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She\u2019s carved her own niche with her brand \u2018Leanne Alphonso Couture\u2019 in Nuvem after moving to Goa, from the city of dreams that others love heading to. She\u2019s brought along to the state professionalism and high fashion, sans compromising on quality. NT BUZZ gets talking with this fashion creator Leanne Alphonso While Leanne Alphonso was exposed to the intricate details of fashion at a very young age, the graduate in Economics from St Xavier\u2019s College, Mumbai, found herself excelling in fashion during her three-year diploma course and continues doing what she loves best.<\/p>\n The keen fashion enthusiast Entering the fashion world Bombay to Goa Creating fashion far and beyond Fashion and trends continue Been there, achieved it Pic by Vipul Rege<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.8″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.8″] She\u2019s carved her own niche with her brand \u2018Leanne Alphonso Couture\u2019 in Nuvem after moving to Goa, from the city of dreams that others love heading to. She\u2019s brought along to the state professionalism and high fashion, sans compromising on quality. NT BUZZ gets talking with this fashion creator Leanne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aspire-inspire","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1757"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1763,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1757\/revisions\/1763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDanuska Da Gama | NT BUZZ<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy mum used to do wedding gowns in Bombay and was trained under a seamstress who had done her designing in Paris, and that\u2019s where I learned the finer aspects of design. But I never wanted to get into fashion as I wanted to explore the world. I was captivated by the world of fashion, but more so tutored in the detail of construction and fit,\u201d Alphonso mentions as she adds that she also did three levels in French at Alliance Fran\u00e7aise and programming in computers as she never believed in being idle.
\nWith nothing to lose, she applied for a three-year Diploma in Fashion from PV Polytechnic, Juhu. \u201cWithin hours I realised I had to answer a test, and with three colour pencils, out of 2000 students I managed to get through as there were just 35 seats,\u201d recalls Alphonso.
\nUnder the tutelage of fashion industry stalwarts like Hemant Trivedi, Wendell Rodricks and Neeta Lulla, Alphonso was able to hone her skills and realise her innate passion for fashion design. \u201cI thought if I don\u2019t get a job after completion of the course I would do an MBA in Finance as the family was in the banking sector,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\nIt was at the graduation show of the fashion school that Alphonso won three awards among several other achievements that she has been presented during her three-year training. \u201cI was offered a position at the fashion house, Melange. This south Bombay fashion destination, pioneered by Sangeeta Kathiwada, was where I plunged into the high fashion world, dressing the discerning fashion elite ladies of the country,\u201d says Alphonso.
\nFrom being nervous in 1998, to being guided and not being made to feel raw and new, and literally hitting the ground running, the hands-on experience led to a 12-year career at Melange. \u201cIt was here that I was able to weave my way through an extensive repertoire of fashion from Pr\u00eat-\u00e0-porter to Couture.\u201d From three tailors who would do alterations, to having 13 sewing machines and outsourcing, she led the way to creating fabulous in-house collections and other collections that were taken offshore.
\nExposure to the wedding fashion industry was an added feature of this decade-long journey, where she built her skills by covering all aspects of Indian and Western cultural influences. \u201cI was able to understand the intricate nuances of Indian tradition in wedding fashion, be it North Indian or South Indian and everything in-between!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\nMeeting her husband Bruce got her to move to Goa, though she always thought that her commuting meant settling in a city or somewhere outside India. So in 2008 she moved to Goa and was lucky to continue working with the very brand she started her fashion career with, shuttling between Mumbai and Goa. \u201cI would spend 10 days at the unit in Mumbai and 20 day in Goa, and it was a nice transition for me and wasn\u2019t a major cultural shock,\u201d she says adding that it was her husband who told her that she could continue her passion and dress up the people of Goa.
\nAlphonso\u2019s innate abilities, through rough and tumble of Mumbai\u2019s fashion industry, in production and design has been the core to this growth. Being in Goa hasn\u2019t held her back from connecting with her vast supplier and vendor networks from across the country as she is ably supported by her in-house production workshop and talent, both local and from across India,.
\n\u201cPeople in Goa are in tune with fashion and I try to give them what they want from the West and what they are aware. Also, it is here that I moved to using fabrics other than eco-friendly ones, due to the weather as well as the dry cleaning facilities,\u201d she says.
\nEarlier girls knew sewing as a trait that was necessary to get married. For weddings a local tailor was brought home and tailored the wedding garments at the home. \u201cNow with new careers, travel and social media, the younger generation is more aware and well-versed with trends and styles. Goans are creative and very hardworking. They know colours well,\u201d Alphonso says.
\nWhile girls initially wanted high fashion with whichever fabrics and budgets they could manage, they\u2019ve grown into ladies with disposable incomes who now have a penchant for finer fabrics, besides having the discernment to choose and decide well,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cSomeone who attended my wedding came up to me and loved the gown I had designed for myself. She asked me to design her gown the following year, my first order, thus I established my label Leanne Alphonso Couture over the last 11 years,\u201d Alphonso says.
\nAnd since then, tucked into a cosy store within the courtyard of her home it has been a steady challenge to carve out a niche market. \u201cFrom beginning work in the garage with one tailor and one worker, I was designing for a lot of Goans through word of mouth,\u201d she says before adding that she is a hands-on mom of two children.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s easy to connect with people across the world and we make garments with measurements sent via email,\u201d Alphonso says talking about how she services overseas clientele and how her unit in Mumbai for dying and embroidery works while she coordinates from Goa. She loves sourcing textiles from the local market and has a crazy obsession for Indian textiles.
\nLove for desi textiles
\nDuring her course in Bombay, Alphonso\u2019s first breakthrough with Indian fashion was when she learned about Indian textiles from across states. \u201cAs and when I started travelling, I worked with local craftsmen in Chanderi, woven fabrics, worked with kaarigars and have designed sarees too,\u201d she says. Working with weavers led Alphonso to utilise every bit of the precious fabric to make something that can be worn or used as accessories like buttons or trimmings. <\/p>\n
\nWhile Alphonso believes that the online market has impacted shopping trends, it is for special occasions and weddings that people do look at customising and styling with a designer. \u201cAt the end of the day, there is nothing like a fit and form to suit an individual body type. Couture and bespoke creations will always be cause for the twinkle in a fashion conscious woman\u2019s eye,\u201d she says.
\nWhile she can be seen being a strict yet caring mom, she says she would love to spend more time with her children Caleb and Annika. Emphasisng the importance of team work she says: \u201cThanks to a supporting husband and family, my team of creators in the studio who have stood by me through all situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\uf0d8\tFinalist at the Shoppers\u2019 Stop All India Student Design Competition.
\n\uf0d8\tStyled TV anchor Sanjana Kapoor for the Amul India show and Economic Times Awards.
\n\uf0d8\tWorked with late Japenese jewellery designer Kazuo Ogawa for a few fashion shows.
\n\uf0d8\tPresented two Khadi exhibitions at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai and National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).
\n\uf0d8\tInvited to design uniforms for the RAF special police unit Mumbai.
\n\uf0d8\tDesigned staff uniforms for the Cinnamon Club London; a couple of restaurants and Corporatehouses in Mumbai.
\n\uf0d8\tUsed traditional Goan Kunbi fabric for staff uniforms at Firefly, Goa.
\n\uf0d8\tPresented collections overseas at the Hilton Singapore and Dubai Ladies Club, UAE.
\n\uf0d8\tClothes worn by Bollywood stars<\/p>\n