artnlight

I know I normally never write about fashion, cause I'm not a fashion person, I just don't think I love it or know it enough to write about it here. But then Padmaja Krishnan sent me her work. So. Interesting. There was so much feeling in these pictures, a mysterious and elusive quality which is tough to pin down. This clearly transcended fashion, it spoke to me. The fact that the designer made the unusual and brilliant choice to use Mita Vashisht as her model definitely piqued my interest.

Slow.Useless is Padmaja Krishnan's world where she "creates authentic, non-confirmative and avant garde clothing that can be labeled quirky and original. Her design-sense is wicked and loaded with pun and humour yet her products are harmonious, light on senses and contain a disciplined understatement. In her design, tradition is deeply respected even as it’s brought into a close dance with the contemporary and the futuristic: A frayed hem left open “refers simultaneously to the weaver’s loom in mid-shuttle” or to grunge or to old Vreeland saying - `never explain, never apologize.’ "

Artnlight: Was Fashion your 1st choice of profession & why do you do what you do?
Padmaja: I was nowhere close to choosing fashion as a career. It sounded too frivolous. When I was about 17, I was unhappy with the cuts my tailors provided and hence decided to learn how to make my own clothes from a friendly, neighbourhood Punjabi aunty. I enjoyed what I learnt- the art of sewing, cutting and making clothes and in those days would spend a few hours at the end of the day stitching my own clothes, toying with fabrics, threads and needles. Coming from a family of thorough academics, I enjoyed mathematics, biology, economics and literature. I never had enough faith in my creative abilities nor did I ever really test it. After much convincing by my sister who literally forced me to apply for NIFT for my design school, I relented and much to my surprise got through the entrance exam. There has been no looking back since then. As a schoolgirl I dreamt of many other professions as a choice including Police, lawyer, engineer, doctor, chartered accountant. But if you ask me today, I thank the weird, mundane, accidental
events that led me to choose fashion-clothes making as a career.
Artnlight: Would you call your work fashion or style or art
Padmaja: I would call it ‘clothes making’. I just make clothes and work to achieve very elementary basics in a product like style, comfort, fit and feel. So in that sense i could be called a stylized tailor. But then I like to surprise myself with my own creations. I never follow seasons, trends or markets. For me a piece has to surprise me, delight me and convince me to wear it. In that sense, my approach could be like that of an artist.
Artnlight: What inspires you and gets you going?
Padmaja: ‘The inspiration comes from the unexpected, from looking at the environment around with insatiable eyes, experimenting with office tools, daydreaming and a wish to hide the limitations of the techniques used when making clothes’ – Koromo by Jurgen Lehl. The approach to design is intellectually reductive, reexamining and reducing details to produce unpretentious simplicity. The endeavor is to create objects of excellence that are timeless and hopefully will give pride to the maker as much as to the user.

Artnlight: Who do you design for
Padmaja: Someone who is curious, avant garde, classic, simple, unpretentious.

‘wild silks: khadi linens: malkha cottons: kosa saris redefined as asymmetric tunics: kaantha scraps: hand sewn techniques: rags: deconstructed skirts, seamless jackets, classic kurtas, hand woven men’s pants– This exhibition will feature Padmaja's explorations with the ‘SLOW’ and the ‘useless’.

This is a story I have been wanting to say for the longest time. What happens when idealism meets practicality, substance meets smartness, when purpose meets action, a problem meets a solution, when suicide finally meets hope, and when Apu meets Diti? You get No Nasties. I don't mean to sound smart and spin some words together. What I wrote is exactly what I feel about what Diti and Apurva are doing with No Nasties. I wish more causes had drivers like these two people, they are heart and brains in the right place. They are taking one thoughtful smart step at a time & they are moving fast. They have a job to do and all their time, their energy, and being is dedicated to that. No distractions, no wasted time. Seeing Diti and Apurva restores my faith in my generation and in the world. Apurva left a job and a life in the U.S to come back to his country when he knew he had to do something about the farmer suicides. (Yes, outside of a movie script, and in real life) And Diti a graphic designer and photographer, had volunteered in farms in Pondicherry and was teaching workshops on organic farming. The 2 met and from their dreams and determination was born No Nasties.

I like the No-Nasties funda because they know what will work. They know that fashion works, people want to look cool & not like some boring gyaan toter. So they are speaking your language and they are making it damn simple by expecting you to do only what you can do easily. Which is to buy. One tshirt at a time.

If this piques your curiosity, read the entire story here. And this is their happening Facebook page which u can 'like' :) if u so wish :)

And they don't work in glorious isolation. Its interesting to see the people they choose to work with. Makes for an interesting read. And gives you more reason to see how solidly this works.

And finally I want to leave you with this message from their website. "Don’t just see what is, but also what will be. Let's say you buy a t-shirt made from organic cotton. That creates more money for organic farmers than usual, which makes more farmers want to convert to organic farming. And more designers to use organic material. And more stores to carry organic clothes. And more people to buy organic, so they can be as organic as you. All because you made a choice to be organic. You can bring about this change. You can start the movement."