Young fashion entrepreneurs Saniya Agarwal and Nishit Daswani aim at going against technology and disruptive fashion that have rendered the enormously rich heritage of Indian textiles insecure. “Focusing on true global fashion, we always wanted to make traditional craftsmanship more sustainable and global in approach. We love melding our rich cultural heritage with the contemporary street style of New York to create clothes for the determined urban woman,” says Saniya, who met Kota-born Nishit while studying at Parsons School of Design, New York.
After four years of working alongside, they finally decided to co-found their label, Wal and Wani. And their debut collection, Around The Block, speaks volumes about their design philosophy.
We talk to Kolkata-born Saniya about the edit and more.
What inspired your debut collection?
We have drawn inspiration from our fondest memories of New York and integrated that into the imagery of various Indian cities. The edit blends our cultural sensibilities with the journey of our growth. We have played with monochromes and silhouettes that have classic elements and strokes of avante garde in them. The outfits include white shirts, black pants, skirts, coats and swimsuits as well, but they are all subtly shifted away from the classic. There’s also a touch of embroidery on coats and other outerwear. We used wools, trench coat fabrics and knits and a bit of leather and cotton, too.
What will trend this winter?
A wave of comfortable chic will be the highlights of fall collections including hoodies paired up with coats and sweatpants, monochrome will become the new normal for Sunday brunches. Wide-leg comfortable yet chic jeans will dominate along with the strong logo mania as we see the Gucci and Balenciaga of the world coming up with stronger collections and revisited logos. The rich girl tailoring will be very strong paired with sequined silhouettes as we are finally getting ready to go out and show off. Wrap coats, the thick puffer jackets combined with crop tops and colourful trousers will rule the show.
What will rule the festive wardrobe this year?
The festive season will be ruled by the bold millennial woman who is ready to experiment with new drapes, ultra-modern materiality and pop of bold colour.
Wardrobe essentials for women?
A black T-shirt, a white collared shirt, blue jeans, black boots and a statement bag.
Fashion faux pas one must avoid?
Flip flops, prints with stripes, oversize with oversize.
How are you working towards sustainability?
We have attempted to use as much scrap material as refuse foam, paper, discarded jute, mats, rugs and textiles in our draping and development process. We ethically source our fabrics and use surplus or export rejects. Also, all leathers and skins were gathered from scrap and rag sellers.
Any upcoming collection?
Currently, we are creating a collection that incorporates luxurious masterpieces from different parts of India including Pashmina wool, Banarasi silk, Kanjivaram silk and combining this heritage with tailoring to achieve a global perspective.
Prices on request. walandwani.com
sharmishtha.g@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @sharmidas