“Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."
(Hans Christian Andersen)
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With the migrant crisis reaching devastating levels, the above quote takes on a much deeper meaning. Maybe it is not enough to just live, to survive. As life came to a sudden standstill we also witnessed one of the biggest employment crisis during the pandemic. Millions of migrant workers were displaced and struggled to simply feed and support their families.
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A significant part of our New Delhi team are our “kaarigars” (hand embroiderers and tailors). We have been fortunate to be able to stand by them through this storm and are committed to continue doing so. It's the very foundation of our brand values. We are a large family - that includes hundreds of people including local craftsmen and workers.
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Today we collectively acknowledge the value of beauty. It gave us a deep sense of joy and nourishment to return to our studio. Through this collection as a creative expression we are served a reminder, that indeed just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.
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“The best and easiest way to get a forest to return to any plot of cleared land is to do nothing— nothing at all, and do it for less time than you might think.”
(Richard Powers)
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WE ARE GUIDED BY OUR PURPOSE AND DEFINED BY PROCESS.
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This pandemic brought with itself a lot of changes, most certainly in the way we worked. Tangible changes gave that experience a unique dimension. With fewer people, social distancing, masked faces and a lot of virtual communication - the process was reborn in a humbling avatar.
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The work at the atelier was followed by an hour of sanitation at home and quarantining one’s self from the rest of the family. In some ways the isolation got real during preparing for the collection and in a lot of ways it was a unifying opportunity.
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The effort to reach out, ask each other how we are doing, discuss random ideas and thoughts - they all became pronounced. We knew we had to take that extra step and that brought us so much closer.
Their immediate reaction to the embroidery swatches is priceless. The artisan is also an important critic and the expression on their face when the first sample is finished determines the future course of the surface design journey. With the masks on— muffled voices, animated eyes and hand gestures became the connecting thread, reminding us to never take things for granted and paving way for the new normal.
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Masks have played an integral role in the visualisation of this dreamy universe, anchoring it to the realities we face. In the collection however, the face coverings are ornate and symbolic of the lushness and vitality of nature. The way we build our collections is very intimate, often times it is the smile on an embroiderer’s face that assures me a certain colour combination is working and that the kaarigar is happy with the outcome.
That same communication took a very unexpected turn with everyone wearing protective masks and maintaining social distancing. Muffled voices, animated eyes and hand gestures became the connecting thread, reminding us to never take things for granted and paving way for the new normal.
Rahul Mishra
