On Jean Paul Gaultier's trail

Pydhonie is big in Paris, says Jagvir Matharoo, women's wear product head at an export house. Sunday Mid day decided to find out how

Pydhonie is big in Paris, says Jagvir Matharoo, women's wear product head at an export house. Sunday Mid day decided to find out how

Jagvir Matharoo first walked the teeming alleys of Pydhonie as a carefree 23 year-old student from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). A field trip turned into a bimonthly activity, when he took over the reigns as Product Head at Mandhana Ind. Ltd., a multi-divisional textile company headed by Manish Mandhana.

Jagvir Matharoo takes us on a trail through Pydhonie to shop for trimmings that are making headlines on international runways. Pics/Satyajit Desai

Churning out collections for the European market, Mandhana works closely with the women's wear divisions of some of the biggest international fashion labels.

That one of Jagvir's favourite designers, Jean Paul Gaultier, once scoured Pydhonie's streets for raw materials, and even shopped at the same stores as him, makes him blush. But that's a story reserved only for close friends. The afternoon we accompanied him, he was on a mission to find military-inspired buttons, brooches, and handmade lace. Dressed in J skinnies, a vintage Da Puta Madre tee ("This brand was created in a Spanish jail by a Columbian drug dealer") and a Benetton bag slung over his shoulder, he's set to show us a bazaar that "won't disappoint you". Here's snaking around streets that hold Mumbai's best-kept style secret.

Tahera Traders: For plain, zari and printed lace
Star designer clientele: Staff working for a range of designers drops by, the proprietor claims
Bales of stacked-up lace threaten to drown the frail Mr Rajkotwala, and the fact that he prefers to chat with Jagvir even while I am shooting off questions at him, isn't helping. Will including a smattering of Gujarati, the language of his Bohri Muslim community, help? "Didn't we see this print in one of Manish Arora's collections?"
wonders Jagvir, pointing at the rose motifs stitched over a broad tape of lace. The 40 year-old family-run establishment gets its lace from Surat, India's fabric and trimming hotbed. Lace in frills, monochrome prints, cutwork and pop colours -- there's a metre to match every sensibility.

MM Jariwala: For buttons and embroidery materials
Star designer clientele: Falguni & Shane Peacock, Gayatri Khanna, Manish Malhotrau00a0
This ruler-thin shop has a conveniently fitted AC that hurls cool air directly on to manager Mohammed Asif, while the rest of his 3-member team and customers gasp for air. Here, self-service is welcome. Every inch of the store is stocked with containers lined with psychedelic knick-knacks. "Metallics with transparent or coloured lacquer, is a huge trend internationally," he says, while checking filigree disks and Mother of Pearl buttons. Mohammed says, the store is a decade old and most of its stock is manufactured at their Goregaon factory.

Bhagwati Embroideries: For cotton, silk viscose yarn and cord
Star designer clientele: College students and bag designers
Sixty four year-old Harshad Sanghvi is a disgruntled gentleman. After noticing Jagvir's interest in bright hued threads that are rolled out for a yummy display, he says, "We can't guarantee kaccha resham; it will run at first wash." Fast colours, like fast fashion, have contaminated the industry. Sanghvi says they are expensive, with a scowl that you'd associate with a migraine attack.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Seated in a nook of his 90 year-old shop, Sanghvi's suspicion about our intentions was sparked off by my question -- "How is your business doing?" "What business? We used to see very good sales when mills flourished in Mumbai. Now, we cater to occasional printers who buy our threads for binding diaries and calendars, and bag designers who use cords as embellishment," explains Sanghvi, going "tch tch" at the rush for polyester and nylon.

MM Khan: For shell, glass and wooden beads, buttons, and digital printing
Star designer clientele: Surily Goel, Suneet Varma and Manish Malhotra
MM Khan's family-owned business of printing has taken a backseat, with the accessories having taken over. He stands rather smugly behind a counter, while clippings of articles cut out of fashion magazines are strategically displayed around products. Khan insists on flaunting his English, and an album of digital prints featuring Marilyn Monroe, Indian deities and royalty. The trend of digital printing is a run-down version of the Paul Smith bags, and is mainly used to create accessories like brooches and bags.

"Hey, isn't that the Indian aristocracy design I gave you a couple of years ago to print?" Jagvir asks. "This is what makes the market ingenious. Smart shopkeepers remember client orders and incorporate it in their collection. If representatives from international mega-brands demand pretty metallic designs, they will make sure it's part of their stock for an entire season," says Jagvir, peering at the metallic rosette pieces that he eventually ends up buying.

Bell Buttons: Fashion Accessories
For buttons, brooches, appliques and embellishments
Star designer clientele: Manish Malhotra, Rocky S
Swanky glass doors, a soldier in an armour made entirely from buttons, sparkling interiors chilled with aircon -- this is the swishest store on the trail. Owner Deepak Jain dabbled in the stock market till the recession dented his fortunes. But the Buddha-like smile suggests Deepak has finally found his calling. Endless hours spent surfing the Internet for the latest international fashion trends, and a few trips to China later, Deepak is bang on the style pulse. Jagvir's face lights up as he picks up Mickey Mouse buttons that he says are a direct take-off from D&G's Spring/Summer 2010 line.

Garment Accessories For lace, appliqueu00a0
Star designer clientele: Aki Narula, Rocky S, fashion boutique owners from South Mumbai
Tucked away in a tough-to-spot nook of a quirky-sounding lane called Chippi Chawl, this store has its owners -- Pradeep and Sanjay Lodha -- niftily dressed in pinstripe shirts, busy number-crunching as they bend over account logbooks. Trips to Hong Kong and China every three months ensure the store is stocked with the latest. "Forecasters have predicted vintage grandmother's embroidery and handmade laces in nau00efve designs as the trend of Fall/Winter 2011." And these guys already have it in stock. Since most wholesalers visit Chinese accessories markets, Pydhonie shops tend to spill over with the hottest colours and materials," says Jagvir.

Unwala & Sons: For ribbons, laces, braids and borders
Star designer clientele: Local boutiques and garment export houses from Europe and India
The fatherly Mustafa Unwala admits he couldn't have been anything except a trader of ribbons and borders. He has every possible type of ribbon and lace your imagination can conjure up -- lurex, zari, satin, flat sequins, nylon, bamboo-woven, faux leather and metallic leather. Most of their supplies come from Surat and Kolkata. The bamboo-woven and cross-stitched sari tapes are typical of West Bengal, and a familiar sight at Kolkata designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's fashion shows.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

International brands that manufacture products in India
Mango, Miss Sixty, French Connection, Zara, Hilfiger Denim, TopShop, Scotch and Soda.

Beads in your mangalsutra are from the Czech Republic
Intrigued by the signboard -- Shree Siddhivinayak Co. Czecho Black Gucchi -- we step into this roadside Bhoiwada stall manned by a bespectacled owner who simply calls himself Padurang. We discover that the Czecho Black Gucchi is nothing but the tiny black beads that you find in mangalsutras. "These are made in the Czech Republic," is all he's willing to say. "Guzaara ho jata hai? (Do you manage to make ends meet?)" we ask. "There is massive demand from imitation and real jewellery makers. The black beads are an integral part of a mangalsutra. No Hindu wedding is complete without it. As long as people get married in traditional style, I'll be in business," he smiles.

The Route map
Pydhonie (start point) - Bhuleshwar (metallic sequins/glass beads) - Boiwada 3 (yarns/appliques/trimmings) - Zaveri Bazaar - Chippi Chawl (laces/buttons/ribbons/crochet appliques)

Where the area gets its name from
Pydhonie (Py- foot) (dhone-wash) stands where a small stream of water left by the receding tide from the sea stood. Here, travellers entering Bombay by sea would wash their feet before setting foot on the mainland.

Trends forecast for winter 2011u00a0
Range from vintage grandmother's embroidery to nostalgic military-influenced clothing. Handmade laces in nau00efve designs are part of the vintage trend story. Military still rules the trend charts. Romantic

Detailing, including the rosette, gets a combat twist through metals. American sportswear from the 60s and the 70s is a big inspiration. Rugby-inspired styles are now a part of men's and women's wardrobes.