“Bold and bling are not necessarily beautiful in the world of fashion,” says Ashish Parik of the label Virtues.
Having created stunning silhouettes with home-grown textiles and humble handcrafts for close to 15 years, it’s not surprising that the Ahmedabad-based designer sees beauty in subtlety.
“Many traditional textile and craft forms that were once the pride of our country are fading into oblivion. History books tell us how people from all over the world travelled to India to source handmade textiles and natural dyes. Nowadays, everything is processed and manufactured in the factories. The striking simplicity of our handlooms and organic indigo is unmatched. But in today’s world, there are few takers,” he rues.
In its quest to restore the garden-to-garment practice of the past, the design team at Virtues (Ashish & Viral Parik and Vikrant Mehta) travelled across India to discover places where traditional dyeing techniques were nurtured. They stumbled upon The Colours of Nature in Auroville, where the iconic indigo was prepared using time-honoured techniques. “It specialises in natural indigo fermentation. Every step in the long-drawn process seemed organic. Indigo is synonymous with summer, so we decided to create a line inspired by the oldest dye with everlasting appeal.”
Block prints, Dhaboo printing and touches of kantha and aari embroidery perk up the collection that comes in an understated indigo-ivory scheme. Most of the batik work was done in Auroville, while the block-printing was done in Jaipur. The silhouettes are contemporary — dresses cut away from the body, kurtas, kalidhars, flouncy skirts, etc. “We’ve tried some fusion silhouettes this summer without compromising on our signature look.”
By signature look, Parik means the inherent Indianness of every Virtues’ creation. Whether it’s the experimental “Indian High” that featured warrior silhouettes inspired by the Khatri community that specialises in the old art of bandhani, the “Mughal” line that drew references from the embellished wardrobes of the royals or “Moroccan Mystery” that used Moorish art as the creative spur, these designers experiment only within the template of tradition.
“Some people find that uninteresting. But I guess that’s our strength. These days you find few designers sticking to a signature look. We have people still coming to us for the Kalamkari and ikat lines that are many seasons old. There is a clientele for classic looks and traditional textile forms. We see a huge opportunity in this segment. I’ve seen some refreshing ideas on the ramp at the national pageants. But some of them don’t even survive one season!”
Talk of the sudden surge in the couture/ bridal scene, and Parik responds, “With weddings getting bigger and better, couture designers never had it so good. We have people coming and parking themselves at our studio for days with a whole list of orders because weddings are no longer single-day affairs. Besides, we have hundreds of designers entering the market every year. In Ahmedabad, it looks like we have a designer every five kilometers! That also explains the surge.”
Virtues unveils its Indigo collection and a line of ‘heritage saris’ at Collage, Greams Road, today.
