If there is one thing that is central to fashion designer Shravan Ramaswamy’s collections, it is an Indian touch to any pattern that he creates. “If you ask me to design a wedding gown for a Christian bride, there will be an Indian motif on it. And I must tell you, I would do it unconsciously,” shares the chirpy designer who entered the scene when he was only 17. Today, 21 years later, he shares, he has evolved.
“It was the time when people called designers fashionable tailors. I was one of them,” recalls Shravan.
Unlike most people in the business, Shravan has a wider perspective as he spent many years managing textiles. “I started with studying colour psychology and then worked with a museum curator for a brief period,” he recalls. And that brief period makes a large part of his personality. “A museum curator’s attention to detail is something that I admire. It is also one thing that has remained with me. I pay attention to the minutest of details while working and that I believe makes a lot of difference,” says Shravan whose definition of fashion is to twist it and use it for a cause.
The designer works closely with weavers across the country. His passion to contribute for the Indian weaving community is being executed through his not-for-profit organisation Aalayam.
“All the work we have been doing revolves around the concept of saving the weaver. We buy organic fabric from them and work with them on our patterns. We then showcase the attires with the intention that all the money that we get goes back to the weavers,” he explains passionately.
Though he contemporises patterns, he ensures that the aesthetics remain. “I would not want to disturb the colours or mess with the warp and the weft. Leaving that, I play with the rest,” shares Shravan.
He also has to face challenges while working with weavers. “They are excited most of the time. They are ready to experiment, but are not fast enough to adapt. They are very attached to their work and when they become over emotional, I have to explain that originality of the art will remain. But this is comparatively much lesser than their zeal to work,” he elaborates.
Shravan’s love for India, his admiration for the diversity is so high that he says, “I will have to live a few more lives in order to finish my Indian fashion exploration. There is so much difference geographically, and the same is with the threads, the cloth and the colours,” he points out. He gets inspired by ancient Indian jewellery, old Indian motifs, and women with long hair.
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