picking cichorium

Outfit by GABA, Lakme Fashion Week, Mumbai, October 24, 2008.

I have been on the quest for the cool Indian designers since I landed in Hyderabad over three months ago. Fighting of the human calculators and living in the “small town” of four million people does not exactly aid my mission.

Finally, a finding happened last weekend at Anonym, one of Hyderabad’s few interesting clothing shops. Mild pastels, necessary minimum of detail and extreme attention to comfort singled out GABA from all of the other stuff in the store. Aneeth Arora and Chinar Farooqui, the makers of the brand, use earthy colors and natural fabrics. In the midst of “new” India, full of screaming billboards and modern concrete mosters, GABA offers comfort of the “old,” which is similar across the cultures. A GABA woman radiates warm assertiveness, quiet happiness and relaxing well-being. At the same time, she is stylish, and… cool.