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Indian bridal designer not bound to tradition |
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Thursday, March 04, 2004 |
They may bypass a few traditions, but most brides planning Indian-style weddings wouldn't think of leaving out one important ingredient: mukhwas, the spiced snacks used as "mouth fresheners" at the end of the wedding banquet.
"It's good for the digestive system, and it's a really, really good feeling in your mouth," explains Sushma Patel, who sells more than 150 types of mukhwas in her Norcross store, 5th Season. "After the sweets, [guests] are going to go for the mouth freshener."
As one of several wedding-related services, including custom-tailoring the couple's ensemble, Patel maintains a "mukhwas counter" at 5th Season, a preview of her catered mukhwas party buffets. She encourages all visitors to her store to belly up to the mukhwas bar and try the various dried fruit, nut and seed mixtures scented with fragrant ginger, cardamom, fennel, mint and other spices and herbs. Patel also sells the small decorative boxes and bags meant to be filled with mukhwas and given as party favors.
As much as she enjoys introducing this Indian form of hospitality, however, Patel is getting ahead of herself. Focusing immediately on the pleasantly aromatic and tasty mukhwas is akin to skipping the rest of the event. And the most important part of that for Patel is the fashion.
Growing up in Mumbai, Patel was always fascinated with sewing, fabrics and fashion design, she says. She obtained a degree in home sciences and then went on to design school. Her first "customers" were her friends and family members.
Then came marriage and children, and fashion design became just a favorite hobby. Three years ago, Patel and husband Bhavin decided to move the family to the United States, and after living in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia in the first 18 months, they finally settled down in Ellijay in 2002. And Sushma Patel saw an entrepreneurial opportunity in a burgeoning Indian population in Atlanta's northern suburbs. Fashion design was to become her career.
At her shop in Norcross, Patel meets with clients — brides and grooms as well as those seeking special occasion outfits. Everything is custom-made; she carries no ready-to-wear (though samples are available for viewing).
Patel begins the design process by interviewing the client. "I have to hear the customer, see them," she says. "While they're in front of me, I can tell them what colors are best, the style, the cut. . . . What goes with your figure, your body, your personality."
A client can select an existing design from among her samples or from images in her sketchbook. Or Patel can create something entirely new.
Then her design goes to her workshop in Mumbai, where she has three employees who tailor the garments to her specifications. Each piece is handmade by a single tailor. She flies in to oversee the operation every four months. Prices start at about $200 for a woman's ensemble.
A growing part of her market, she says, is the "Indo-Western" client — those who wish to bring a Western touch to Indian dress: pants instead of the traditional long skirt, perhaps a lower neckline or low-cut back, spaghetti straps or the midriff showing. "People like it here, and now over there [in India] also," she says.
And then there are the brides who are of Indian heritage but were born in the United States. "They want the tradition, but they're not comfortable," Patel says. "They don't know how to wrap a sari." To remedy that, Patel has come up with her own design for a "prewrapped sari" that is simply slipped on but looks as if it were tied in the traditional way.
Patel is also known for her designs for movie stars and TV personalities, including the outfit worn by actress Zeenat Aman, who won a lifetime achievement award at last year's Bollywood awards — the Indian cinema industry's version of Hollywood's Oscars.
• 5th Season. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays; closed Mondays. Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross. 404-441-6633. www.sushmadesigner.com
Source: AJC.com |
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