About the designer – samant chauahan
His line seems simple, clean-cut, and basic h/ever each and every garment look achieved goes back to yarn stage with multiple treatments given not only to the garment but yarns and fabric as well. This adds uniqueness and makes his collection stand out Fashion to him is not just a popular trend, but a very basic form of representation that is always conceptual. Strong believer in the versatility of Bhagalpur weaving techniques and skilled craftsmenship, Samant Gives credit to the Bhagalpur craftsmen for his ever evolving and innovative fabrics .. The label , ‘SAMANT CHAUHAN’ today has come a long way selling at several high-profile stores globally.
2004- A post graduate diploma from National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi. Received Award of The Most Innovative Fabric Development’, And ‘Best Design Collection.’ during NIFT graduating show Followed by ‘Best Design Collection’ award at Kolkotas Nift Confluence amongst all centres
2005- Made his first international mark at the Singapore Fashion Week – At the ‘Asian Young Designer Contest,’ he presented his prize winning collection - "Changing patterns of Buddhism along the Silk Route" which invited rave reviews from international fashion journalists comprising, Collin Mc Dowell. The same collection was a part of the India’s promotion in TSUM, Moscow.
2006- Samant’s debut Collection at the ‘India Fashion Week’ received remarkable encouragement from the biggest names in the fashion fraternity. The same year, he became one of the finalists for the WOW, New Zealand from India. Same year, Chauhan also started an eco-friendly line with the US based company, ‘MOKSHA for Earth’.
2007- Carrying his hand made, hand woven ethical silk garments to the international market; he created a unique place for himself. He presented his first catwalk show - "Kamasutra" at the India Fashion Week, A/W'07 & received an overwhelming response from both the media & the international buyers. This collection not only gifted Samant the recognition of ‘The most promising talent of India,’ but was also covered by the Italian Vogue’s annual issue. Subsequently, he got an opportunity to be a part of "Esthetica" at the London Fashion Week, SS'08. After this there was no looking back and he showcased his collections for the 4 consecutive seasons at the London Fashion Week. USHA’s Sewing School approached Samant for his grave understanding of the local crafts, stitching and embroidery to contribute a Training Programme Book compiling the lessons on stitching at all levels. Every year, this ‘Sewing & Design’ and ‘Embroidery’ book, trains students in thousands of Usha Sewing Schools across India.
2008- At the beginning of this year, Chauhan received an award for the “Best designer Gallery” at the TexStyles’08 - Asia’s biggest textile event. He was covered by “the Wall Street Journal's - Mint” and was featured on the cover page for bringing the traditional crafts and textiles back into the limelight. Continuing his commitment to ethical fashion & taking a leap forward, Samant showcased his SS’09 collection at the Carrousel Du Louvre in Paris at the Ethical Fashion Show.
2009- He showcased his AW’09 line dedicated to “The silk worm” at the London Fashion Week. He won ‘Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award,’ organized by British Council for generating employment in rural India. Through this, he closely worked with the Centre of Sustainable Fashion in the London College of Fashion, as a part of shared India talent. For placing his hometown quite literally on the global fashion map, he won the CNBC TV 18’s Young Turk Award.
2010- Finalist from India for Japan Grand Prix in Tokyo, he was featured on ‘The Sunday Guardian's cover page under the article "Couture children of India.” During Prince Charles’ Common Wealth India visit, he showcased his exclusive line in Jodhpur. Also, amongst the admirals, was ‘His Highness’ of Jodhpur. An initiative of FDCI for the Common Wealth Games, he created a designer ‘Victorian’ Rickshaw which was highly appreciated by the global media. Chauhan started an association with Anthropology, U.S.A, with his exclusive collection of organic accessories.
2011- A debut was made in Colombo Fashion Week’11 with admirations and a very positive response. US-based Sass Brown, a professor at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York, in her book, ‘Eco Fashion’; has featured Samant as one of the leading designers along with Salvatore Ferragamo, Vivienne Westwood and Yves Saint Laurent, who promote eco-friendly clothing.
2012- ‘Design X Design Exhibition: 20under35,’ an initiative by Alliance Francaise, is the greatest Design exhibition held by the institution. Samant was amongst the twenty few designers from various fields to showcase his collection that attempts to share the design philosophies, working methods and future aspirations of the twenty selected designers from across India under the age of thirty-five. He developed a line of ‘Handloom Denim” in association with DCI under the Cluster Development Scheme of the Ministry of Textiles. In another event, ‘Silks of Bihar,’( the commemoration of 100 years of Bihar in New Delhi,) his ‘Silk Route’ Collection, was showcased .. He started his work on documentaries on the clusters of Chanderi, Bhagalpur, Phullia and Varanasi focusing on its weavers’ life-style, monuments and diversity
2013- The protagonist of Bhagalpuri silks finally decided to step into the world of retail segment, establishing its foothold as the owner of a flagship store in the capital at Defence Colony. FASHION INDIA- ( Oct 2013- Oct 2014) Tereza Kuldovas 6yrs long phd thesis on relationship between Indian Craft , fashion, luxury had big names from the Indian fashion world showcasing their collections including samant chauhan. He was chosen to display his complete range of collections from the beginning till date as he exemplified truly the evolution of Indian craft internationally and thus taking it to a different pedestal
2014 - Be Open - A Global initiative to foster creativity and innovation organized exhibition - SAMSKARA which had handpicked 26 designers and artisans showcasing their designs. Samant ‘s designs grounded in tradition yet yielding a contemporary spark,aims to promote the people, the artisans and ideas of today to build solutions for tomorrow. One of the most admired glimpse of the Rajputana Collection was witnessed at the Taj Pierre New York City. Samant Chauhan’s name is amongst the 12 selected star alumini of NIFT and for him its his best reward till date - given by the institute which nurtured his dream.
