Eleven years ago, when Amit Aggarwal delivered his first bridal order, it was black and made of polymer chips. On Sunday, his collection at India Couture Week 2024 continued to defy expectations, as his models walked the runway in futuristic clothes that reflected his fascination with science, philosophy and cosmology. In a sea of wedding lehengas, heavy silk saris and Swarovski-studded gowns that made up the couture week, this outlier’s bold experiments with polymers and corded textiles stood out. Among the 53 looks was a 3D-embellished outfit that resembled a cocoon. There were a few gowns inspired by the intricacies of basket-making. But the biggest impact among his 53 looks was a deep red deconstructed Banaras sari gown on model-turned-jeweller Sapna Kumar.
Agrawal’s designs, crafted from recycled plastic, cotton and industrial materials, celebrate sculptural volume; one of six deconstructed Banaras saris is also on view. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Amit, 44, has revamped old saris before. At the launch of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai last year, actor Priyanka Chopra wore a 60-year-old Benares sari restored by him with silver threads and gold electroplating on khadi silk, structured with a gemstone-coloured cast body. But with the saris in this collection, called Antevorta (named after the Roman goddess of the future), he seems to have found his own pace. After the show, he says the collection is all about the construction of time. He refers to wormholes, the birth of the universe and Einstein’s theory of relativity. And he describes new materials, like fabric made from organic cotton and industrial nylon on a loom. “It feels like glass from the outside but like cotton on your skin.” More about the designer, whose earliest understanding of fashion came from his mother’s mustard yellow embroidered wedding sari and his engineer father’s blueprints:
A dress from the collection | Photo credit: Special Arrangement
The collection is said to be a respite from ‘lehenga-challenging’ and the ‘same old wedding shows’ in the digital world.
I don’t disagree that lehenga is a staple in the country when it comes to couture. I think it is a symbol of where you want to invest your big bucks. That’s what we define as couture in the country and I don’t think it’s bad. But today couture should go beyond the lehenga and be celebrated as being about the individual’s personal journey. The day you get married is important but what about the days before and after the wedding?
Technically, saris were made from a single piece of cloth. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Tell us about your experiment with Banaras sarees for this collection.
It ties in with the concept of eternity, where the fabric of Banaras, metaphorically, is the soul. All these saris were pre-loved, and we honestly don’t know who wore them first or what their history is. In fact, what I liked the most was not knowing who owned them, and that it has changed many hands, it has seen many stories. I thought it could be a beautiful story, if the Banaras sari could speak for itself. None of these saris were sturdy enough to be worn like this; we tried to recreate it as much as we could, using dori-making techniques, indigenous pleating or a structured material to retain its tensile strength. The most interesting thing is that none of these saris were cut. Technically they were draped from a single piece after the fabric was made. I wanted to evolve the form of the sari and not change its purpose.
A model wearing an outfit designed by Amit Aggarwal | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
You were one of the few designers who didn’t have a celebrity showstopper. Yet Sapna and her red saree got everyone talking.
We worked on six saris. One of them got torn badly on the day of the fitting, thanks to the backstage handling. So the one Sapna wore had to be remade in two days, with 20 people working over two nights, pleating it, draping it, and so on. All the six saris from the collection will be part of our collection.
Models walked the runway in futuristic clothing that reflected their fascination with science, philosophy and cosmology | Photo credit: Special Arrangement
Some other looks are being compared online to Dutch designer Iris van Herpen.
When you look at a collection through a phone, you only see the visual aspect of it, not the material, the ideology or how it is made. The Iris van Herpen product is completely 3D printed but what we have created is completely handmade. That is the biggest difference, though I have a lot of respect for her work. She is an artist beyond words.
Amit Aggarwal’s bold experimentation with polymers and corded textiles worked wonders at Couture Week. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Everyone from Zeenat Aman to Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor proudly flaunt your innovative materials and techniques. Will we see this label globally as well?
There is never an end to validation, where do you want to push yourself. But why is it always about presenting our clothes to the West? For people who say you should be in Paris, my answer is why can’t we bring Paris to India? We have a unique language. Sometimes it feels a little boring when we see 200+ lehengas left, right and centre. But for the West, a tightly curated edit of lehengas is probably the most exotic thing they will see. I am not denying that I would like to do a show internationally but bringing them here would be a big deal. As said, with this collection we would like to work on a strict strategy, present it well, choose the right people who will embody the clothes and tell its story in a strong way.
Iris Van Herpen The product is entirely 3D printed but what we created is entirely handmade | Photo credit: Special Arrangement
Amit Agarwal’s clothes are worth more than Rs 2.5 lakh.
