Emerging from a world of trending
hashtags, these 5 unconventional stylists are redefining the way we’re looking
at fashion, especially in a post-pandemic era.
Beyond the glamour and elegance of celebrity-styling, their perspective focuses on the changing curve of the industry, towards authenticity and the raw essence of fabric.
Ekta Rajani, a freelance creative consultant is revisiting the memory lane to glean eco-conscious lifestyle tips and tricks, while staying true to character and opening a canvas for sustainable fabrics to paint a story within the fashion frame. Inspiring mindfulness in everyday life, she inspires a creative outlook towards going 100% sustainable.
Anushka Sharma looks comfortable in her skin thanks to the precise balance that Allia Ul Rafai puts into styling. Choosing the right fabric and molding the look to reflect the self is an art that she has practiced for long, bringing character into each outfit with an innate sense of confidence. Style is not imitation, but rather a reflection of who we are inside.
Similarly, the flow of a garment dictates the way a look comes across on camera. Who can understand this better than Devki, styling Taapsee Pannu with an insight into the chic-urban scene while being aware of the energy that she portrays. The crisp minimalism complements the bubbly flair nature in each look. This insight develops into each outfit looking tailored to fit not just her form but also her mood.
This vibe harkens to return to
Indian roots with ‘Who Wore What When’ by Pranay Jaitly and Shounak Amonkar. An
Indo-modern touch to each silhouette makes their styling unique in its taste
and framing. Tradition flows easily within the threads looping an urban
silhouette while the continual feminity is punctuated by effortless undertones
of liberty.
This understanding stems from
conscious sensibilities that call to the unveiling of a façade in which the
industry has been wrapped, instead, manifesting a raw aesthetic that reveals
the truth behind the look rather than carpeting it. As we step into a
sustainable era, these stylists remind us that it’s equally important to be
true to our roots and to enhance the sense of self for a more authentic world
to thrive on-screen.
From elephantine tusk figurines to antelope necklaces, these 5 labels have adopted animal motifs from mythology, long tropical leaves into metallurgy and curated a bespoke Indian versatility for the discerning consumer, all within the framework of unconventional meets conventional.
Among them is En Inde, an Indo-french philosophy manifested in mathematical shapes enclosed in Indian talismanic structures. Empowering women artisans and macrame weavers from Karnataka, this label also curates a nationwide art sphere into its jewelry. The Longpi black pottery of Manipur and a jute-steel blend of structures find a place in En Inde’s organic niche, as the label also actively engages in sustainable development.
Nassarius, the prehistoric seashell used as jewelry is a name that befits this exquisitely curated label. The bespoke jewelry borrowing inspiration from traditional pearl, gold, and indigenous sets meets foreign perspectives, reimagining handcrafts of India in it’s raw, undiluted essence. They have an organic approach in the making of these statement pieces, keeping the process as natural as it used to be in the yesteryears, making Nassarius a second-generational mystic blend of antiquity and modernity.
Subtly underlining urban art, Anomaly by Anam is a muse drawn onto the canvas of your skin, by the careful deliberation of each piece coming together innovatively. In the modern art reflections, there lies a dramatic sensibility, bringing the abstract into keen detailing of Indian motifs.
Another label that stands testimony to the skill of Indian metalsmiths and artisans is Dhora India, creating urban and edgy pieces that unveil from within the soul of Indian heirloom. Taking stories of the street to the tenacity of silver-brass tinged in gold, this label curates geometric narratives encompassed by the circular framework. This intrinsic storytelling makes Dhora jewelry one of it’s kind.
Manifest design has a niche in creating timeless pieces that explore a fresh outlook on mementos infused with the soul of artisans. Rekindling forgotten dreams, these pieces reshape a conventional vocabulary into an inherently raw and dynamic aesthetic.
In the auld lang syne of Indian craftsmanship, we find these explorative tendencies, from an array of techniques used to create prehistoric coral-bone jewelry to blending gold with brass-copper to form first pieces of metallic ornaments. These labels are born from an eco-conscious mindset of cherishing the ancient process while adapting signature designs to an urban tapestry, manifesting it’s intrinsic handpicked alchemy.
To weave is to create a skin out of fabric. And to feel free in one’s skin is a rarity. For marginalized persons in the global industry, this means to overcome hurdles of racism and sexism, in order to feel identified with and not labeled by the norms and standards of the fashion industry.
To achieve this threshold keeping in tandem with nature brings core sustainability to the open-lens outlook held by some niche Indian labels building a hearth of eco-sensible mindsets with their innovative approach. This marks a beautiful pause in the Indian fashion industry, where we are returning to the tenacity of our heritage, engaging in a retrouvaille of handmade crafts.
The way you look says a lot about how you identify, and where you come from, and this is the poignant epiphany taking place with Indian fashion labels today.
One such label is Naushad Ali, based in Pondicherry, a minimalist hub of global perspectives, drawn from the depth of traditional craftsmanship. Measuring crisp lines in handloom thread, this label follows a 100% natural process from yarn to dye, leading a zero-waste approach since 2014. Working with the weaving clusters in West Bengal, the label inculcates ethnic threadwork in gender-fluid apparel, keeping the tone classy and clean, cutting edge with an international touch.
Rajesh Pratap Singh, a vintage when it comes to fashion labels, has an eco-conscious lead in the industry. With it’s stellar contributions to sustainable fashion, the 1997-established label is also mapping a gender-fluid paradigm, one where the essence of responsible practices are cherished and unbiased clothing is brought into a safe space.
The harbinger of Khunn to international markets, Vaishali S is a cartographer of ethical and eco-conscious complexities. Maintaining a zero-waste approach since the conception of the label, Vaishali S has delved into the intricate layers of weaving communities spread across India. From marking Guledagudda, the birthplace of Khunn on the map to underlining the unique skill of Indian traditional artisanry, the label has a signature spectrum of accessories made to create security around the concept of freedom.
‘Jod’, a collection by Priyanka Raajiv is testimony to the integrity of upcycling unpurposed fabric pieces. In the numerous weaving cultures explored by this label, hand embroidery flourishes as an aspect to look through the lens of the artisan. In this collection, remnants of emotionally cherished fabric pieces are upcycled through handcrafting a color palette of corals, blue-greens and soothing shades of peach, airbrushed with a tone of eco-fashion sensibilities. While it caters to women, this collection has the versatility in its featherlight silhouettes of wardrobe pieces like scarves, which can be donned by anyone.
The weaver of Khadi as he is often harkened, Anurag Gupta has a long-standing authenticity in handmade apparel. From the buttons sewn on his mostly khadi garments to the hand-embroidered thread, everything is a result of manual labor, that takes the age-old skill into a painstaking endeavor of giving crisp outlines to traditional silhouettes. The label weaves garments with a gender-non-conforming flow, giving its signature touch to each handwoven silhouette, drawing a generational guideline of natural sustainability.
Fishnets and metallic foils re-engineered to make the fabric is a feat that AKHL has turned into a creative venture. From upcycling unmalleable materials to the detailed technicalities of fabric making, the label works with local weavers to make free-flowing gender-neutral garments. The structure of their pieces is evocative, unburdened, and unwavering in their sustainability; their forte being the reuse and upcycling of versatile materials to create ethereal elements.
The ethos of Indian sustainability lies not in the adaptation of international practices but in what is currently a renaissance of ancient techniques, rooted in the simplicity of weaving villages across the country. To blend this handspun thread into a pattern of gender complexities is yet another step towards a worldview that sees beyond the obvious and into the abstract to glean from centuries-old knowledge and apply it to the contemporary framework.
Fashion, to a large extent, shapes societal thinking. It may require sludging through years of unresolved and hidden layers, but with labels that aspire to be pioneers of eco-gender fashion and upcycled couture, the Indian handloom industry has messiahs to restore it to it’s deserved merit.
