Anavila’s S/S ’20 collection takes a step towards mindful design and letting individual elements shine 

It’s not often that you come across an established designer who asks you to think again before 
purchasing from the brand. But, that’s Anavila Misra for you. The designer is self-aware of her label’s design sensibilities and where it fits in relation to other OTT occasionwear names within the Indian market. “Most of our clients are repeat customers, who know about our signature linen saris and have bought them before. We’re not an OTT label to offer widely varying styles or colours,” says Anavila. And yet, she believes that it is this aesthetic that will shape the future of the brand post-pandemic, albeit a few little tweaks. 

Lockdown lessons
The Spring/Summer 2020 collection was the starting point for the Mumbai-based designer to help reorient her creative strategies. “If you look at the S/S line, you will notice that at its core is the question — ‘What makes a garment a statement piece?’ For me, the answer to this query is that additional thought, the attention to the placement of motifs and the mindfulness given to the detailing...they are what makes an ensemble special,” explains the designer, as her S/S collection that was launched just as the lockdown commenced — finally takes up rack space at Amethyst. 

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Ties that bind

As part of the label’s new direction, Anavila also recently launched an initiative for Rakhi. “We always use leftovers from our productions and made accessories. So this year, we decided to create rakhis. It is a natural extension of the work we already do on our garments like the embroidery, the threadwork and the sequin work. For our India market, we also put a little puja kit along with the rakhis.” For brothers looking to buy something special for their sibling, the brand has also created an easy online shopping guide to help pick the perfect gift. 

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Less is more
Not straying far from the familiar hues, the line’s use on colours is inspired by flowers and fruits of the season like peaches, rose apples, cardamom, Amalfi lemons, and periwinkles. However, in addition to the handwoven floral jamdani, block prints and Khatwa embroidery, the label has also introduced sequins into their collection for the very first time. “This is how I want to offer our repeat clients something special, something elevated that fits into the occasionwear category.” Playing within the label’s prescribed minimalist territory, these saris make use of smatterings of sequin work through the body and along the borders. Additionally, as a part of the mindfully created collection, the designer has also added kurta sets and blouses that work with saris across all of her lines. 

Offering a sneak peek at what the rest of the year looks like, the NIFT Delhi graduate tells us that she will be revisiting her older lines and reworking them. “I will not release a new collection in 2020. Adding 
special designs and features to already existing products and turning them into statement pieces is my vision for the rest of the year.”

Rs 15,500 onwards. At Amethyst.