Alka Adhikari mixing traditional and western trends in her designs

EOI, Siliguri, 1 January 2014: While the European fashion designing industry has emerged dominant over the Indian traditional deigns, designer Alka Adhikari from Bagdogra has gained worldwide popularity by mixing up Indian and Nepali traditional outfits with western costumes in her designs. With this unique concept Adhikari’s efforts to add colours to the fading Indian and Nepali traditional dresses have become successful to attract the young fashion lovers.
Conceding that the fashion industry growing tremendously she said the youths tend to overlook the richness of their traditional fashion, Alka has started her own production centers at various places in India and Nepal. Adhikari, who has a diploma in fashion designing said, since the Indian and Nepali tradition are dying under the dominion of western fashion, she decided to do something to bring these traditional fashion into life again.
She uses ‘Nepali Dhaka’ to prepare Sarees, Lehenga, Churidhars and other outfits and interestingly these products not only have a domestic market but are also demanded by Indians living aboard. Earlier people used to take trouble of traveling to Nepal to get Nepali attires but now many people from Sikkim, Darjeeling and North eastern states put their orders at Adhikari’s production centre for clothes like ‘Daura Suruwal’, 'Chaubandi Choli', ‘Fariya’, and many more. 
Adhikari has already been in fashion business for about10 years. She has also worked with several celebrities and has organized fashion shows in Siliguri, Gangtok, Guwahati, Kathmandu and Kolkata. “Our youths have become increasingly attracted towards fashion in this modern age and also because of the impact of the film industry” Adhikari stated. “However, they are reluctant to wear their own traditional outfits. So in order to make them aware about their culture and tradition, I began designing in such a way that the same dresses become eye-catching to them,” she added.