Always a hot ticket at Fashion Scout,
Little Shilpa returns for her third season, bringing her global brand
of unrestrained artistry to London from her Mumbai home. Since 2009,
the miniscule milliner, designer and stylist has created one off
headpieces that are unconventional, fantastical and showstopping in
equal measure – a far cry from the traditional Indian marketplace
trends.
Shilpa Chavan, whose first name
fittingly means ‘sculpture’, is recognised by international
press, including Vogue, as one of India’s most talented accessories
designers; going against popular opinion that India wasn’t ready
for her inventive creations. ‘It’s up to you to take charge,’
she has said, ‘I believed that you can’t restrict yourself by
assuming that the market is not ready for what you have to offer’.
And what an offering it is – ‘Grey Matters’ featured oversized
structural headpieces that re-imagined the sari in perspex florals
suspended above transparent helmet-like headpieces, as well as
cut-out paisley sari patterns in a suite of ‘super Indian’ hues,
embroidered with gold.
‘Vesper Bloom’ showcased a darker
aesthetic for Shilpa, inky black and soot grey headpieces illuminated
with model-held torches on a gloomy catwalk. Oversized eyelids and
lashes competed with floating foliage and fringed appendages in a
mysterious collection also full of feathers, beading lace and
sequins.
Having interned for Philip Treacy,
collaborated with legendary milliner Stephen Jones and counting the
outrageously outfitted Lady Gaga as a dedicated fan, Little Shilpa’s
Fashion Scout SS15 collection is sure to find its spiritual home in
rebellious London.
By Isabelle Silvers, Contributor, (@izzymks).
Images, courtesy of Little Shilpa