Cloaked in the shades of a city

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My Spring-Summer 2013 collection takes inspiration from the visual elements of the city of Mumbai in tandem with the lives and habits of Mumbaikars. The challenge in taking such abstraction is the successful translation into wearable, relatable items of clothing.

After all, it is to be worn and abstract clothing is a very niche market that Indian audiences are only starting to observe and appreciate now. The biggest hurdle is how to not lose the integrity of the design inspiration and maintain it in the item that is created from that.
The most important thing for me when I begin to design a piece is the inherent concept behind it. I work very strongly with the idea behind the collection, sometimes that alone is the work. For example, the design behind the Marg dress (in my SS 2013 line) is done only in two pattern pieces from the back of the dress to the front and back, symbolic of the actual winding highways and flyovers in Mumbai that inspired the piece.
Issey Miyake is my ultimate inspiration. He is completely thorough: from idea, fibre, fabric, garment and lastly, the presentation. I try to embody that as I create my own work and do the best I can with the limitations I set, based on the concept. A concept that Miyake has innovated were these dresses that were made to fold into two-dimensional geometric shapes and only take shape once worn. They unfold like cloth origami and have beautiful shapes and structures.
The Pleats Please pieces from Miyake — simple, effective and brilliantly adaptable — are something I wish I had created.
Among Indian designers, I would say that Pratap is the one I admire most. His textile treatment is very thorough and the finish is absolutely brilliant. I aim to marry the elusive nature of ideas to a very tangible andtactile experience in my design work, appreciating the conceptual mindset within which I work constantly.
The word “design” means to innovate and dream, to be able to bring a new life to mundane daily items present in our lives.