The year was 2009 . The idea of a linen-blended Kanjeevaram had been brewing in my mind for some time but the thought of transforming the basic construction of a genre that had been unaltered for centuries was daunting. What if it did not drape well? Will customers accept it as a Kanjeevaram? What motifs can we use that will enable the zari to stand out? What “weaves” should we use? How can it be simplified for the weaver to understand? These were some of the questions that I wrestled with.
Meet textile designer K. Radharaman, the man who modernised the age-old weaving traditions in the country. The Angadi family belongs to the Padmasaliya community – a traditional silk weaving community of South India. We started out as court weavers to several royal families. The Padmasaliyas are in fact credited with being the community that introduced silk weaving to Kanchipuram several centuries ago when they migrated from their ancestral hometowns to what is now Telangana.
In an age when every designer aspires for successful actors to be seen in their creations for social media bragging rights, K Radharaman is an exception. Radharaman, who is CEO and Design Head at the House of Angadi has been discreet about publicity when actor Deepika Padukone shopped for her wedding saris at his family-run store.
Long before we saw the actual proof, it was clear that Deepika Padukone was going to be a Sabyasachi bride. But one of the key pieces in her wedding wardrobe—the Kanjeevaram sari Padukone wore for her Konkani ceremony—was discovered to be not from the designer’s repertoire, but a gift from her mother Ujjala Padukone, that was finished and styled by Sabyasachi Mukherjee for the actor.
In July this year, when the media had just begun speculating about Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s marriage, Deepika flew down to her hometown, Bengaluru. Together with her parents, the actress made her way to a sari store, Angadi Galleria, that the family have been long-standing patrons of. Among the many saris that were bought from the store that day was a pure zari, gold brocade Kanjeevaram sari for the bride-to-be. This is the same sari you’ve seen on social media, the one that Deepika wore for the traditional Konkani wedding ceremony.
Tomorrow (November 22), on designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s official Instagram account you will see images of Christian Louboutin x Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s first collaboration for designer leather juttis with the signature red soles. The first two pairs of this collaboration were specially created for and worn by actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh for their Anand Karaj, one of the two ceremonies the couple observed as part of their wedding rituals at Lake Como recently.
Tradition remains relevant forever K Radharaman, CEO and design head from The House of Angadi’s label Advaya says, no trend can be sustained without serious design innovation By: Ranjani Govind Though his family has been in the business of textiles for over 600 years, 38-year-old K Radharaman’s label Advaya from The House of Angadi was […]
Meet the Designer Behind Deepika’s Gorgeous Wedding Saris There’s no doubt Deepika Padukone looked flawless at her wedding. While several initially thought the bride had picked out outfits by Sabyasachi, it was later clarified that though the design house had styled Deepika, the red Kanjeevaram sari she wore at her Chitrapur Saraswat ceremony and the […]
Deepika’s Kanjivaram Sarees: In Conversation with House of Angadi When Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh announced that they were going to tie the knot, everyone went into a tizzy about the details. Where would they wed, how would the ceremonies be designed and more importantly – which designers would the starry couple wear to the […]
The design head and CEO of in-house label Advaya, helms Angadi Galleria, a business with a 600-year-old history of weaving. Bengaluru-based Radharaman is in Mumbai to discuss participation in the forthcoming Lakmé Fashion Week with organisers IMG-Reliance. “I haven’t decided whether I should take part, but we were in discussion long before the story broke,” he tells mid-day, referring to news about him being behind Deepika Padukone’s wedding and reception sarees.
