BELLAMIRA – CURATOR – JDADA2019

“Don’t be like the rest of them darling”
—- COCO CHANEL —-

Designer Sandra Ajay Kumar’s collection “Bellamira” is derived from the Latin terms bella (means beautiful) and mira (means wondrous). The collection has been inspired by the fashion and aesthetic of pastel goth that originated on tumblr in late 2010. This trend entails taking the basic elements of dark goth style and mixing it with pastel colors.

Pastel goth espouses individualism and is often looked down upon by many goth as posers. The reason pastel goth has received flak, is that unlike dark goth they dye their hair in pastel colors, wear hipster clothing with goth images and blend cute images or colours with skulls, inverted crosses, etc.

The collection is an experimental clothing line created by the designer. To portray the element of pastel goth in her collection the designer has used recycled leather and fabrics in colours like pink, lavender and blue. The leather and metal scraps have been used as embellishments. The designer has used basket weaving technique for scrap leather. Fabrics like organza and viscose have been used for the garments. Using recycled leather helps to divert usable materials from landfills and reduces the demand for virgin leather production and chemical tanning.