s passed from one generation to the other. Tida in Chokri means massive necklace. You get it from your mother when you hit puberty. Before that you only wear Tiza, a string of carnelians – common for both men and women.

The moment you are born your parents claim your soul by giving you Vokha - a necklace which is short in length, a choker of beads(worn as a head band).

The quills are made of porcupine spine.” Mercy’s words.

I first met and photographed the three sisters at the Péro stall at fashion week in Delhi more than a year ago. They also hosted me back in Kohima. I hung out with them almost every day. They knew all the thrift shops. We went cafe hopping & grocery shopping…

More stories later.

Note: They are in Bombay and are making their debut at Folk Nations, Blue Frog later today at 6pm. Listen to their stuff here. Come.

Photos from Kisama, Nagaland. Pragati Maidan, Delhi. Local Grounds, Kohima. A room in Mokokchung. Night Market, Kohima.