The reputation of Tanaya Kar as the Pattachitra girl is starting to grow at NIFT, Bhubaneswar where she is pursuing her third year of Bachelor’s in Fashion Design. It began in March this year. As colleges shut down owing to the pandemic, their teacher gave them the assignment to open an Instagram account and showcase what they are doing and they were to be evaluated on it. That's when the 22-year-old opted to launch Maati and Tales. She started with eye-pleasing Pattachitra illustrations. "One shouldn’t limit Pattachitra to the canvas. I wanted to change things up," says the youngster. Hence, making use of skills like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, she began to draw digital illustrations. But then, she bagged an internship with none other than Galang Gabaan, set up by Lipsa Hembram — former student and current guest faculty at NIFT who has taken her designs all the way to Lakmé Fashion Week. So the youngster knew she had to step up her illustration game.
If you are a fan of designs by Galang Gabaan, just like we are, you must have seen some stylish illustrations of their designs on their Instagram page. It is Tanaya whose brains and skills are behind these. Tall stick-figure-like caricatures of women flaunting the designs of this Odia brand are truly arresting. "My job was initially to hand-paint Saura art on masks. And then Lipsa ma'am wanted to do something interesting for their Instagram page. She wanted stylised illustrations of their existing saris so that more people are attracted to buy them," explains Tanaya. And the designer got exactly that from the youngster.
But of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. "Ma'am knew exactly what she wanted, so we had to go through many iterations before she actually zeroed in on one design," she explains. The main focus continues to be the sari and it is this Indian garment that occupies the spotlight in these illustrations. "She is strict but what a learning process it has been," she says with gratitude. So if you want to look out for what else this aspiring designer is up to, Maati and Tales will tell it all.
For more on them, check out instagram.com/maati_tales
