No, it does not mean androgynous or inelegance. It does not rule out pastels and florals. It simply indicates a demeanor and taste that carries itself with aplomb. For those not quite caught up with emerging neologisms and trends, a Sapiosexual is a person attracted to intelligence above all other factors. When translated to fashion it is an aesthetic that conveys self-awareness, confidence and unabashed intellect. And exploding it on the Indian fashion runway is Puja Singh Nadhani through her hand-made, heart-made and ethically-sourced label, Quench.
What
look like generic motifs from a distance, reveal themselves to be whiskered
cats on closer inspection in this full-length slit dress in black.
Her apprenticeship under Sabyasachi Mukherji gave Puja the experience of a lifetime and the confidence to make her dream of a fashion-forward Indian label a reality. “My eternal muse at Quench is the thinking woman. The undeterred, a little whimsical and confident woman. The Quench woman is not coy and is unapologetically achieving,” she says, best-describing her debut collection, Grey Matter. Launched in September 2015, the double entendre-titled collection moves across shades of black, grey and white fusing textures and patterns like polka-dots and ikat along the way.
Unlikely
fabrics are contrasted for a dress that will make a statement every time you
wear it.
Clean lines certainly don’t mean simple
with Quench as contrasts line up in a myriad forms and designs that invoke the
subtle art of sensuality. A slit here or a peek there, sexy and minimalist are
thrown into a passionate embrace in Quench. Skirts, skorts and trousers hang
beside dresses, calf-length shirts and palazzos on their racks drenched with
commanding style. Well, now you know what sapiosexual fashion truly entails!
A calf-length
shirt with panels of indigenous fabric paired with palazzo pants is an ensemble
tailor-made for the dauntless.
A
popular favourite, the pleated skirt with a sheer panel, finds itself a prime
spot in every collection.
“I love the idea of mixing smooth and coarse textures
together in a merchandise. It could be a stark visual difference or
a difference in the feel of the garment,” says the Fashion Design
post-graduate who felt an innate need to step away from the glitzy world of
conventional Indian fashion. “There is little in India that appeals to the
sensibilities of the thinking Indian woman. Quench was born from my own need to
satisfy the thirst to find sexy minimalist clothes in India. I love the idea of
clothing the sapiosexual woman,” explains Puja who believes in living life to
the fullest sans fear. A principle that comes through clearly in her
description of her upcoming collection, Abandoned Garden, “It has a lot of
cottons, silks and linens. It has florals and stripes and the best way to
describe the collection would be to call it a fashion exploration of the new
age woman with respect for the vintage. They are simple yet modern and very
wearable.”
‘Quench
is a label of fashion that exudes seductive style in a manner most comfortably
eccentric’!
The Grey Matter collection is priced
between Rs. 6,500 and Rs. 14,000. They can be contacted through their website
and facebook page.