CHENNAI: Two faces, both female, are entwined with each other, and their gaze is bold. A splash of rainbow colours on top finishes the painting made by Siddhesh Sapte, one of the founders of Over A Pint of Beer.
The Mumbai-based apparel company launched a campaign in celebration of Pride Month called #IntoTheQueerFuture. The campaign has art by Sapte, made specifically for the month. This art will be featured on kurtis, bags, scarves and more, all available in unisex styles.
“Even though Section 377 has been decriminalised, there is a lot of bias around same-sex marriage and love. We are saying that the future is queer, because the future is gender fluid. You don’t need tags of gender and caste,” says Mital Dubal, co-founder of Over A Pint Of Beer.
The start-up, which was founded in December 2018, hopes to bring art back into the lives of people through apparel and accessories. They hope that this campaign will bring conversations on queerness and acceptance into public spaces and people’s ethos. In this vein, a note from LGBTQ+ people would be included with every purchase.
“We want to continue this throughout the year, with new instalments and designs every month or so,” she says. As an ally, she believes in allowing people to live their lives the way they want to, without prejudice or stigma. As a brand, they hope to use their platform to show their support for the community to promote inclusion of members from the LGBTQ+ community in the personal and professional space.
“I don’t want it to be company that is labelled as one that ‘specialises’ in hiring LGBTQ+ people. When it comes to work and ethics, irrespective of their personal preferences or who they are, what they bring to the table matters more to the company, and nothing else,” she says.
The products are priced from `600 to `2,000. For details, visit www.overapintofbeer.come/Inthequeerfutre