Heard of the cliché “you can’t have your cake and eat it too”? Amrita Nambiar ignored this and decided to have her art, and bag it too! Her limited collection St. Tropez (for Hidesign) has the motif of a woman with a raging sea for a background. Amrita sketched her way into the leather industry, introducing St. Tropez, a limited collection that represents the modern Indian woman.
When asked when her love affair with art began, Amrita says, “I have been associated with art for as long as I can remember. I tend to reach instinctively for the medium that best expresses the emotion. Watercolour has been my most preferred medium lately, with its beautiful translucent layers and dreamy feel.”
Amrita studied at the Chitrakala Parishath in Bangalore, where she underwent an intense course that included drawing, painting, sculpturing and strengthening pen-paper skills.
“I later specialised in Applied Art, where we learned typography, calligraphy and discovered illustration. It was a wonderful artistic environment, and houses one of the greatest art galleries in Karnataka. We’ve shared artistic space with some of the greatest and most talented minds there.”
Collaborating with Hidesign
On the St. Tropez collection, Amrita says that she had discussions with the Hidesign team and Dilip Kapur, president of the company. “I wanted to illustrate a positive, free-spirited, stylish and independent woman. The sea lends its spirit and energy and the collection that epitomises the beautiful, multi-tasking, talented, modern Indian woman. This idea came from one of my morning sketching sessions. Collaborating with Hidesign brings a great energy into my work and I enjoy how effortlessly art and design are always woven together in these projects. We knew we wanted the collection to be about the modern Indian woman, and working towards creating something that would look beautiful on a woman’s arm was a wonderful experience. Seeing the collection in stores countrywide now is exhilarating.”
Asked about the collaboration with a youngster, Kapur says, “St. Tropez is at the cutting edge of luxury; where art and fashion meet. Increasingly, luxury is defined by its exclusivity, and art, by its very nature, is exceptional and never mass produced.” With St. Tropez’s successful entry, Kapur plans to enter into other collaborations with artists to give customers an exclusive experience.
Inspiring art
Like all artists, Amrita too has her inspirations to help her produce extraordinary works of art. “My art has always been inspired by wonderful conversations, intriguing thoughts and moments in time that never cease to amaze me! People and relationships are extremely important to me.” Finding the bridge between art and design is the highest point in her life. “The possibilities seem limitless when you can bridge that gap,” she says. “So, this collaboration with Hidesign is stunning!”
Be a dreamer
What does it take to be a good artist? “It’s always good to be a dreamer, as well as an artist,” says Amrita. “To be able to see things around you differently and to be able to portray what you see in your art — a quality you need to have.”
With the positive response to St. Tropez, Amrita continues on her quest for inspiration hoping to translate it into something beautiful. “I hope to start a line of illustrated home-ware soon,” says she with a sparkle in her eye.
