In the rich imagination of fashion designer Indra Kaffemanaite, it is all just a game, a love story in which there are no winners or losers, just the intention to ‘borrow’ the shirt from the male in order to transform it, wear it, show it off… and then make amends.
And here, the shirt is cut in half with a knowing wink. Sweeping cuts made horizontally, vertically, adding, for that feminine touch, ribbons cut in such a way to make delicate knots that will make him want to take your hand in a light but firm gesture. Also, as ever, the sleeve holds a surprise – it is not thrown away but transformed magically into a pocket.
Then Indra shakes her magic wand again to show all the changes that can be made to a man’s shirt; detaching the collar and cuffs, fully opening the sleeve to turn the garment into a stylish shawl. Then, the playful shirt becomes a beach dress, light and cool, airy and feminine, but then is transformed again into a blouse, and over and over into skirts, tops, hats and even a kimono, with the addition of a belt… how fortunate that the previous owner wore his shirts oversized, and what a convenient habit for the Balossa woman who steals it!
Indra plays her wonderful game while cutting and composing and touching up the Balossa line with her safe hands, softening it with delicate textures – everywhere you care to look you’ll be enchanted to find light and subtle details resting in unusual places like butterflies.
Like the delicate wings of those heavenly creatures, Indra’s designs reach near-transparency here, and she displays the sensuality of the woman emerging out of the cocoon of a man’s shirt with subtle, double-layers of lightweight cotton poplin. The fabric comes in shades of Balossa white, sky blue solids and masculine stripes, and is fashioned from high-quality poplin, cotton and cotton voile, linen and sterch poplin. And, finally, Balossa woman has discovered ramie – a completely natural fabric, like linen, which originates from the bark of plants in the Urticaceae family, and is grown in China, Brazil, Indonesia and the Phillipines. When mixed with cotton, the strength and absorbency of this fabric is luxuriously increased.
The world of Indra is coloured white. She uses the white shirt as her blank canvas, the brushstrokes as her cuts, and the details are where her imagination runs wild… everything is tender, light and fresh, but it’s when Indra plays that she starts to scratch…

by Cristina Vannuzzi