1 'Lotus' By Sujata Tokey
Sujata Tokey, a well-known name in Pune's fashion fraternity, loves classy creativity.
Her designs: Are feminine in shades of topaz, ruby, garnet, coral and turquoise. The outfits include kitsch pants, kurtis, saris, tops, skirts, trousers and shirts with brocade embellishments. Her collection 'Felicia' is adorned with ephemeral Kashmiri embroidery motifs and beads. "I love experimenting with fabric and thread, and enjoy working with Kashmiri embroidery the most," she says.


2 Sharbari Dutta
The daughter of the erudite professor and poet Sri Ajit Datta, Sharbari was born and brought up in Kolkata. With her natural flair for arts on the back burner, Sharbari completed her Masters in philosophy from Presidency College, Kolkata. Today, she sketches motifs on cotton, silk and tussar. "Fashion is mobile and keeps changing; I try to revive and contemporise traditional and Eastern styles," she says modestly. .
Her designs: Are usually one-offs. They're like poetry on fabric. She is going global this year with her new line of men's wear called 'Nouveau Male'. A few of her designs even have Palghat and Picasso motifs side by side in radical colours!


3 Karma Universal Designs' By Jyotika Motwani
Jyotika's label is the result of two generations of talent and creativity. Her boutique 'Karma' in Pune caters to the urban woman.
Her designs: Are fluid and slimming. Georgette and Benarasi saris are elaborately embellished with exquisite pitta work, phulkari sequins and beaten zardosi, interspersed with tiny coloured crystals. A few creations are bold with bright florals in contrasting colours. "This season, we have fluid crepe shirts, brocade trousers and crushed silk skirts, teamed with hand-painted and embellished scarves," says Jyotika.

7 'Urvi' By Sarita Adusumilli
Sarita's one-stop shop - its name means 'earth' in Sanskrit - was set up in 2001. Besides clothes, lifestyle products, textiles and accessories, 'Urvi' in Hyderabad also has an in-house tailoring facility. There's a focus on traditional Indian handlooms and handicrafts. Reviving fast-vanishing arts is one of Sarita's USPs.
Her designs: Are yardages, saris, soft furnishings, dhurries, kurtas for men and women, gift items, furniture and accessories. All the fabrics are natural, hand-block printed or painted with a predominant use of cotton and Ahimsa (non-violence) silk. Khadi is also reworked into different forms.


8 'Reve' By Jigna Shah
Started by Jigna, a NIFT alumnus, Ahmedabad-based 'Reve' (meaning dream) has a global and an adventurous, innovative and non-conformist approach to design. Jigna's haute high comes from experimenting with colour - she uses vegetable and natural colours such as turmeric, iron and rose in her fabrics. The result: Fabrics that are fashionable and fragrant! She is well-travelled as her research of India's textile history has taken her to numerous ancient cities across the country.
Her designs: Are both classic and contemporary with weaves and prints like Ikat, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Sanganeri, ajrakh, and rogan printing. You can also find hand embroidery, weaving and dyeing techniques in her lines. Jigna uses fabrics like jute, linen, mercerised cotton, and Eri and Ahimsa silk. Besides working on her label, Jigna supplies to textile manufactures, multi-brand outlets and other stores.

9 'Namo Designer's Studio' By Sandesh Navalakha
After having graduated from a fashion institute, Sandesh worked with many well-known designers, photographers, choreographers and models in various cities. A winner of many awards on international platform, Sandesh has come a long way in this field.
His designs: Are flamboyant with oodles of embellishments and embroideries. The fit and the cut of his creations are worth a second glance. His ready-to-wear zip-up saris, stoles, gowns, salwar-kurtas, skirts and ponchos are extremely popular. Besides saris, his forte is also 'ghagra-cholis', 'sherwanis' and fusion wear for men and women.