Exclusive: Designer Anju Modi On ‘Damayanti’ Collection, Comfortable Festive Wear, And Why Slow Fashion Is Still A Luxury
At this season’s FDCI X Lakmé Fashion Week, designers again explored the idea of sustainable fashion. On Day 2, we saw a roster of interesting fashion labels, presenting their ode to Mother Earth through an impeccable range of designs. Marinating the idea of sustainability with festive wear, designers displayed an array of eco-conscious fabrics, and up-cycled ensembles, as they advocated the idea of ethical fashion. And one amongst this list was celebrated designer–Anju Modi. With a unique taste in heirloom designs, heritage prints and culturally-appropriate drapes, Anju Modi presented her latest experiments with organic fabrics through her collection–Damayanti. For Modi, the collaboration with Tencel™ was an interesting marriage between comfort and luxury. With Raja Ravi Varma’s art sitting at its core, Modi travelled back to the age of Peshawas, through velvet jackets, nauvari sarees, chandrakore tilak, mixed with Tencel™ lyocell and modal fibres, that accurately whispered comfort. In an exclusive conversation with me, Anju Modi takes a walk through her inspiration, eco-conscious clothing, Patagonia’s hard-hitting step towards the environment, and the charm of comfortable festive wear.
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Q: How has Raja Ravi Varma’s Hamsa Damayanti painting inspired the collection?
Anju Modi: I’ve grown up watching paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. They’d be a common sight in so many Indian households, so my admiration for the artist has been constant ever since. One of the similarities I found in all his paintings was Damayanti, a young lady, covered in silken drapes, exuding elegance and grace like none other. The artist has captured her so beautifully that one can get immersed in her aura instantly. Her beauty and grace along with Raja Ravi Varma’s style of capturing the old-world charm are what I felt most drawn to.
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Q: Raja Ravi Varma’s work has always been a point of inspiration for creators in the field of art, and fashion. How different will this perspective be from the rest?
Anju Modi: Inspiration can be common for all and yet, the perspective and outcome will be so different from each other. I think that is the beauty of art. Damayanti, is a collection that celebrates the modern-day woman, while reflecting the beauty of our age-old craftsmanship. This collection is a depiction of how I interpret Raja Ravi Varma’s muse and how she inspires an elegant way of carrying oneself. I’ve perceived her as a charming young lady, gracefully wandering around in nature. Her beauty is captivating and she moves with so much poise that makes her stand out. You find your eyes absolutely fixated on her, and her clothing adds to her mesmerising personality.
Q: Considering the subtle charm of modal fabric, what about it attracted you to welcome it to your line of festive wear?
Anju Modi: Considering the requirements of consumers today, it was an obvious choice for us to choose fabrics that are comfortable and breathable. Another reason for making this choice was that besides being eco-friendly, it perfectly matched the aesthetic we wanted to showcase for Damayanti. The fabrics are extremely easy to carry, are very lightweight, compliment one’s body type and are immensely graceful. One can see how beautifully the light reflects when they move. I believe it just blends with our design philosophy very well.
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Q: Take us through this collection in terms of colours, silhouettes, and styles.
Anju Modi: It has some really exquisite drapes and textured skirts that we have paired with either woven or intricately hand-embroidered dupattas. The colours are so vibrant, yet the overall look of the outfits seems very subtle. This is exactly how I perceive Damayanti. She would’ve been all about “less is more”. She lets her inner beauty shine through her minimal attire. The delicate drapes have added a lot of grace and a touch of softness to the outfits. The colour palette and sustainable side of the collection, according to me is definitely a cherry on the cake.
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Q: What was on the mood board for this collection?
Anju Modi: Since the collection is a result of the coming together of two different worlds…past and present, we had to start from zero. We were constantly oscillating between how she could’ve been in real life and how would she be as a modern-day woman. Needless to say, our mood board has elements from both periods.
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Q: Your latest designs embody retro nostalgia, that comes alive through polka dot prints mixed with embroideries. Does flavourful nostalgia in this collection as well?
Anju Modi: Yes of course! Damayanti is a collection inspired by women in the past. Their drapes seemed effortless and were more of an accessory. They kept their garments so minimal, functional and yet so elegant, that you can’t help but find yourself in awe of the grace they exuded through their clothing.
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Q: You described your new collection Damayanti as multi-faceted and that will appeal to audiences across genres. Can you elaborate on that?
Anju Modi: Damayanti is designed to cater to anyone who wants to emanate grace and elegance. The silhouettes are timeless and handcrafted in a way that intertwines age-old artistry and modern requirements. It is for anyone who wishes to invest in something they can easily pass on to future generations, as a timeless heirloom.
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Also Read: Exclusive: Designer Gaurang Shah Narrates The Tale Of His ‘Sindoor’ Collection For FDCI X Lakmé Fashion Week, His Love Affair With Sarees, And Dressing Up The Modern Bride
Q: People are looking for gender-neutral silhouettes in festive wear as well. Can we expect something like that in this collection?
Anju Modi: This collection is all about honouring Raja Ravi Varma and his body of work. It revolves around a character, Damayanti so we’ve tried to stick with our inspiration as much as we could. Of course, one can play with our silhouettes and drapes as one wishes. We have long intricately hand-embroidered jackets and dhotis that one can style as per their liking. Anyone who wishes to adorn our collection is welcome to do so and style it in their own way. The focus should be on bringing your best self out and clothes should only be a medium.
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Q: Patagonia’s latest step towards environment is alarming. Eco-conscious clothing still falls under a very exclusive market, offering products at a much higher cost than usual. How do you as a designer make your product a preferred purchase for a wide spectrum?
Anju Modi: It is true that eco-conscious clothing falls under an exclusive market and offers products that are expensive. It is the process of deriving these sustainable fibres from nature, that unfortunately is so tedious and time-consuming. Slow fashion requires time, from the very first stage until its termination. It is the entire design process taking up months to come alive is why it is so expensive. We are yet to find a middle ground for this problem and hope to get there soon.
Q: How has sustainability played a part in your Damayanti collection?
Anju Modi: Sticking to our design philosophy, we have designed Damayanti through an intentional design process. That, needless to say, involves the use of eco-friendly fabrics that have been derived directly from nature and converted into fabrics using technology. We have fabrics whose fibres have originated from wood and further converted to wood pulp so we’ve used fabrics that are cellulosic in nature and do not harm the environment. We’ve collaborated with Tencel, a company that has been defining sustainability standards for decades now. Their vision is perfectly aligned with that of ours and I feel this association has made our collection even more meaningful.
Image Credits: Instagram
