Gaurav Gupta blends Merino wool with silk and ikat
The Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu feels that when two nations are forging a relationship, they usually talk about political, diplomatic or economical tie-ups but what matters most is the link between people.
Sidhu says Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop emphasises on creating bonds through “fashion diplomacy” and India is one of the countries that tops the chart.
“We have been looking at different ways of building relationships with India. A good relationship has many levels to it and for the first time we have a female Foreign Minister who is very keen on fashion diplomacy, and this is the term we are taking forward,” Sidhu told IANS on the sidelines of lakme Fashion Week (lFW) Winter/Festive 2017 in Mumbai.
“It (the association through fashion) has been incredibly successful. Fashion just does not bring people together but it’s also a very large industry in its own right. Australia is one of the big producers of cotton and wool and India is home to a great deal of creativity and I think these collaborations are cementing the whole dimension of relations between the two countries,” she added.
Sidhu was here to support designer Gaurav Jai Gupta of the brand Akaaro.
The designer’s show, that was supported by the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade departments, used Australian home-grown Merino Wool as one of the fabrics in his line.
So will there be more associations with Indian designersIJ “I am staggered by how much talent India has. I think absolutely. We have a couple of collaborations already and we are prepared to be more adventurous and really reach out a lot more. Few collaborations that we had, led to deeper understanding of both the countries. And Australians now are much more comfortable working with Indian designers as they are really making their mark,” she told IANS.
Meanwhile Gupta’s show for his label was an innovative and exciting experience in textile and various weaves. His “Irreverence” collection ensured that his audience was presented with an inspired statement. There was an interplay of silk, ikat and brocades. Working with winter fabrics, the designer brought in different blends as well — the very unconventional reversible Merino wool — with a mix either of wool and khadi, or wool and silk or wool with zari, or silk, or cotton.
There was also metal with ikat, or satin in wool and metal to create an extravagant fashion menu. “This collection has taken quite a long time. It’s always work in progress. I feel wool gives you interesting textures. The regional textiles were integrated together to come in single place. We were looking at the strength and that’s the core idea. Everything was hand-woven. All fabrics were woven at our studio. I think we have a huge baggage of handloom so we just wanted to change the narrative a bit. You really need to work on it and you have to push the idea. You have to think forward,” the designer said.
Colours were deep and muted, with charcoal black being a favourite, along with glazed metal and then on to teal, blue and red for a little excitement on the shade card. Staying away from prints and embellishments, Gupta had the fabric exclusively woven in Bengal, Gujarat, and Panipat in Haryana.
Stripes, which are the designer’s favourite, checks and circular motifs, were a constant factor on the ensembles. The story revolved around multiple separates and saris that were engineered cleverly to present a smorgasbord of fashion.
For women’s wear, the designer offered a melange of silk jackets, cover-ups, capes, skirts, long line plackets, panelling, box pleats, drapes with intense construction and the optical illusion effect for lehenga-skirts, tops and pants.
The show opened with a handwoven Merino wool silk zari jacket, brown stretch silk top and the illusion brocade trousers that are Gupta’s leitmotif. Soon brocade blouses, textured trousers, paperback silk/Merino wool pants, kingi cape, oversized big pocket jacket and jacquard culottes catered to the Western dressers. Inverted box pleats made a style statement, while Feschua silk Merino wool jacket, black pin tucked dress and jacquard slip dress were part of the multi-piece collection.
Gupta feels the future of handloom is very bright. “Before 2005, nobody would talk and now it is the buzzword and I think this is great. We need to do a little course correction but I think it’s amazing. Also you have focus on the weaver, which is great,” he added.