Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla I Aki
Narula I Arshiya Fakih I
Anuradha Vakil I Anamika
Khanna I Anita Dongre I Anjana
Bhargav I Anshu Arora Sen
I Aparna Jagdhari I Arjun
Khanna I Ashima & Leena Singh
I Ashish Soni I Azeem
Khan I Deepika Govind I
Hemant Trivedi I Jattin
Kochhar I JJ Valaya I Kiran
Uttam Ghosh I Krishna Mehta
I Lalit & Sunita Jalan I Lina
Tipnis I Manish Malhotra
I Manoviraj Khosla I Meera
and Muzaffar Ali I Mona & Pali I Monisha
Bajaj I Monisha Jaising
I Niki Mahajan I Payal
Jain I Poonam Bhagat I Priyadarshini
Rao I Puja Nayyar I Ranna
Gill I Rina Dhaka I Ritu
Beri I Ritu Kumar I Rocky
S I Rohit Bal I Rohit
Gandhi and Rahul Khanna I Shahab
Durazi I Shantanu & Nikhil
I Sangeeta Chopra I Savio
Jon I Tarun Tahiliani I Vandana
Roy I Vijay & Shobna Arora
 |
Mona and Pali, the formidable sister duo from Bengal, who
have placed Kolkata on the national map share a home and a
passion for designing.
After graduating Mona Lamba chose teaching as her profession
whilst Pali Sachdev, who has a legal background underwent
intensive training in a reputed fashion institute in Singapore.
Soon enough they gave in to an inner desire, a natural aesthetic
urge and opted out of their respective professions to pursue
a dream with total dedication and determination. They were
amongst the first few designers to hit the catwalk more than
a decade ago.
They started from home in 1985 at the behest of their friends,
who had persuaded them to design their clothes, which they
executed competently and successfully.
In 1987, they flagged off their boutique 'Monapali' in Kolkata
making their dream a reality. After that, there was no looking
back as they moved on to become stalwarts of the Indian Fashion
industry retailing through their outlets in New Delhi (Hauz
Khas Village), Ahmedabad and other prominent stores all over
India.
Their clothes range from casuals to heavy formals. Their clothes
are an eclectic mix of design elements most of which are inspirations
from the ethnic cultural roots of India. What makes the designs
distinctly Monapali is an unconventional mix of mediums. Be
it in textures, textiles, print or embroidery. They were the
ones who revived Kantha, Folk (Madhubani, Warli, Patta Chitrai)
tribal motifs and the Alpana from the realms of oblivion and
elevated it to the status of haute couture culture. They combined
block print with spray/smudge print and hand paint, and cut
through layers of fabric to create a distinct pattern.
They have used multifarious embellishment technique and worked
in ceramic cord, terracotta, mouli, ropes, wooden and shellac
buttons, and gauge. It was in 1996, they created the first
collection in Shibori the Japanese stitch dye technique capturing
the element of ethereal earthiness on slim lined Indian ensembles
and saris. For them each collection is a challenge, and they
work with whatever has triggered, intrigued and excited their
creativity.
They have held several shows throughout the country and abroad.
Along with other designers their shows are a yearly event
in Folio (Bangalore) and Glitterati (Mumbai). Time and again
they have been invited by the Govt. of India and NIFT to participate
in various events all over the country. They represented India
in China in the 'Festival of India' in 1994 and the Bridal
summit- Asia Pacific in 1999, in New Delhi. They have held
as many solo shows in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
Quiet, reticent and self-effacing, they are considered by
fashion pundits as the 'Silent Contributors' to the revival
of simplicity on the catwalk. Rohit Khosla, the father of
the Indian Fashion Industry, had applauded their work and
remarked that they were one of the most innovative and original
designers of all times.
|
|