Nostalgia plays a big part in Suket Dhir’s design vocabulary. He is a designer who likes to look back at his past, pick elements which stand out, and make them a part of his art. At the same time, this design process goes hand-in-hand with his slick, classic silhouettes. There are robe jackets, bombers, and long winter coats which double as sherwanis – Dhir manages to reimagine them with a fresh vision to suit modern needs. His garments fall into multiple categories, and his design is universal – as a result, his formal wear, casual or even occasion wear, doesn’t fall into any typical genre. They are versatile and can be worn repetitively. As he gears up for his first runway show tomorrow at Lotus Make-up India Fashion Week AW ’19, the International Woolmark Prize winner spoke to Lifestyle Asia on his latest line and his passion for ‘classic essentials’.
The story behind the collection
So there are two parallel things happening. We are launching our menswear collection, ‘Jamdani Story’, and formally launching our ‘He For She’ collection. The menswear collection focuses primarily on jamdanis – that’s the textile we have working with for almost a year and a half. We are taking it forward by creating beautiful menswear pieces with it. Normally jamdani mulmul is used to create saris and womenswear – we have created beautiful jamdani blazers, bomber jackets, and more as a part of our collection.
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The textile is perfect for summers. It’s effortless and lightweight. ‘He For She’ is something that we have explored in the past. There is linen, khadi, and brocades, with which we have tried to create a very wearable form. Otherwise, brocade is considered to be very event specific, but we have tried to experiment with it. The highlight of the collection are iconic essentials, pieces that can be worn repetitively.
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Creative process
We have reworked our motifs, the ones which take back us to our childhood. I am obsessed with umbrellas; I grew up seeing mango and peepul trees and heavy rains – through my prints I have tried to capture all of this. We have tried to veer away from traditional motifs. We have worked on traditional miniature paintings; heritage fabrics like brocades and ikats. We have also experimented with khadi. We have used a very durable 33 count khadi, and a very light and airy 300 count khadi.
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Pieces that stand out
The mainstay of the collection are the bomber jackets and brocade pieces. Also, golfer printed pieces are exquisite. Overall, I would say, outerwear are the hero pieces. We have worked on it as a wardrobe concept; there is something to wear in the morning, afternoon, night – pieces that suit all occasions.
Anupam Dabral
Sr. Associate Editor
It was while studying fashion journalism at London College of Fashion that Anupam developed a keen interest in the anthropological aspect of the discipline; for him, fashion only makes sense when seen in the context of its environment. He is always on the hunt for great stories, and in his spare time binge-watches films/shows starring Whoopi Goldberg, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
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