Romance with colours and prints: Saakshi and Kinni aim is to take luxe-boho garments to a greater audience

The three-year-old label Saaksha and Kinni, built to create impactful and comfortable occasion wear has had several highlights through their journey – a debut at Lakme Fashion Week - Gen Next Designers of 2016; listed under new fashion brands to obsess over in 2019 by Cosmopolitan, collaboration with architect and interior designer Rooshad Shroff for Clove; a win in the Indie category of Grazia Young Fashion Awards in April 2019 among others. Celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor have adored and wore the brand.

Saaksha & Kinni have over eight years of experience in designing embroidery swatches in house for leading brands such as Balmain, Ellie Saab, & Armani, and they decided to translate their embroideries into their own garments, and launched their label.

Kinni shares her personal style, "It involves a lot of masculine elements - oversized men's shirts (normally my husband's!) with loose baggy trousers or ripped jeans. I like my clothes to reflect my mood - laid back, relaxed and comfort above all else. Although I love colour, my wardrobe consists of mainly blacks, olive greens, whites and blues, subdued, all-weather colours that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion'.

Saaksha's style is all about layering and muted tones. "I love to wear basic T-shirts with a blazer or cape on top - layering gives you depth and can also help transition a day look to a formal ensemble. For colours my go-to is black - it's my happy colour. I prefer dark blues, greys and whites - easy tones that pair well with jeans, denim shorts and skirts."

They share, "Together we bring in a lot of layering and masculinity into our collections. We are not overly sexy in our dressing and this reflects in the brand. The one distinct difference between our personal dressing and designing is the use of colour! Though we may not experiment with it in our day to day choices, we certainly love to go bold with colour in our collections."

This season the label explored the explosion of colour and print that the two states of Gujarat and Rajasthan have to offer for 'Arcus by Saaksha & Kinni Autumn/Winter Festive 2019'. They once again romanticised their love for Gujarat's renowned Ikat work and Rajasthan's infamous Leheirya prints, albeit from a new lens, this time also diving into the unique prints that are specifically worn by the Fakirani Jatts of Kutch.

They worked with satins and cotton silks representing femininity, grace and elegance; and drills that represent strength and masculinity - thus creating the perfect imbalance. The colour palette primarily consisted of purples, greens and pinks. Each strong in their own right, vivid and playful, yet fierce and bold.

Speaking about their collection Saaksha says, "With this collection, we have gone bolder with our silhouettes by making power suits, sheer kaftans, and evening gowns with embroidered jackets. We want to celebrate the colours and prints, in all their glory, that India has to offer."

"Our main aim is to take our luxe-boho garments to a greater audience, all the while representing India and staying true to our heritage yet keeping in mind the needs of the modern global woman," they add.