By Renuka Dhakal, Kathmandu, Mar. 24: Fashion is the art of creating exquisite patterns by sewing and weaving fabrics of different colours, sizes and varieties. Fashion certainly requires skills but it also depends heavily on inspiration and for aspiring fashion designer Radha Dhakal Sapkota, that inspiration comes from nature.

Sapkota wears a hat with many feathers. In addition to being a fashion designer, she is also a yoga instructor and engages enthusiastically and sincerely in social work. Similarly, she is also an entrepreneur seeking to empower other women and make them self-reliant by providing various crafts.

Sapkota runs an organisation called Hatemalo where 11 women are exploring various skills on fashion designing. The organisation provides them a platform to produce their own designs which have been showcased in big national and international programmes like Miss Nepal, Nepal Idol and various beauty pageants and ramp shows. She also plans to use her organisation to promote organic products.

Professionally, Sapkota is involved in the glitz and glamour of fashion designing. But she is also a yoga instructor who dabbles in the more spiritual sides of life. Asked how she reconciles the two seemingly opposite fields, she explained that both spiritualism and fashion were derived from nature.

“Spiritualism is related to nature and so is fashion designing. Fashion is associated with the aspects of nature and it is through nature that fashion designers extract the elements necessary to make colours, fabrics etc.”

Stressing the importance of yoga and meditation in life, she urged everyone to allocate time for introspection every morning and evening. “This daily introspection, practiced through yoga and meditation, helps balance human life,” she added. Owner of Eagle Eyes Fashion House and Beauty Parlour, she has been designing fashion apparel for over 12 years.

“I came to Kathmandu in 2001 and at first was engaged in other professions for a short while. But I soon realised that designing dresses had a huge market and one could earn money as well as recognition through it.” Determined to build a career in clothing design, she started learning the necessary skills and opened her own boutique. Since then, she has been able to make good money and build a name for herself in the industry. She is the official designer for Nepal Idol and is associated with various modelling shows.

She has received several national awards and international honours like the Women of Excellence Award in Malaysia. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she also started making masks which encouraged her to commit herself to social work too. Sapkota encourages other women to be independent entrepreneurs and live their life with confidence.