Sabyasachi’s designs move to classrooms

The most popular designer in the Indian fashion industry, Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s designs have recently embraced a style statement- fashion with a cause.

The fashion tycoon undertook a mission of designing school uniforms for students at Jaisalmer’s Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School in collaboration with a US-based non-profit organisation called CITTA.

What particularly catches one’s attention is the block print technique called Ajrakh, used on the uniform , around the skirt and sleeves. Ajrakh is a unique form of block printing, famous in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Ajrakh products are usually made with natural vegetable and mineral dyes. Indigo is a key dye .

Taking to social media, Sabyasachi’s official Instagram handle shared the image of five young girls, smiling and laughing in the blue and red, frock-style designer’s uniform.

This school has been set up as part of an initiative by CITTA, a non-profit organisation founded by American artist Michael Daube. Designed by New York-based architect Diana Kellogg, the school aims to not only educate underprivileged girls but also form a base for women’s skill-building and provide access to independent and meaningful work, as mentioned on its official website.

In another Instagram post, Sabyasachi wrote, “I have always believed in the transformative power of education. Especially dear to me are initiatives that focus their resources on educating girls…So when Michael Daube from Citta approached me to design school uniforms…I was thrilled.”

Talking about his creative process, Sabyasachi further wrote, “When designing these outfits, I wanted to make sure they reflected the region’s craft heritage, with the hopes that it would highlight for the young girls the beauty and power inherent to craft, as well as provide a better sense of community, connection, and pride for their home.”

The collaborative project aims at providing education and vocational skills to girls and women and helps them achieve economic independence.

The school is officially slated to open in December 2020.