Although her love for designing can be
traced back to childhood, Mhalesinuo Tepa really started pursuing it more
seriously during her break from B.A final examinations, which also gave her
ample time to put her thoughts together and fix her mind on designing beautiful
outfits.
It was the year 2011 when she graduated
in English Literature from Sazolie College under Nagaland University, that her
gift for designing also took a better turn. Because it was then, she truly set
her heart to creating outfits that ladies can flaunt about. Mhalesinuo draws
inspiration from daily life, but her
biggest influence is unmistakably her mom, even as she recalls how her mother
has played an integral role in her life as far as designing is concerned.
She fondly recollects the first design
she made of a dress when she was only 10 or 12 years old. “I didn’t know how to
stitch but mom sewed it for me”, she expresses, with the memory still fresh in
her mind. Interestingly, she never attended any design school but her passion
coupled with hard-work and persistence has definitely reaped good results.
A year on after she took up designing
more professionally, models wore her creations to walk the ramp at a festival,
organized to mark the culmination of the Artefacting’s Global Village 2012
project at Kohima. Artefacting is a New York based, Non Profit organization
that consists of artists, photographers, teachers, activists and people who are
passionate about social justice with a hope to produce some art works that
reflects their personal artistic interests with possibly finding a connection
and the influence of their roots, Christianity and western culture.
Simultaneously, she ventured into an
online shopping page on facebook under the banner, “Colour Burst” (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colour-Burst/372610202778276?fref=ts) during April 2012. With inspiration drawn
from daily life, by now, she has designed numerous outfits that are suitable
for several occasions. Her latest works include that of garments for flower
girls and a ring boy. Her clients would best put it individually, but they all
echo a similar sentiment when they say, ‘her designs are simple but very
classy’. That, she is often complimented for her good colour combination is
also noteworthy.
So, does she have a favourite colour? To
this, she is quick to say, “I love everything and anything that is colourful.”
Efficient also in her work, it takes only about an hour for her to create a
work with simple design while the more complicated ones take about a day.
Born to a family of artists, Mhalesinuo
also started sketching as a little girl, but that’s not all as the young girl
is moreover gifted with a beautiful voice. She began singing at Sunday School, when
it eventually progressed to greater platforms and bigger audiences. Only this
year in January, she was part of the group singing in the famed, “We Will Rock
You” Musicial, directed by Ate Kevichusa, even as they gear up to stage the
much complimented musical at Jotsoma from 1-3, December, 2013 coinciding with
the Hornbill Festival.
Singing, Designing or Sketching? She
professes she would settle for the former two if she were given a choice. But that
doesn’t necessarily mean she would forego sketching.
The young lady who did her schooling
from Minister’s Higher Secondary School and finished her 12th from
Mezhür Higher Secondary, prior to graduating from Sazolie College, is currently
pursuing M.A English from IGNOU. Apart from singing, designing and sketching, Mhalesinuo
loves to cook and is often carried away by shoes and accessories.
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