Mumbai, Jul 28 (IANS): Designer Anita Dongre is set to pay tribute to Indian textiles with a collection called "Urban Princess" at the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week, which begins Aug 3.

The designer will present her collection Aug 5, which also happens to be the Indian Textile Day.

"The collection is a blend of traditional Indian textiles styled in a contemporary way, for the urban, well travelled and sophisticated Indian woman. The designs will bring together hand woven textiles from Benares, ikat from Andhra Pradesh and vegetable block prints from Bhuj," said Dongre.

The designer feels "pity" to see the condition of Indian art and craft today and hopes that her collection will help make a difference.

"It is a pity that even though India has such beautiful historical art forms and skilled craftsmen, we do not acknowledge them and focus on working with common fabrics. Thus, I feel that this collection will appeal to Indians and other fashion conscious people all over the world," she told IANS.

"As Indian designers, our job is to work with what India has to offer and keep the ethnicity in our collections as that is the main aspect that differentiates us from designers abroad. To do this, we have to make our silhouettes more modern and contemporary, which is what I have done with this collection," she added.

The silhouettes in her collection vary from cigarette pants, jackets, dresses and blouses. The colour palette includes shades like emerald greens, reds and royal blues combined with browns and blacks.