A new design house puts up designs online and lets buyers customise them for clothes and bags

As the creative head of a young design house, Fahd Hussein knew that if he had to reach more buyers across the country, he’d have to think of a unique way to showcase the designs. And what could be more effective than Facebook? Hussein, 27, and his team of designers at Kolkata-based OnSeed Artist Collective have started the online sale of their designs — inspired by Tibetan tankha, Egyptian art, Navajo Indian tribal art, revolutions, urban chaos, contemporary graphics and comic art — over Facebook and their own website onseedonline.com. Titled “PrePhase”, the collection is a first by the design house that is formed by a bunch of 20-somethings. What is novel about the online sale is that it allows you to customise your clothes using their designs. “PrePhase is an experiment we’re trying. It is a system whereby we develop individual pieces of art that can be transferred on to a silhouette of your choice. It is a collaboration between the designer and the person wearing the piece. Five people may have the same design but each piece will be different because it will be customised as per the buyer’s taste,” says Hussein.

It’s a simple, three-step process. One, log on to Facebook and choose designs from the PrePhase collection. Step two is where you can choose the placement of embellishments, pick silhouettes, fiddle with textures and even modify the design. Once that is done, the customised image has to be e-mailed back to the OnSeed team. The key words of the PrePhase collection, as Hussein states, are “intricate detailing, bold imagery, a pinch of psychedelia, and a central concept that binds everything together with a healthy dose of fun.” Once the buyer is ready with the chosen image and specified changes, OnSeed guarantees the outfits, which are produced on Lycra-enriched cotton, will reach you within two weeks. All the pieces come with flyers, stickers and other freebies and if you don’t want an outfit, you can choose the designs for bags, posters and art prints.

... contd.