Chiranjeevi sporting one of his daughter's designs
WITH TELUGU cinema broadening its periphery in terms of looks, content and technique, the new breed of filmmakers and artistes are going ga ga over fashion. The style quotient has gone up by many a notch.Not surprisingly, hotshot designers in town are cashing in on the craze, making a beeline for the silver screen. And on the designer bandwagon is Sushmita, a young NIFT grad who's a familiar face, tagging along with her parents at celebrity dos and happening events. She has carved a niche in haute couture at a very young age and is inching close to starting her own label. We corner this refreshingly simple and modest designer at her low-profile Jubilee Hills workshop for trousseau talk. So how did she step into the world of fashion? "After schooling in Chennai, I heard about this designing school from someone while travelling in a train. When I got through, I joined in Hyderabad because that's where my parents live. The three years here have helped me understand and evolve my own style," she says. That apart, a stint in London helped polish her skill set. "The place itself is so stimulating, you get to explore so much and see so many live events," she recalls. Dismissing notions that "fashion designing is something that people take as a hobby", Sushmita feels her vocation demands a lot of hard work and manual labour. "Apart from the creative aspect and designing, one needs to run around for printers and tailors. You got to travel a lot to source your fabric and make it exclusive. Anyone can become a designer, but to make a name for yourself and last long, that takes tremendous effort and commitment."