Kochi in its essence

It is often said that, in life, we need to lose something to realise its value. We would then long for it and if it is a place that we miss, we would yearn to visit again and rewrite the whole story. Such a longing hit designer Jebin Johny’s mind during his stay in London.

A person who grew up visiting Kochi, he realised the worth of this land during his interaction with his foreign friends. “They were proud of their native places. Their attitude made me think. Till then, I had never appreciated my homeland though I had travelled to places in Kochi with my friends and family,” says Jebin, a native of Muvattupuzha.

This led to him revisiting those places and creating the collection God’s Own Cochin. He spent close to six months to understand Kochi. The journey had been an eye-opener for him. “I decided to travel like a tourist in Kochi and Ernakulam district. Far away from the city life, I find solace in the lively green fishing villages and small islands like Kumbalangi, Vypin, Gundu and Willingdon,” he says and adds that life in the islands has been an enriching experience. 

“Among the islands, I loved Kumbalangi the most. I spent my time with families there to learn about their lives. During my stay, I did live sketches to bring out motifs and did the designs later.”

God’s Own Cochin, launched a few months ago, has 13 handloom garments made via digital and block printing. It includes sarees, pleated skirts and tops, pleated dresses and skirt dresses. In his designs, Jebin has used colour as a metaphor. “The red, orange, green and yellow represent spices, paddy fields and lake, depending on each design. For instance, in the paddy field saree, green represents the paddy field and yellow represents the harvesting time. The transition of colours denotes a farmer’s dream of planting rice seedlings. The banana leaf saree is inspired from the method of serving on banana leaves,” he explains.

He has collaborated with dancer-cum-actor Paris Laxmi to introduce his collection. “I wanted a dancer to model for my collection. I had Paris Laxmi in my mind and eventually everything turned out as I wished,” concludes Jebin.