Lifestyle & Arts

Text and Photographs by Asad Sheikh. Nakshatra, Fibre cover, handwoven Indian wool with hand-knotting, abrash dyeing and hand-embroidery. Designed by Ashiesh Shah – Atelier with Jaipur Rugs.  Sutr Santati: Then Now Next, the exhibition that was showcased in the capital, presented the narrative of India through its textiles. Each one of the about-100 textiles on view, from various regions of the country, displayed a plaque with a list of names. These highlighted not only the designers, textile artists and revivalists involved in the creation of each of the works, but also, importantly, the artisans involved — the embroiderers, weavers, dyers and printers. The exhibition — that conc...

Spaces Text by Vanya Lochan. Photograph by Shweta Yadav. “Everything is culture,” asserts Siddharth Chakravarty, Sustainability Director at Six Senses Fort Barwara, Rajasthan, as he welcomes me to the Earth Lab (also a key element of Six Senses properties across the world), to introduce me to the initiatives that make the luxury resort one of the greenest in India. Across the world, Six Senses is known for its resolute philosophical stand on sustainability. In their words: “…who says sustainable can’t be sumptuous?” India’s first Six Senses resort, the repurposed 700-year-old Fort Barwara in Chauth Ka Barwara near Ranthambore, Rajasthan, has been designed to perpetuate the heritage a...

Text by Neerja Deodhar. Illustration by Gaurav Vikalp.   In late March this year, a video featuring Karan Johar sitting in a bright-red armchair against a flashy backdrop — reminiscent of his popular English-language talk show Koffee With Karan — went viral. He spouted part of that iconic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai dialogue: “Hum ek hi baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hai, aur shaadi bhi ek hi baar karte hai.” (We live only once, die once, and get married only once.) In the same breath, and with his familiar, smug smile, he added, “…agar aap highly educated ho, toh aap age, caste, height vagerah dekhne se pehle, ek partner mein mental compatibility dhoondte ho.” (…if you are highly educated, you’re going to look for mental compatibility befor...

Text by Ranjabati Das, with inputs from Akanksha Pandey and Sarah Rajkotwala. Photographs by Naomi Shah and Asad Sheikh. The discourse around the reordering of priorities as well as long-standing power dynamics within the industry — brought on by growing consumer awareness and the democratisation of fashion through digitalisation and social media, and geared towards making fashion more sustainable and inclusive — has already taken centre stage in recent years. And, as expected, the return of the physical format of FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week in March 2022, after two years of caution exhibited through phygital versions in a post-pandemic world, gave fresh impetus to the conversation aro...

Interviews by Akanksha Pandey. Photographs by Asad Sheikh. John Roberts, The Woolmark Company Tell us about The Woolmark Company’s recent developments with sustainable wool.At The Woolmark Company, we are constantly working on innovations that bring positive change in the fashion industry. The natural colouration technology is one of the process innovations, where we worked with our partner BioDye from Samantwadi. The raw materials, like plant leaves, flowers, stems, etc., are all grown locally by BioDye. Focusing on sustainable dyeing processes with minimal impact, BioDye seeds scientific breakthroughs using the best of nature to create 100-per-cent natural dyes and biodegradable ...

Text by Shirin Mehta, with inputs from Akanksha Pandey. Photographs by Asad Sheikh. Sharp tailoring (he is fabled for drafting every pattern himself, his construction skills deemed “legendary”) juxtaposed with flowing lines. An almost manic attention to detail. Embroideries that are somehow almost cerebral. (A sari with monotone embroidery in its geometric magnificence recalled a map of the constellations to my mind and has stayed with me over decades). After 12 years of resounding silence, Mumbai’s quiet couturier — sometimes called the “Armani of India” — Shahab Durazi and his 34-year-old eponymous label have returned to the ramp with all this and more, in a collection that was par...

Interviews by Akanksha Pandey. Photographs by Asad Sheikh. Styled by Sarah Rajkotwala. Arshna Raj of StoïqueAge: 26Hometown: Indore Model: Shambhavi Dubey Why “Stoïque” and what is your design philosophy?Stoicism as a philosophy is centred around being unaffected, by emotions, possessions or stature. My clothing is a direct extension of my ideologies, which falls in line with the stoicism philosophy. With the brand name we are trying to convey the serenity that comes with being stoic. We create fuss-free clothing in which the wearer can feel relaxed and comfortable without compromising on luxury. We believe design should be simple and practical, and at the same time make you feel...

Interview by Vanya Lochan. Photographs by Anish. Styled by Susan Thomas. Assisted by Aakriti Arora. All clothing and accessories, Susan's own. Location courtesy: NIFT Bengaluru. “From my home, I would travel 125 kilometres every day to reach my office…sometimes battling the heat of 50 plus, considering that it’s Rajasthan and in winter, across lush fields of mustard, almost what you see in all the Bollywood movies. But not a man in sight, not a woman in sight, not an animal in sight. That’s precisely what the government does and where the government functions.” I watch as Susan Thomas, who has been working with the Indian Revenue Services for more than 21 years now, tries to tell us ...

Text by Prathyush Parasuraman. One of the first glimpses of Brahmastra Part One: Shiva we had, the announcement of its motion poster launch, was in Hindi, so archaic and untouched by the contemporary, that it could only be understood in context. The voice was that of Amitabh Bachchan; pay attention to how it traverses the clash of consonant sounds without any vowel’s reprieve — the “gn” of “agni”, the “str” of “brahmastra” — how it digs into the epiglottal “kh” of “khud” and releases the last “ah” in ”Shiva” as though freeing something fettered. Director Ayan Mukerji wrote on Instagram, “Mr. B’s voice — had to start with his energy and his blessing!” There was nothing playfu...

Travel Text and Photography by Mallika Chandra. Chef Sanjana Patel, Creative Director and Executive Chef at the Mumbai-based La Folie, on an exploratory sourcing trip in Karnataka. Earlier this April, Chef Sanjana Patel added me to a WhatsApp group named “Mysore trip”. “Hey everyone. Super excited to take you guys to Mysore for the harvest — nothing better than having friends over.” Friends. I smiled to myself. It had been a week since I finished working with her Mumbai-based patisserie and craft chocolate brand, La Folie, and it was during that conversation that she had invited me to accompany her on an exploratory sourcing trip to Karnataka. “No work!” she had said; she just wanted me...