Lafaani’s Unquiet makes a case for craft-led conscious fashion
What caught our attention about Lafaani is that this contemporary homegrown label, founded by environmentalists Drishti Modi and Rashmick Bose, offers totally biodegradable pieces. The brand’s latest collection, Unquiet, continues the same philosophy. Inspired by the idea of reclaiming authorship, asserting visibility and demanding recognition, the collection explores clothing as a quiet expression of individuality. Contemporary tailoring, fluid forms and tactile handloom fabrics turn the pieces into thoughtfully designed utility wear. We speak with Rashmick and Drishti about the same.
Tell us in detail about your new collection.
Rashmick: Unquiet reimagines traditional silhouettes for contemporary wardrobes, drawing from forms shaped by movement, climate, and traditions of layering. The collection brings together handwoven silks, chanderi, handwoven denim, striped cottons, eco-printed surfaces, desi oon (wool) and crochet, placing handcrafted textiles within garments designed for everyday wear. The palette progresses from undyed silks and denim with faint impressions of temple flowers, alongside yellow chanderi, turquoise and plum, to rust, grey, brown, navy, charcoal and black, reflecting a movement from light into shadow. Landscape informs the collection through curved seams and piping that trace topographical contours, layered panels that recall shifting elevations, and textured surfaces shaped by weather, movement and time. The silhouettes extend the archive forward: the jama becomes an overlay, the angrakha is reworked into shirts, the kurta elongated as a layer, the ghagra translated into gathered skirts, and the koti into waistcoats. References to Himalayan traditions appear through protective layering, wrapped constructions, generous volumes, shawl-like drapes, cropped layers and enveloping outerwear.
You both have backgrounds in Environmental Studies and Resource Management. How did that system-thinking approach shape the production cycle of Unquiet?
Drishti: Our academic backgrounds taught us to view environmental challenges as interconnected systems rather than isolated interventions, and that continues to shape every collection we develop. It taught us to understand fashion as an interconnected system rather than a series of isolated choices. That means considering every stage from the fibre and the people who grow it, to weaving, garment construction, wear, repair, and eventual biodegradation. Rather than optimising one stage, we look at how decisions made upstream influence every stage that follows. This also shapes the partnerships we build. We work with craft clusters and artisan communities where traditional knowledge remains closely connected to local ecologies and material systems.
How is kantha structurally integrated into the pieces in this collection?
Rashmick: Within Unquiet, kantha is used to emphasise the construction of the garment itself. Instead of being applied as ornamentation, the stitches trace seams, pattern lines and contours, making the making of the garment visible. In the collection, kantha is reimagined through an inter play of bullion knots, French knots, dense clusters and running stitches that transform fabric into texture and stitch into memory.