SWATIMODO MAKING NEWS!!!

SWATIMODO in fnl from images media......
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SWATIMODO in HT city!!!

SWATIMODO in HTcity!!!(code red and sole pleasure)

code red:designed exclusively for Ex miss India Mrs. Liza Varma and sole pleasure is a boot inspired from eternal love TAJ MAHAL!!!!

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SWATIMODO ON INDIATIMES!!

Gen Y's new writing on the wall

Deepti Malhotra
Having long said goodbye to babudom , Generation Y are living their dreams like never before. They are soaring higher and far away from anything that is run-of-the-mill. A career is no longer about just security. It’s about excitement, adventure, passion, satisfaction, moolah and a lot more!

Yes, who doesn’t want the buck rolling their way, but it need not be from a mundane 9-to-5 job that does absolutely nothing for your salvation. Till some time back the pendulum was swaying the other way. Youngsters still had the yearning for conventional careers like civil services, engineering, medicine, law and the likes. They would burn the midnight oil preparing for exams and spend their youthful years just appearing, re-appearing and clearing them. Parents too loved to show off their ‘well placed’ sons and daughters, whose degrees made them even more eligible for a good marriage proposal. After a while, MBA and IT also became the first and final stop for most career seekers. And the “MBA from an IIM” tag even had many aunts and uncles raising their eyebrows in appreciation. But the writing on the wall is now being rewritten with a new ink, which says it out loud - ‘dare to be different’. Follow the herd? No way! God made everyone unique and Generation Y strongly believes and follows this dictate. Never follow the crowd but set your own path is what most of these rebels with a cause feel, not just about the way they dress or behave but now increasingly about the professions they choose. “Every third person is an MBA, I wanted to be unique”, says Vipul Arora, all of 18 years old and a radio jockey who hosts the morning show ‘Tea Stall’ on Radio Mantra. Being a commerce graduate and having a mother who is a teacher did not deter this young gun from following his dreams. For Arora, high pay packets that his MBA degree would have gotten him didn’t sound half as exciting as talking on the radio.

But if you think it’s only the guys who want to cut an edge, think again. Girls are fast joining and in some cases even leading this ‘I’m unique’ brigade. So believes Swati Mehrotra, a budding shoe designer. A student of commerce like Arora, and the daughter of a chartered accountant, Swati’s career path seemed to be almost cut out. But Swati went on to do something that was labeled as ‘not meant for girls’. She chose a path traditionally considered the dominion of men. Ask her why and pat comes the reply, “I wanted to do something more adventurous. I didn’t want to do fashion designing as a lot of people are already doing that.” Her priorities were clear, “fame first to be followed by money.”

All work and all play Swati and Arora are just two among the increasing number of youth turning their hobbies into professions. Some years ago if you were a doctor who loved cooking, you had to limit your cooking skills to the kitchen after work. Well, not anymore. Meet Abhijeet, medicine-student-turned-Italian chef with Westview at the Maurya Sheraton. “I really enjoyed cooking, it was my passion and so I gave up medicine which was my father’s initial choice for me and became a chef”, he says. For him, his best reward is when people finish everything on their plate. When your hobby becomes your profession, fun at work is not too far. Simbal Bhatia, DJ at ‘The Shack’ in Defence Colony, Delhi feels the same. “Music is my passion. Eighty per cent people are doing MBA or CA, I thought I’d rather do what I truly love”, he says. His family was initially, as he puts it, ‘dead against it’ and gave him only a six month timeframe to prove his mettle. But today they have accepted his dream as theirs and have no regrets whatsoever. Satisfaction guaranteed Everybody has Monday morning blues, but what if the entire week begins to seem like a Monday morning? What if you are never told if the work you do was good, bad or ugly? Worse, what if the work you do brings no change in anybody’s life, and least of all in your own? Generation Y is increasingly plagued by these thoughts as they browse the multitude of job sites and scan the yellow pages. “I didn’t want to sell credit cards all week long”, says Hassan, a copywriter with advertising agency, Mudra. A student of science, he loved to dabble with words and so chose to be a copywriter. Now handling accounts like Timesjobs.com and HBO, he feels he couldn’t have pursued a career that didn’t offer ‘creative satisfaction’. Not very different from him is Deepmala, an assistant manager, at the front office at Maurya Sheraton. “I was always more of a communications person. You’ve got to have it within you to make your guest feel at home and smile”, she says. She goes on to add that even though the money is gradual in this industry the satisfaction that you get is something else. Satisfaction + fame + money = Success Satisfaction plus fame plus a little bit of money – these are the ingredients that Generation Y is using to make the perfect recipe for success! Chef Abhijeet agrees that it is gratifying to know that his dishes make celebrities lick their fingers. Even Deepmala gushes at the thought of the who’s who of Page 3 passing by her lobby and stopping for exchanging peasantries every now and then. “It’s a lot to do with the wow factor”, she admits. DJ Simbal too agrees that it is quite flattering when women come up to him with song requests. He explains, “money means a lot to me, but so do fame and glamour”. Well it looks like Generation Y has its success mantra clearly spelt out. So be it job satisfaction, fame or fortune, when it comes to careers the youth are increasingly listening to their true calling, which is urging them to be, as they call it - different!

SWATIMODO now empannelled with NCDPD!!

SWATIMODO is now in official committee of National centre for design and development(NCDPD) where in we are now eligle to undetake even govt. projects!!!!way to go ...this is just the begining!!!

SWATIMODO at 15th DILF..

The three-day 15th annual Delhi International Leather Fair (DILF)-2007 opened at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on 18th May 2007 & was inaugurated by Lt. Governor Tajender Khanna.

FDDI set-up the ‘Theme Pavilion’ and displayed its publications and informed about its training programmes and consultancy services through brochure and one-to-one meeting. The ‘Theme Pavilion’ was based on the trend forecast of 07-08 with an elegant look. The approach was minimilistic but impactful. The emphasis was on the latest trend spring – summer.

Under the banner of FDDI, products of micro-entrepreneurs were also displayed.

According to Mr. Rajeev Lakhara, IRS, Managing Director, FDDI, “The fair provides a forum for interaction and perfect meeting ground for buyers, leather & leather products manufacturers & components manufacturers.” He has further emphasized that the participation in the fair shall be increased by bringing more and more Indian exporters & foreign buyers at common platform. It needs a well-planned publicity & promotion campaign to make it popular & of truly international standard. The shrinking size of the fair is a matter of concern.

Lt. Governor Tajender Khanna was highly impressed by the display & the product range at the ‘Theme Pavilion’.

Under theme pavillion latest developments by SWATIMODO were also displayed.which were highly appreciated.

swati's labour of love!!

You have seen taj mahal in full moon, but ever wondered how it looks when it rains? asks Swati. It’s much more romantic more pure and full of life! It seems as if every tree every flower in its vicinity is so happy that they are dancing to their ‘full colours’! The white beauty is more visible, the carvings more clear. The love is born again. Any couple who visits this monument during such a moment will vouch for it! This is the inspiration for Swati’s rainfall at the Taj creation.

This long boot is a display of that love. The garden hand embroidered on white textile accompanied with brocade on top line, heel covered with brocade, and sole of white colour depicting Taj, a perfect combination of love and beauty.

Theme-based shoe designing is a true labour of love. It starts with the seed of an idea…the generation of idea or theme, sketching and studying of history and craftsmanship involved in the building of the Taj mahal. Then, making of model of shoe, final sketches of shoes selecting material embroidery, cutting of patterns (paper) cutting upper material. And of course embroidery of uppers, selecting heel and sole, stitching upper and lining, lasting operation ie fitting upper to last. Then attaching sole and heel finishing and lastly packing the creation.

According to Swati, making a custom made shoe is truly a work of art because

more than 100 operations go into the construction of a custom made shoe. The first and most important step is in the creation of the shoe last, a hand-carved wood or moulded plastic replica of the human foot. It alone determines the contour of the arch and how evenly the wearer's weight will be distributed throughout the foot, both of which are critical in establishing the comfort of a shoe.

A different last is needed for each shoe style, whether it's a handmade shoe or mass produced. Last making is an art that demands great skill and a trained eye for fashion.

After recording over 35 measurements from a "footprint" that shows the distribution of body weight, the artisan judges the symmetry of the toes, calibrates the height of the big toe and the contour of the instep. He also estimates how the foot will move inside the handmade shoe or boot.

The lastmaker challenge is to address all these ratios without compromising the architectural beauty of the handmade shoe design. For a heeled shoe/boot, he visualizes the heel height, then proportionately determines the size of the throat (top line of the shoe). Next the appropriate height of the shoe's quarter (height of heel back) is established: too high and it will rub the tendons; too low and the show will fail to grip the foot properly. Most critical to the fit of the shoe is the measurement of the shank curve (arch support), the area that includes the ball and instep of the foot, because this is where the body's weight fall when the foot is in motion.

Then, using the last as a guide, the patternmaker cuts out the shoe's upper and lining, bevels the edges to ensure a good fit and sews the pieces together. Next, he constructs the toe box, adds the counter- the stiffner for the shoe's back- and soaks the leather so it will easily conform to the lines of the last. A master craftsman carefully positions the upper on the last, tautly stretching it before nailing it tightly in place. The sole and heel can be attached.

In the final steps, finishers trim the welt, pair the heel, burnish the sole and add the insole lining. Last but not least, the shoe is polished and buffed - and it’s ready to wear.

Swati’s labour of love is now ready for you to wear!

starting the journey!!

Meet the diva of conceptual designer footwear

A revolution in the glamorous world of designer footwear is in the offing! Meet the young, determined, zestful and affable leader of the movement, Swati Mehrotra - the creator who's already creating waves in the world of haute designer footwear in India. With unique concepts inspired by green freshness of Nature, romantic Rainfall at Taj, Jaws and Paws of the animal kingdom , glamour of the risque Streetwalker (prostitute), the ever popular Holiday, hi-tech Gizmo and calm 'n' blue of Aqua etc, Swati is already on the way to stardom! Inspired by her father, Ajay K. Mehrotra, the youngest CA of his time and the determination to do something different with the encouragement of her teacher, Ms Huma, Swati embarked on a journey to make her mark in the world of high fashion conceptual Indian designer footwear.

Although initially more into dancing and singing, Swati was taken aback when her teacher told her that she had an artist, a designer in her. That's when she started dreaming of being a fashion designer. But soon she realised that she didn't just want to be a 'me too' fashion designer, that's when she opted for footwear designing. Got into FDDI to her pursue her dreams. Many told her that footwear designing or crudely speaking shoe designing wasn't a glamorous career and it was a man's world. She didn't lose her heart. She wanted to do something unique by not deviating from her goal to make her presence felt. Be in an arena where she will be the centre of attraction. Swati successfully completed her course and went Mumbai-wards. She exhibited her footwear concepts in JW Marriott, Mumbai. Her work was appreciated by the likes of Ila Arun and Poonam Sinha (Shatrughan Sinha’s wife) and a host of other celebrities from Bollywood and world of fashion. And now she has her own signature brand - “Swati Modo’ or Swati’s conceptual hi-fashion for the footwear world - a brand that speaks for herself and her concepts. She’s already a trendsetter...She doesn’t want to be known just as a designer, she wants to be a creator of designs who has chosen footwear as her medium of expression for the time being. A view her faculty in FDDI also endorse. One of them says in a lighter vein that while Swati was absolutely ‘brilliant with concepts and presentations’ she was ‘just about okay with technical aspects!’

Solely for the reason that the sole is actually the soul of, the centre of a human being’s standing in life. That’s why it’s so important for people to stand on their own feet! Swati is taking care of this ‘feet’, this soul of humankind. All her handcrafted creations have a concept, a thought behind them. They are not assembly-line designs, they are meticulously designed by leather technicians from Agra. No wonder, she was so different from her batch mates at FDDI. While most of her batch mates shied away from the struggle of opening a boutique and running own business, Swati has taken it up as a challenge with a passion and gusto. They settled down for safer and cushier jobs while Swati refused such lucrative offers to ‘learn footwear designing at the root’ in the footwear hub of India, Agra. She joined a company there!

keep a watch to know more on swatimodo products there s lots to come!!!!!