Couturier Urvashi Kaur takes us through her latest creations
For Urvashi Kaur, the people who wear her label have always been her muses, and she finds inspiration in their powerful stories, and how they express themselves sartorially. To best represent the DNA of her brand -- that stands for age gender and size inclusivity; craft-centric practices; eco-design ethos and prolific tribe of muses – she came up with Voices of Urvashi Kaur at the recently concluded LFWXFDCI show.
“I believe nothing says Urvashi Kaur quite like a construct-defying, norm-shattering experiential performance. Celebrating 15 years looks different for us, the spotlight shines brighter on our incredible muses, forcefields who inhabited our experimental set in a showcase of the power of collective impact,” says Urvashi, whose brand stands for conscious luxury.
She talks about her design process and takes us through her latest collection Prana.
Durability, size-inclusivity, indigenous weaves, and sustainability defines your collection. How mindful and evolved young wearers are?
More inclusive and conscious brands are finding growing resonance with the younger audiences. Mindful young wearers are willing to invest a little more in clothing which aligns better with their evolved ideologies. They are closing the loop, circling back to labels which offer them transparency and ethical clothing alternatives.
Tell us about your latest collection?
Our latest collection Prāna is a visual exploration of this primordial form energy; one which transcends beyond the tangible. We reimagine ancestral heirlooms as new silhouettes through this collection by reviving these one-of-a-kind textiles. It is intuitive in placement, organic in movement and elemental in colors. Tailored, timeless separates come together as layers with sheer and opaque dichotomies. Relaxed, signature androgynous shirt dresses, tunics and fluid overlays pair further embody the classic trans-seasonal Urvashi Kaur aesthetic. The collection aligns the observed consciousness of the Vedas with the intuitive legacies of our indigenous restorative practices. Signature house sheers are imagined in handwoven chanderi organzas, fluid linearity expressed in leheriyas and rippled shiboris are centered in dimensional kantha stitch line artistry and patchwork embroidery. Exquisite mulberry silks, zari tussars, brocades and textural knit-work imbue a festive luster in the collection’s fluid staples, co-ords, dresses and mélange of protean separates.
Silken embers, indigos, amethysts and olives are accented with gilded golds and silvers, punctuated with ethereal blacks. Prāna is a consummation of the unseen. Our zero-waste eco-design, rafu (darning) techniques, paneling, micro pleating and color blocking harness its circularity in a corporeal form.
Whose dressing sense do you admire the most and why?
Indira Gandhi and Coco Chanel. I admire how their dressing was an extension of their own personal style.
From Chanel’s tailored silhouettes to her palette of neutrals, her dressing has inspired my work. On the other hand, Indira Gandhi cemented the sari as a symbol of power, in a way no other had. Much like how YSL’s "Le Smoking" brought about a significant change in the absurd gender regulations of fashion, Gandhi challenged a patriarchal society with a feminine symbol, her sari.