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Fit for a queen

A still from Shakespeare in Love

M K

It is clearly a residential area. There are a bunch of noisy children playing cricket with a plastic bat and a rubber ball near a swing outside the bungalow at Indiranagar, Bangalore.

You walk into the garage that has been converted into a design studio and find Jamila Malhotra and Seema Sheriff deep in conversation with their clients.

In keeping with their trade, both mother and daughter are particularly meticulous about their clothing. Seema is clad in a leaf-green embroidered salwar kameez while her mom wears a black ensemble, with a hand-painted dupatta dropped decorously over.

Now why are we here in this chic little place? Because these women are the ones who have designed the costumes for some award-winning films. Maybe even the Oscars.

Jamila Malhotra

They designed the hand embroidery for the 15^th century British costumes worn by Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth. And immediately after that they got the order to design costumes for Judy Dench, who also plays Queen Elizabeth in the Oscar-nominatedShakespeare in Love.

And just to put things on balance, Jamila whispers hesitatingly, "We also did some embroidery for a Tosca opera dancer!"

On a rack within the garage/studio are an assortment of shimmering salwar kameezes, translucent veils, saris and some cholis with some exquisite embroidery.

Seema helps a young girl finalise her wedding trousseau, a silver hand-embroidered ghagra choli embedded with beads and crystals. Silver is touted to be the colour of the year and that's why it is so much in vogue now.

Wedding dresses are their forte. And Jamila and Seema have been designing Indian clothes, among them heavily embroidered salwar kameezes, ghagra cholis, saris, leghergas, jackets, bustiers, blouses and dupattas... A reputation earned over a decade of work. They shot into the limelight after their cousin Shekhar completed Elizabeth. Yes, they are related.

"Let me be clear at the onset," says Seema, 'We did not design the costumes of Elizabeth; they were done by Alex Byrne, a famous British costume designer and a winner of several awards. We just did the entire embroidery for roughly nine to 10 costumes. A lot of embroidery was also done on the collars, on the skirt panels, and the inside blouses."

The process apparently began when Alex, on Shekhar's suggestion, visited India to check out myriad textiles. She loved what she saw and returned to London with yards of plain, thick silks, tussars, tissue and Banarasi brocade; the velvet was bought from London. All she needed was some exquisite hand embroidery to complete the look. Alex met a few designers in Delhi and Bombay, but wasn't impressed.

Seema Sheriff

Shekhar suggested she give Jamila and Seema a call. Alex did. And called for samples of different types of embroidery, such as ari, dori, simple thread work and zardozi.

"Alex loved what we did," beams Seema. "She told us they were looking for an 'antique, sophisticated look' for the gowns. We didn't have to do much research since the motifs were sent to us. We styled them in various colour combinations." Then came another suggestion seeking a 'spring, English look' that they managed by changing the colours they had used -- maroon and bottle green -- to mauve, pink and lemon yellow.

The project took three to four months to complete during which the embroideresses never travelled to London. They just sent over huge courier packets of embroidered silks there every fortnight.

Alex was clearly pleased with what she was getting. A note from her reads: "We open your parcel and look at the most beautiful embroidery. They are going to be the brightest spots in the film."

Jamila and Seema may be mother and daughter but behave more like friends.

"Sure, we disagree in, say, the choice of colour or motif," says Seema, "but after we explain our reasons to each [other], we feel better because we understand each other and the conflict melts. There are no ego hassles between us though we run a business together."

Jamila runs the financial aspect of the design business. She meets exporters, picks up the fabric from Dubai, the largest market of textiles from around the world, and comes up with ideas.

Seema focuses on the business at home. She interacts with the workers from Lucknow, Bombay and Tamil Nadu, and her clients, and supervises the creation of the garment, one of which could take up to seven days to complete. An embellished salwar kameez could cost between Rs 7,500 and Rs 25,000. And sometimes the figure crosses that, depending on the intricacy of the embroidery.

A still from Elizabeth

Jamila says of her rapport with Seema: "We almost think alike on many issues. If you were to lock us up in separate rooms with a piece of fabric and ask us what embroidery we would use, chances are we would both suggest the same thing, in similar colours"

Seema agrees. "I've inherited this eye for colour and design from my mother. My only regret is that I haven't got any formal training in designing. I hope to change that by doing a course at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Bangalore.

Jamila and Seema were also the ones who designed the engagement gown worn by Bangalore-based model and MTV anchor Nafisa Joseph last August. Nafisa is to tie the knot with Jamila's son Sameer Malhotra, a model, later this year.

Most of their collections are moulded around themes. So their Taj Mahal collection uses grills of fabric, a marble enamel effect and calligraphy. They had a collection in net, which had embroidery done in tone-on-tone shades of yellows, greens and sky blue, coupled with applique, beads and crystals. They also had a collection inspired by the colours used in stained glass and Tiffany lampshades.

Jamila usually designs for the mature woman while Seema aims at the younger set.

"Earthy shades were in vogue a couple of years ago," says Jamila. "Last year, it was muted colours of dull grey, peach, mauve, sea green, lemon yellow, which will continue till the middle of this year. But bright colours will come into fashion again."

According to Seema, "Silver is the colour of the season. Our next collection is called 'Moonlight' and it will reflect the versatility of this colour."

Much as they would love to see Elizabeth, the duo have decided to just wait for the film to be released in India. However, there is lots of work to be done now, many orders that have to be completed. The marriage season is still on...