NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Designer Archana Kochhar showcased, September 8, the rural art of India in New York City as part of New York Fashion Week with her collection, “A tale of two travels”. The collection was inspired by her travel to the Taj Mahal and the village of Banjara tribe. Sunny Leone, the first Bollywood actress to ever walk the ramp at NYFW, looked resplendent as the showstopper in an ivory Archana Kochhar gown. Reshma Qureshi, an acid attack victim who made worldwide headlines for her story, opened the show for the designer in a beautiful ivory gown, which was offset with digitally printed motifs, to create awareness of the initiative “Bring Beauty Back”.

“I am so excited. It’s unbelievable that I just walked at New York Fashion Week for Designer Archana Kochhar wearing her Banjara Collection. The energy here was superb and the response we received was phenomenal”, shared Actress Sunny Leone immediately after the show. “I love this gown; it looks so ethereal. Archana is my favorite Indian designer. She is someone who inspires me as a woman. She has a strong will and goes after what she wants and she is here at New York and has done a spectacular job. Very few Indian designers have reached New York Fashion Week, but she has”, she further added.

“It was a surreal experience. This is arguably, the largest fashion platform in the world. It is a great honor to be one of the few Indians to have showcased at New York Fashion week, for the second time. It is one of the most professionally run events in the world. As the NYFW organizers had told me, they don’t talk fashion – they own fashion”, said designer Archana Kochhar. “I am very grateful to Sunny, who’s a dear friend, and I think she looks stunning in whatever she wears. Also I am very honored to have Reshma Qureshi walking the ramp and showcasing different facets of beauty to the world. Beauty should not be affirmed by a certain height, color or size, it is beyond that. It should be an all-inclusive concept. We need such acceptance in society and I think such endeavors of mine will increase sensitivity towards this concept in our society”, Kochhar further added.

“I was very excited. This was my first time at New York” said Reshma Qureshi. “I am hoping that my participation in this runway will inspire hope and confidence in other acid attack survivors, that they can lead a normal life”.

“A tale of Two Travels” is a thoughtful creation that imparts royal individuality of the surreal Taj and gleams in the colorful essence of Banjara. The first inspiration of the collection is by the nomadic tribe of India called Banjara, known for the craft of the vibrant mesmerizing colors and rustic mirror work in India. The color pallet of this collection is ivory offset with colorful digitally printed motifs, which is further highlighted with multi-color thread work and mirror work. The second inspiration of the collection is by the magnificent Taj Mahal. Depicting a dreamy vision, the collection is an exclusive range of colorful intricate digital prints depicting the vibrant symbolic motifs of the amazing Taj Mahal, the beautiful lotus flower, the mighty royal elephants balanced with geometric motifs. The new line is a foci of contemporary silhouettes fused with a glimpse of Indian conventional cuts to bring forward the concept of the east meets the west. The silhouettes comprised of cold shoulder crop tops, caplets, flared bellbottoms, flared skirts, pencil skirts, high waist shorts, paper bag skirts, dhoti pants, structured gowns, key hole gowns, flowy drapes and jumpsuits.