TACTILE LESSONS!

Rimzim Dadu's sculpted saris may be cult favourites, but the designer's journey so far is more captivating than her fluid steel

- HITANSHI KAMDAR

"I love a good challenge," Rimzim Dadu states emphatically. The colloquial adage is peppered through my conversation with the Delhi-based designer, and rightfully so. Dadu, celebrating 15 years of a noteworthy career, has proven her love for tackling the impossible and weaving paradoxes into her garments: We're talking structured fluidity, softened steel, coarse chiffon, and traditional textiles subverted with unconventional materials.

She has forged a unique design language throughout her career that is instantly recognizable. "I remember the first few years when I was still trying to find myself in design, the one thing I always knew was I wanted to be unique," she says. "Whatever I presented had to be something that nobody would find anywhere." And that is what Dadu has managed to achieve beautifully. Having been introduced to the textile industry at a young age, she began her journey right out of college, at 21, with 'My Village' by Rimzim Dadu in 2007, a joint showing with buddies Anand Bhushan and Kallol Datta. The brand began with an emphasis on material exploration and textile reinvention, an identity that has remained intact even as the name was shortened.

THE MAGIC OF MAKING

Dadu's design language is known for its contrasting extremes blended into structural masterpieces- molten wire and yarn-thin metallic core woven into lehengas and saris, crisp cotton appliqués, silicone yarn spun into jamdani, and leather-crafted patolas. "Every time I see a material, I wonder if I can change the nature of it," she says. "The idea of pushing the boundaries of what you can do with a material and how you can re-engineer it back together to change its DNA is what really interests me."