Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 58

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
THE FRAGRANCE OF HANDMADE
Designer Khyati Pande endeavours to promote, preserve, and maximise the use of traditional
handlooms and textile techniques. Brinda Gill notes.
“I always knew I would work in a creative field such as design,”
says designer Khyati Pande, founder of Itr by Khyati Pande. The
memory of tiny bottles of ittar (perfumes with botanical sources)
from her grandmother’s cupboard, with their lingering scent, led
Khyati to name her label ‘Itr’. From quite a young age, Khyati took
to drawing, do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, and reading widely. She
would even scour through trunks of old textiles and garments. All
these interests coalesced into her label, which features a range
of chic and comfortable womenswear that seamlessly integrate
different fabrics, stitches, and designing techniques into timeless
styles.
COURSEWORK
Khyati’s interest in fabrics, apparel, and design led her to pursue
an undergraduate course in knitwear design from National Institute
of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mumbai, after which she interned in
the merchandising department of a garment export house. Though
the work was not directly connected to designing garments, she
learnt a lot about sampling, meeting targets, and getting the work
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I APPAREL I
November 2019