surajit biswas-womenswear portfolio

Pour Elle (for her)

A Womenswear Design Portfolio

By

Surajit Biswas

Like a Cattleya in the Forest

Psychedelic Intrusion

Shikhandi

Of Fungi and Lichens

Assorti

'Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.‘

- Marilyn Monroe

Like a Cattleya in the

Forest

LIKE A CATTTLEYA IN

FOREST

Magenta ruffle of petals

frilly fire of fragrance

deep dream of pink

wafting through my sleep

morning breeze of ocean

blooms awash in lilting

watercolor reds

--anonymous

Intrigued by orchids,that I am, Cattleya is a species of orchids from Costa Rica and the Lesser

Antilles south to Argentina. They are widely known for their large, showy flowers, and are used

extensively in hybridization for the cut-flower trade. This genus and the numerous hybrids come

close, through their beauty, to the idealized picture we have of the orchids The typical flower has

three rather narrow sepals and three usually broader petals: two petals are similar to each other,

and the third is the quite different conspicuous lip, featuring various markings and specks and an

often frilly margin, brightly painted in magenta and pinks .

Inspired by the flower the collection thus is based on layerings , delicate touches, rich colors and

fluidity.

It’s a celebration of harmony amidst chaos.

Client: age 18-26, street smart individuals who like it casual bit understated but yet believe in making

a statement with contemporary and quirky silhouettes

Category: Outdoor day wear.

Season: spring summer 2016

On her: layered top Trousers Fabric: viscose

On her: layered knitted

top Wrap around

skirt Fabric: viscose

On her: Paneled dress with cut away Fabric: viscose

On her: layered jumpsuit Fabric: viscose

On her: layered jumpsuit Fabric: viscose

Shikhandi

Born a woman but raised as a man, born with female genital organs, raised a

son, taught warfare and statecraft- Shikhandi is a transgender character from

the Indian epic of Mahabharata. He was even given a wife on the verdict of

him being a man with a female body by holy saints and that he is to acquire a

male body.

However Shikhandi, may have been raised as a man and may have acquired a

manhood later in life, but in his previous life, he was a woman called Amba,

whose life Bhisma had ruined. Bhisma had abducted her along with her sisters

and forced them to marry, not him, but his weakling of a brother,

Vichitravirya. When she begged Bhisma to let her marry the man she loved,

he let her go. But the lover refused to marry Amba, now soiled by contact

with another man (Bhisma). Distraught she returned, only to have

Vichitravirya turn her away, and Bhisma shrugging helplessly. Bhisma ignored

her. Amba begged Parashurama, the great warrior, to kill Bhisma but he failed.

Exasperated, irritated, she prayed to Shiva. To make her the cause of his death.

she begged for revenge . Shiva blessed her – it would be so, but only in her

next life. Amba immediately leapt into a pyre eager to accelerate the process.

Shikhandi

Client: age 18-26, bold and confident individuals who like it understated simple and androgynous but

yet believe in making a statement with contemporary and quirky silhouettes and prints

Category: Occasional ethnic wear

Season: spring summer 2016

On her: layered sheer kurti Angrakha style waistcoat with digital print trousers Fabric: viscose

Psychedelic Intrusion

Psychedelia is a name given to the subculture of people who use psychedelic drugs, and a

style of psychedelic artwork and psychedelic music derived from the experience of altered

consciousness that uses highly distorted and surreal visuals, sound

effects andreverberation, and bright colors and full spectrums and animation to evoke

and convey one’s experience while using such drugs. The term "psychedelic" translates to

"mind-revealing".

A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's

mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its

ostensibly ordinary fetters. Psychedelic states are an array of experiences including

changes of perception such as hallucinations, synesthesia, altered states of awareness or

focused consciousness, variation in thought patterns,trance or hypnotic states, mystical

states, and other mind alterations. These processes can lead some people to experience

changes in mental operation defining their self-identity (whether in momentary acuity or

chronic development) different enough from their previous normal state that it can

excite feelings of newly formed understanding such

as revelation, enlightenment, confusion, and psychosis.

The aim is to develop on an quirky aswell as surreal androgynos line of prints for

garments for the export- European market for the season spring summer 2016 inspired by

the mind revelations of the psychedlic subculture

Psychedelic Intrusion

Client: age 18-26, street smart individuals who like it casual bit understated but yet believe in making

a statement with contemporary and quirky silhouettes and fun prints

Category: Outdoor day wear.

Season: spring summer 2016

On her: Ldigitally printed crop top and Skull printed shirt Teal tunic with back pleats detail Wrap around skirt Fabric: viscose

Of Fungi and Lichens

Of fungi and lichens…

Fungi and lichens , though hugely unnoticed and

neglected by the human race , have quintessentially

been Mother Nature’s yet another spectacle. Bright

colors and a variety of interesting forms in which

they generate and thrive can take anyone by

surprise if he/she happens to take a note of them.

For my following project I thus happened to get

inspired by these offerings by Mother Nature .

The project saw me developing a collection of

swatches of surfaces using various embroidery

techniques with the key aim to be developed into

apparels for spring summer 16

Client: age 22-26, street smart individuals who like it classy and understated but yet believe in

making a statement with classic silhouettes and contemporary trends

Category: Evening wear.

Season: spring summer 2016

On her: sheer

embroided shirt with

back opening knitted pile

dress Fabric: viscose

Assorti (assorted works)

On her: Jacket with pleats at waist Mesh skirt Net handmade scarf trousers Fabric: cotton and viscose

On her: Mittered shirt Fabric: cotton

On her: Assymetrical tunic Fabric: silk and khadi

On her: layered leotard with fluid layered skirt Fabric: viscose and cotton

On her: layered

full length dress with

blazer Fabric: cotton

Measurements(in cms)

Thank You

The lady : Sushmita Sikdar

On camera: Debapriyo Dhar

Edited by :surajit biswas

Concepts, construction and styling: Surajit Biswas

ontact on: surajit.2801@gmail.com

Surajit Biswas

National Institute of Fashion Technology,Kolkata

Fashion Design ; Batch: 2011-2015

surajit.2801@gmail.com

9748459799