Local designer Tanya Eldred Bhat draws inspiration from life and her bespoke creations are already a rage in namma city.
Tanya Eldred Bhat
Even as you see fabrics like Eri silk, Bodo cotton weaves and banana fibers being fashioned into shoes, you can tell Tanya Eldred Bhat has the world in her eyes but her country, at heart. This 38-year-old Bengalurean is now being sought out for bespoke shoes that are matchy-match with your outfits. What’s more? She’s even hoping to rope in her clientele to customise their own!
Like most women, she too believed that shoes satisfy the soul. “My frustration with the choices of shoes available in the market prompted me to start blue bean,” she says, drawing inspiration from life – the things people say about their footwear, the shortcomings of what are available and what they wish they had.
Although her basic black pump sells out faster than hot cakes, she’s now keeping things different. “Since most global brands are now available here, we’re now focusing on bespoke shoes,” says the humanities graduate from Bishop Cottons Women’s College who is now using elements like the embroidery, trims or fabric from which the outfit was made, to create one-of-a-kind pairs. This includes everything from the humble flat sandals to svelte closed toe pumps for evenings and work that will cost you anything from Rs 999 to 5,800. With an ever-supportive family, Tanya’s journey for handcrafted shoes started with breakfast at a quaint café in the city. “Materials have often inspired my shoes – a particular colour or print that I day dream about until they are rested on shoes. So, when I noticed a stole in the most beautiful fabric – the Ahimsa (non-violent) Eri Silk at Ants Cafe, all I wanted was to see them on a pair of shoes,” she smiles, using handloom fabrics to handcraft them. And now, there’s no stopping this force. “I want to use fabrics that have a story to create more interesting and unconventional shoes. I’m also looking at offering customers the chance to customise their shoes on my website because I’ve realised, that the ones they help design are the ones they seem to enjoy the most, because it’s exactly what they wanted,” says Tanya.
Tanya’s contemporary designs are inspired by and handcrafted from North Eastern materials.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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