A local Ajax designer has returned for her first show since the pandemic and put on an immersive runway with bright colours, music and dance.
South-Asian fashion designer Bharathy Vivekanantham launched her new collection for her label ‘Bharathy’ during her Culture Shock show in Whitby last month.
She says the show was inspired by a fusion of western wear and South-Asian attire to accustom any event.
“Usually, you see culture shock if you go somewhere and you’re thrown off at like the customs and the traditions because it’s not your norm, so kind of making abnormal, normal,” she says.
Vivekanantham’s started designing clothes to cater to her body type and later launched a photoshoot of her designs in 2014.
She now has thousands of followers on her Instagram, and released a short documentary about her journey “Behind the Seams.”
Her recent collection was inspired by a set of nine emotions. She showcased the emotions through outfits, dance and custom-made music.
She revealed her rebrand ‘Bharathy’, formely known as Culturelle Couture, during the start of the show.
She says COVID-19 gave her the time to focus on what she aimed to achieve for the brand.
“The past three years really gave me the chance to reset,” she says. “It gave me a chance to sit back and look at my brand from the outside. It gave me a chance to organize myself, whether it was developing the website, understanding my brand voice, taking the time to really curate the craft.”
Jallaja Para choreographed the creative performance and is a childhood friend of Vivekanantham.
She says creating a dance routine that portrays emotion in a dance form, while also staying true to the outfits, was a challenge.
“You don’t want to take it away from what it is that we’re trying to do here,” she says. “We want to showcase our outfits and show the different moods and different personalities that you have as you wear these outfits.”
The choreography elevated the outfits and successfully presented strong emotions to the audience.
She says the crowd enjoyed the show and it sparked a conversation about the immersive take on the show.
The custom-made music made the models’ performances and outfits stand out, giving the audience the culture shock Vivekanantham aimed for.