Charu Parashar to open store in Mumbai

After showcasing at the Milan Fashion Week, designer

Charu Parashar is aspiring to get into retailing. Her inspiration to venture into retail is from the biggies of the fashion industry like JJ Valaya and Tarun Tahiliani. Charu, based in New Delhi, launched her label in 1993 with a tie and dye collection. In November 2001, she opened her first flagship store at DLF Galleria. At the age of five she would travel with her mother to Benaras for picking saris and fabrics. With sales of 95 per cent from all multi-brand stores, she plans to open a store in Mumbai by December. Charu Parashar’s USP is color. She has done a lot of tone-on-tone Swarovski and diamante. The emphasis is on silhouettes and the embellishments are very intricate. Indian ethnic wear and wedding wear comprises around 60 per cent of the label’s total design stock and sales.

Her autumn/winter 2011 collection, The Modernist, has been inspired by the persona of Jennifer Lopez. It is dominated by shocking pink, orange and emerald green prints on black. At the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, where she exhibited, models with elongated trench jackets, faux-fur hooded jackets and short, soft-structured dresses. The fabrics were silk, chiffon, velvet and supple satins. Charu’s prints were inspired by Persian ceramic ware -- known for its floral motifs like marigolds, tulips and other flowers.