Hiya Bahukhandi

My interest is especially inclined towards Haute Couture. I appreciate the hard work that is put into intricate embroidery and hand-sewing a single piece of garment. While in university I started incorporating techniques that I read and learnt from the book Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer. Hence, my work is an embodiment of intricate techniques that also indirectly implicate the stories of different regions, cultures and countries, of where the techniques are derived from. I love to prowl the markets, galleries and antique shops looking for the best examples of traditional and contemporary culture-art and then deriving narrations to inspire my work. The inclination to connect with the art around me pushed me to research and explore the crafts community and the people who create them. I always intend my work to portray the meaning behind the crafts and have a way to make people understand them. Because it is only when you do know the meaning that you truly begin to understand more about the culture out of which these handicrafts and art emerge.

My methodology and approach also explores the understanding of the craftsmanship of not just textiles but also other crafts that use materials like wood, metal, ceramics etc. Having already worked with wood as a material for my 2021 Graduation project I want to continue probing into different materials and textiles to bring in some aspect of innovation in my work.

As an emerging designer, I feel the responsibility to be sustainable. So far, in every possible way, I try to incorporate it into my process. In my final year collection UTRKHD, I used a lot of fabrics which was sourced as deadstock or leftovers from my previous projects. Learning knitting from my mother and my grandmother I was able to create my own samples of knits inspired by old designs I sourced from my grandmother’s knits archive. I believe in the integration of culture in development and innovation as it highly promotes the idea of sustainability. As part of the team LAGOM, I was introduced to Lotus and Rose fabric, sourced from lotus stems and rose petals. With the scraps of these fabrics, we made scrunchies which were in collaboration with women in Self Help Groups at PRASAD Chikitsa, a non-profit in Maharashtra. At Bloni, I learned ways to incorporate our Indian artisans’ crafts of metal and wood into design solutions of the future. Working with Akshat Bloni who is also an alumnus of CSM has immensely challenged my thinking of understanding crafts revival as a sustainable approach to create fashion with past, present and future — all three entwined. This experience is already inspiring my thoughts on my newer projects.