Designer Namrata Joshipura takes us through her debut athleisure collection unveiled at LFWxFDCI
Designer Namrata Joshipura is an energy bomb that infuses you with positivity, no matter what time of the day you meet her. The warm and effusive designer loves to run slow in order to run fast, not only on the tracks but in her personal and professional spaces as well. One of the Six-Star medal-winning marathon runners in our country, who has covered all six major marathons held in Boston, London, Chicago, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo, Namrata did a head-turning show at the recently concluded LFWxFDCI with her first-ever full-fledged athleisure collection. The elevated activewear edit, Athleisure Redefined, in collaboration with R|Elan, has a versatile display where street glamour meets activewear with silhouettes like sculpted bodysuits, statement puffer jackets, high-impact singlets, shorts, and elevated tees in R|Elan Green Gold — an eco-friendly fabric made using recycled post-consumer PET bottles.
“It’s a passion project for sports, for movement, for fashionable movement, for everything. In the past, all the shows that I’ve done have had references to my affinity for sports and sportswear, so my girls have walked in bodysuits, in caps, and in shorts. So, when R|Elan launched this fabric called Cool Texts and approached me for an athleisure show, I took it on,” says Namrata.
What impressed us is that the range is not your typical activewear. Namrata’s collection will take any chic and fashionable woman—who’s also a fitness freak—right from her day at the gym to a lounge party at night. The designer chats with us about the same and more.
Excerpts:
Athleisure gets a couture spin as Namrata Joshipura drops her first full-fledged activewear collection at LFWxFDCI
Now that you have designed your first full-fledged athleisure collection, would we see you coming up with a separate section on athleisure under your label?
Most certainly. That’s why we call it Athleisure Redefined. I definitely want to take this forward. Because I understand clothing and athleisure. As a wearer, I’ve understood where the gaps have been in the market.
How have you managed to seamlessly blend athleisure with the popular airport look?
It’s how you style it fluidly. We have puffer jackets, and you can totally style them with leather shorts or leather trousers and elevate the look. You could just wear it at the gym or while walking the streets of Rome on a holiday.
What are your thoughts on the fast-paced world we live in?
I have to draw an analogy — when I train for my races, my coach always tells me, “You have to run slow to run fast.” That lesson applies to life too— you have to train and pace yourself if you don’t want to live fast and die young. Everyone should take the time to identify what contentment and success mean to them. Especially as we age, it’s important to recognise what makes us tick. I’m a strong proponent of running slow to run fast.
How much is sustainability and consciousness of the environment incorporated in your label?
While working on this particular collection, I have used Cool Texts fabric, which has a yarn made from Green Gold— a material made out of recycled PET bottles. However, for my main label, we don’t typically use sustainable fabrics, but we follow sustainable practices within our office. We use man-made fabrics because that aligns with the brand’s design philosophy, and changing that would go against its core DNA. But at the same time, I do believe that my clothes are not trend-driven—they are sustainable in the way that they could be repeated and worn for years.
How has your design approach changed over the years?
I think to stay relevant, you have to evolve not just as a designer but as a human being too. You go through various stages of your life as a woman—you marry, you have a child; you cannot be the same person, you evolve with them as they age, and similarly, your brand has to evolve over the years, reflecting the person you are. You have to stay true to your DNA — even if you evolve, you cannot lose the DNA of the brand. I cannot be Dr Jekyll one day and Mr Hyde the other day. So, we keep evolving, innovating, and experimenting within the label’s set periphery.
What inspires you?
Everything! I love nature. I love the mountains; I trek a lot. In any city that I visit, I make sure that I run to discover beautiful places. I also love music, art, and cinema. I had done a show many years ago—an entire collection on Wim Wenders’ movie Wings of Desire. I also did a whole collection inspired by Radiohead’s album Lotus Flower. So, inspiration could come from anywhere.
Do you think couture is becoming unsustainable?
No, I think it’s more an issue of a business model. Couture does not produce so much. So, with prêt, I think it’s the affordability and the aspirational customers that one is reaching out to.
How do you see the Indian fashionistas evolving over the years?
I think social media has opened up an entire new world of dressing up differently that allows people to give themselves a unique and individualistic identity. Then, there are also a lot of young international cookie-cutter dressers. So, it’s what defines you and what you identify with that determines where you sort of end up fitting in.
How important is it for Indian designers to have the Bollywood brigade by their side?
In India, Bollywood and cricket are religions. I love Virat Kohli, and you’ll see the reflection of that in my collection. Malaika Arora and Kubbra Sait were showstoppers for my collection, and I love their passion for fitness and the outdoors. People who walk for me have to resonate with me. Kubbra is into yoga and fitness, and has climbed Kilimanjaro, and so have I. I resonate with Malaika at every level — she is passionate about her work, workouts, and body, and I respect that.
What are the collections you’re bringing out apart from the athleisure for the summer and the autumn-winter season?
The usual embellished ones, including a lot of corsets, saris, jumpsuits. We do a lot of jumpsuits—I have closed many shows with showstoppers wearing jumpsuits, so it has almost become my signature now. I am conceiving the AW edit in a similar direction with slightly deeper colours like cherry, green, and, of course, black, which is my favourite colour.
What will be trending in festive and party wear this summer?
A lot of corsets with saris, co-ords but not the typical sets—they will be a little more stylised. But saris, definitely — young girls are all embracing saris in different drapes, and even the pre-draped ones.
How would you describe your personal fashion choices?
For every day, I am a casual dresser and love shorts, tops, and tees. For work, I am usually in my jeans and shirts. For parties, I wear dresses, a lot of off-shoulders, corsets, and I actually do wear a lot of draped saris.
What are some wardrobe essentials that every woman should own?
A great pair of jeans, a blouse—like those jersey crop-top blouses—that you can pair with a modern or a traditional sari, a nice dress (not a body-con) that you can dress up with shoes and earrings or dress down with a pair of sneakers. Something that you travel with, easy but stylish. One should definitely have a great jacket that can be paired with a skirt and t-shirt —you can wear it over a dress, or you can wear it with nice loose jeans with a tank top, like a boxy jacket—you can wear it sleeveless, or you can wear it like a sleeve jacket.