[ 01 ] Star-gazing with Papa was perhaps the first time I learnt to wonder and imagine, and take note of the inspirational beauty of celestial brilliance. To experience beauty requires a certain bravery to step out, look up, and follow the Bright Morning Star. With a nod to this conviction and to childhood memories, the collection celebrates the brilliance of the stars, the power of imagination, and the mystique of the colour purple, and enjoins women to “Be Brave and Brilliant”.
[ 02 ] The collection delves into the concept of exploring creative freedom by defining boundaries. By introducing a constraint through the design element of colour, the collection attempts to explore creativity and foster experimentation within tightly defined boundaries and simulate the resource constraint in the real world and its attendant challenge for design. Purple, which fuses the serene stability of blue and the fiery energy of red, is taken as the creative constraint in this collection.
[ 03 ] Adopting Design Thinking to aid creative problem solving, the collection starts the design process with empathy—understanding the needs of those being designed for. To this end, customer insights were gathered to decode the aspirational wear for special occasions. Thereafter, the design philosophy for the collection was framed and exploratory 2D sketching was employed to form a group of fifty sketches for further refinement through the method of deduction.
[ 04 ] The collection takes construction cues from the structured tailoring of suits and the drapey flow of gowns. It is a mixture of opposites with the geometric shapes and precision of tailoring in heavy-weight fabrics contrasting the organic shapes and fluidity of draping in medium and light-weight fabrics. Lapels and collars are featured prominently throughout the collection.
[ 05 ] With a focus on designing emotion and co-creation, each garment was examined for style coherence, fabric composition, and transition of tints, shades and tones of the colour purple to line up a cohesive set of seven garments. The collection is a play of luxe fabrics and ornate embellishments, synthesising form and function where the classic meets the contemporary.
[ 06 ] Employing tweed, sateen, organza, and tulle in varying measures and applying the couture techniques of construction, the garment has been made to measure, right from muslin draft to fitting and re-fitting, and completely handsewn and beaded over a course of three months to let the customer experience what time and craft can create for celebratory moments.
[ 07 ] "Celestial Imagination in Purple" at The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
[ 08 ] "Celestial Imagination in Purple" at The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
[ 09 ] "Celestial Imagination in Purple" at The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
[ 010 ] Designed for Millennials, “DNA” focuses on the uniqueness of every individual and the complementarity of different individuals in society. It recognizes that every individual is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ and lends to diversity in society. Uniqueness is explored through the creative interpretation of the DNA structure and complementarity is exhibited by the use of complementary colours. The graphic elements are inspired by Mondrian Art and Futura font styles.
[ 011 ] Complementary colours, purple and yellow, with the accompaniment of moss green are used to invoke a vibrant, earthy yet cosmic appeal. Jersey, charmeuse, cashmere and wool are used to achieve a chic and comfortable wear through all the seasons. The use of bright and bold burst of complementary colours and the mix of woven and knitted fabrics signify the coherance of seemingly contrasting things and the complementarity of different individuals in a cohesively diverse society.
[ 012 ] The collection adopts free uncensored 3D sketching on a dressform as the starting point of design exploration. The knit pattern has been developed through handknitting to reflect the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The starting point of design exploration influences the ensuing design trajectory and largely determines the design outcome, hence illustrating the "Butterfly Effect" and implying that there is sensitive dependence of final outcomes on initial conditions.
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