The crossover from what you had once imagined to what the actuality of the times uncovers, is in itself a compelling journey of discovery. The refusal to stay fixated to a particular notion of being can open fields of extraordinary revelations.
Having recently experienced one such transformative occurrence is Palak Shah, CEO, Ekaya Banaras, who began ideating on a new collection one year ago with only an abstract conception of what she’s like it to be. A year later, it’s gathered an entirely new framework, far greater than what she had envisioned. Appropriately titled, The Crossing – Natives of Nowhere, the new apparel collection is reflective not just of her crossing over from one deeply held idea to another, but also of the larger notions of belonging. Or, perhaps, the lack of it.
To cut the long story short, the inspiration is drawn from the nomad inherent in all of us.
“We are all the same and from time to time have spurts of restlessness to find the meaning of what’s home, what defines it and where we belong. This is a collection that picks from, and pays tribute, to that eternal chase along with the complexities of migration,” says Shah.
The collection presents 40-45 pieces comprising lehengas, saris and ready-to-wear garments that incorporate a medley of stylistic elements to highlight the nomadic reality of our times. Just like these wayfarers don’t have a particular place they call home, so are the clothes that don’t stop at being ‘defined’ by one set of meaning.
“The clothes are a melting pot of the diversity of what we know and understand our culture. It’s a disclosure of its unified identity,” she says, adding, “Attractive Persian calligraphy and craft details with motifs of flora-fauna have been rendered through the fineness of Banarasi kadwa and fekua techniques. The sophistication of silk and the gracefulness of mashru brings out the subtleties without being loud.”
Of the several nature-inspired patterning one sees, the ones taken from Mughal miniatures such as the gul-andar-gul (flower inside flower), gul-e-vilaya and gul-hazara (thousand-petalled flower) are created to bring out its elaborateness.
“The cheerful bulbul and clever parrot, in addition to other motifs, are also depicted through a colour palette of green, indigo, grey, mustard, rust, pink, purple, maroon. “All these hues bring to mind the countless landscapes the eternal nomad passes in search for a new identity, a new home, only to realise, there is no fixed home.” And thus, the journey continues.
In a nutshell
The collection by Ekaya Banaras presents 40-45 pieces comprising lehengas, saris and ready-to-wear garments that incorporate a medley of stylistic elements to highlight the nomadic reality of our times.
At: D-7, Defence Colony; Ekaya.in