Shillong, September 13: The fashion world’s attention will be centred on London Fashion Week this month and one of Meghalaya’s creative young designers, Rupert Wanlambok Lynrah, will be in the UK capital exhibiting a collection of ethnicity with a modern twist.
This Spring and Summer 2017 Lynrah, through his fashion house RwL Designs, is promoting sustainable eco-fashion with an aim to revive the rich indigenous textiles of Meghalaya by featuring ryndia and muga silk, which are natural, organic and eco-friendly materials.
Weaving has traditionally been the main source of income for women in the rural areas of Meghalaya. Weavers use time-honoured lion looms, backstrap looms and flying shuttle looms, but due to decreasing demand for these exquisite, labour intensive creations, they are giving up their age-old traditions in search of other work.
Speaking about the green message he’s taking to London, Lynrah said, “The textile industry is one of the most polluted in the world. Organic is not a fad but is a social issue that one has to continue as a tradition. We can’t have it here today and gone tomorrow, it has to be at the core of our being.”
RwL Designs was launched in 2012, the culmination of its founder’s desire to promote traditional fashions of the Khasi-Jaintia community of the North East. Lynrah had nearly a decade of experience behind him in the fashion industry before he launched his own boutique and he was invited to exhibit his designs in London after taking part in this year’s North East India Fashion Week.
Elaborating more on the ryndia featured in his designs, the 37-year-old said, “The ryndia is our traditional indigenous textile that comes from a silkworm reared by rural people in Meghalaya. Ryndia is warm in winter and cool in summer, like a natural product is supposed to be.”
“Because of its rustic nature, ryndia might look lifeless, but if you give the fabric a form and a twist with some overlay, like embroidery or some lace detail like I have done, it can raise the value of the product,” he added.
His ‘Ethnicity with a Mod Twist’ collection features jainsems that will be familiar to anyone in Meghalaya as well as designs inspired by the 1960s era with elements that represent his cultural roots. A second collection, ‘Hollywood Glamour’, is an assortment inspired by glamorous Hollywood showstoppers like Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh featuring a true red carpet collection of heavily embellished gowns.
Other designers at Fashions Finest event in central London’s Covent Gardens from September 17-18 are coming from the UK, Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy and the USA.
With so many designers looking to catch the imagination during London Fashion Week, Lynrah feels sure that ryndia will make an impact.
“It’s something that will catch an eye of the public, though I’m going there with an open mind. As a designer I would love to showcase my work to the public and I want the collection to be remembered by the people. That being said, it’s just an honour to promote our cultural traditions of Meghalaya through my work and I hope I do it justice,” Lynrah said.
