Designer Ruchika Sachdeva wins International Woolmark Prize

Designer Ruchika Sachdeva’s label Bodice Studio is about transcending trends and creating globally relevant clothing that draws on its Indian roots. The brand’s vision is to incorporate traditional hand weaving and surface ornamentation techniques and showcase how the rich tradition of Indian textiles can find expression in cutting-edge fashion.

She is the winner of the 2017-18 International Woolmark Prize (IWP) women’s wear category. The IWP-winning collection, will be available in store from this month via the International Wolmark Prize retail partner network. The collections has bomber jackets, sleeveless coats, box pleated dresses and easy overlap tie pants. All are made from different weights of wool in a color palette inspired by mid-twentieth century artist Tyeb Mehta.

The collection also incorporates kantha, traditionally used by women in Bengal to stitch together old saris into quilts. Traditional beliefs hold that the quilts are auspicious and will help protect the newborns wrapped in them through imparting the bonds of love between mothers, grandmothers and aunts that are stitched into the fabric, quite literally. Sachdeva, after graduating from the London College of Fashion, moved to India to set up her own label.