Evoking Herve Leger’s spirit in his offerings, debutant Sameer Madan hopes to revive the bodycon dress which has been abandoned, with his line “Entrapment”
At 27, confidence is a fickle friend, but when you talk to Sameer Madan you feel, this trait is his most loyal ally. Maybe it was the four years spent at the London College of Fashion, undergraduate program in fashion design that polished up a rough rock or just living alone at 18. Unless he announces it, you can’t tell Sameer, is a new entrant in the world of fashion weeks, this being his debut.
It was the year 2016, when he returned from England, it was a quick decision that took six months, when he launched his label, despite his exporter father’s pleas not to get into the world of style. “My father has been exporting costume jewellery to Miss Sixty and Ferragamo for years now; he saw the recession and markets crash. He didn’t want me to struggle, but once I took the first step, he never interfered,” says Sameer, who will be presenting at the Lotus Make-up India Fashion Week in association with EbixCash.
In a world that is slowly moving away from the body, not highlighting its curves and making silhouettes more linear, Sameer has opted for bodycons where the waist is the heroine. “While growing up I saw my two elder sisters, one was petite and other one broad, both had body issues. I thought both were perfect, but they didn’t believe that. I began as their dressmaker and wanted to make women feel confident despite being curvy and unafraid of flaunting that little stomach,” he laughs.
The maximum sizing goes up to 38, for his label, and he admits rather boldly that what’s fashion without a little fun? Among the endless talk about only sustainability and organics, he wanted to get back to the era of celebrating life with all its bells and ruffles. His father began as a handicraft exporter and since Sameer was 12, he has been travelling with him to fairs in London and Paris. “The only advice he ever gave me was to do everything with a certain junoon, there is nothing in the English language that can translate that word,” he adds. After interning at Ashima-Leena and Shivan and Narresh, fine-tuned his sensibilities, to be able to go on a journey of self-exploration. “London changed me, I was a really shy person and I build myself up, grasping things around me,” he confesses. Not getting an internship despite studying, due to the Alexander McQueen controversy (the maverick hired many interns didn’t pay them, a rule was passed where you need to pay, so Britishers were preferred, not foreign students) there wasn’t looked at like a setback, he came back home and saw how beautifully designers finish their ensembles and manage their image.
Showcasing his line of accessories, made with resin intermingled with potpourri, he also works with faux leather. Though his clothing uses stretch, hosiery, satin, organic cotton and jersey to accentuate this year’s theme, “Entrapment”, complete with clinical cut-outs as seen in Dolce & Gabbana and Karen Millen. Sporty and sexy meet in his line for LMIFW 2020, where sheer and mesh are used in mustard yellows and charcoal greys. “My product has a niche, so I am not expecting a large audience, but I do feel women who are confident to wear body-hugging silhouettes, with seam work that contours the physicality, would feel comfortable in my clothes,” he explains.
There are women, who want to get noticed and need a little bit of convincing, while others who know what they desire and are not body-conscious, Sameer hopes to dress both. “Most don’t understand their body type, and feel intimidated by clothing, I hope I can change a bit of that,” he concludes.