by Asha Malik  

Nepalese fashion sits right in the middle of a precarious dance. On one side it is heavily influenced by India and Bollywood and on the other side it does not have the same market structure as Bangladesh which produces billion of dollars worth of fast fashion. So to remain competitive while being between two very strong markets Nepalese fashion had to adopt and at times forgo a lot of ambition. With Gautam's work that is not the case. Bijay Gautam who is the creative director at the Be Labels brand has set his sights on creating bespoke couture-like sarees and dresses. The introduction of strong bi-colour and traditional design on silk have made his work stand out and we took notice. Here is a delightful array of his current collection aptly named "Padma" or Lotus. 

Designer: Bijay Gautam / Model: Soni Shrestha
Photographer : Kiroj Manandhar / Assitant Photographer : Ankit Singh
MakeUp and Hair: Sophie Sunuwar