This year is turning out to be one of new beginnings for fashion designer Parama Ghosh. If she embraced motherhood at the beginning of 2023, come Nava Varsha and Parama whose beautiful eponymous label known for its aesthetics of the soul, with a touch of the quirk, turns eight, will be taking baby steps with her menswear label Level 2. “It is a new chapter. Hence ‘2’,” Parama tells us, in between juggling mommy duties. Pushpak Sen has styled the campaign and put filmmaker, animator, storyboard artist, illustrator twins Saswata and Susruta Mukherjee in the frames. The narrative is “rooted” yet modern. A chat with Parama on her inspirations and more.
Parama Ghosh
Congratulations! Tell us about your journey with menswear...
We were already doing dhotis. When I started designing dhotis, I was told that no one wore them any more and that I wouldn’t sell anything. It was a risky decision, but today, dhoti is one of our bestsellers. We don’t have options galore in traditional clothing for Bengali men. Those who came to buy dhotis from me asked me why I wasn’t making panjabi (kurta). We were doing panjabis for kids and they were also bestsellers and took custom orders on panjabis as well, but we realised that until and unless we have that option available on the website, some wouldn’t know at all that we were doing menswear apart from dhotis. So, this formal launch. After my son was born, this is the first collection I am launching. So, this is very special. Also, earlier people would tell me that I only made things for women. Now, after my son was born, I am equally enthusiastic about making menswear! (Laughs)
What kind of motifs have you started with?
We have stuck to our popular designs that have worked in dhotis, like the Calcutta skyline, which does very well. We have done the Hazaaron khwahishen aisi text on a panjabi, and a dhoti. My brand is about stories on fabrics and I like lyrics, songs and poems. We have also taken inspiration from traditional jamdani motifs and embroidered them on the yoke of the panjabi. We have done black-and-white pair with a hint of red, white-on-white, multicoloured work on the yoke... so, a bit of everything. We have used stitches and techniques that have worked very well on our saris and blouses, like zardozi, aari. We have also taken motifs from Kashmiri shawls.
Parama paired saris draped as dhotis with dalim flower motifs on panjabis for this “monochrome set”.
The handwoven jamdani fabric is such a classic and this frame oozes Bangliana to the core.
While the black panjabi is embellished with zardozi work, the green one has motifs inspired from a Kashmiri shawl. #dapper
These looks are timeless. The red panjabi has jamdani motifs and the beige one has patterns from a Kashmiri shawl.
Illustration artists Saswata and Susruta are talented, fun, good-looking and very Bengali in whatever they do. To be relevant, ingenious, fun, quirky and Bengali at the core is also very Parama. I have known the boys forever and have almost forgotten how we came to know each other. That’s how the best of relationships begin. Last year Gucci presented its spring-summer 2023 with 65 pairs of twins. There were other fashion brands working with twins and I thought why not have it here also for our very own Parama. I want to revisit Bangliana ahead of Nava Varsha with this shoot. The imagery is very Thakumar Jhuli and the fact that Saswata and Susruta are illustration artists just completed the whole narration. Wearing the saris and dhotis is rooted in my personal sense of style and sustainable too. I love the jamdani motifs, the Calcutta skyline... it deserves its moment -Pushpak Sen, creative director of the shoot
The shoot is made interesting with twins...
It is also more like a pair because if you see our page, there is strong storytelling about mother and daughter, but with this collection, I also want to tell the story in male pairs. It can be two brothers, a neet bor (best man) and a groom, father-son, lovers. A lot of things have changed since I had a son. I am not sure, but it does play at the back of the mind.
I wanted the whole idea of twinning. That’s where the name of the label also comes in. The word ‘Level’ is a palindrome. It reads the same from the front and from the back. Just like the twins. Hence we chose a name that, like the muses, is the same from all angles.
We love how you have dipped the collection in colours. Do you think more and more men are embracing colours?
Absolutely. I have introduced custard yellow, emerald green, red or peach on purpose to break the stereotypes. It is a conscious decision. White and black are the traditional colours and they always sell, but we have seen that we have got orders for these colours as well.
What are your expectations?
We have seen that when a lady is buying something for her son, she wants to match something for her husband. Now, we have covered everything... menswear, kidswear, saris and blouses.
What are you making little Nibir this Poila Baisakh?
I’ll make him a kurta and dhoti. He is just three months old and he will outgrow most things I make him now, but I will definitely make Parama special for him. You know, since I make blouses and I like mixing and matching fabrics and never wear the matching blouse that comes with the sari, I have been collecting blouse pieces for years. I just realised that I have a huge stack! So, I will make kurtas for my child with them and we’ll have a matching sari and kurta which we’ll wear together. The perks of being a fabric hoarder!