“We often remark at the growth of a city. How it has changed from our last visit, how it has grown a little taller, a little wider, how the skyline is now so close to the sea- peering at its own reflection.
It’s almost as if we are speaking of a living, breathing being. A magnanimous entity that nourishes itself from its surroundings and germinates to maturity. This begs the question – are buildings the modern day vegetation?
They grow like weed, stemming out from the soil, reaching the sky enlivened by ambition and fueled by dreams. They no longer seem like concrete, like blocks of bricks but instead they redefine the very idea of growth, the very definition of what it means ‘to live’.
A metropolitan skyline is many things including the touchstone of human endeavors. The dynamism and complexity it mirrors is akin to that of a waterfall – lively and behemothic in its might, made up of a million elements yet shapely and following form.
We have reimagined our artisanal approach to embroidery, a first of its kind treatment that infuses a featherweight lightness to the most rigid structures known to man. This collection, where singular pieces have taken more than 3400 human hours of hand cutting and hand embroidering, is an archetype of the weightless couture we stand for. The pieces are light as air, considering the thousands of buildings perched on a delicate organza dress or countless hand embroidered flowers confectioned in tulle.
The aspect of motion is brought about by the application of embroidery. Each building is individually hand tacked onto an embroidered stem that is then secured on the ground by hand stitches. The stem is symbolic of an organic growth, of nourishment, of life. A labyrinthine grid lays the foundation for these intricately embroidered stemmed buildings and flowers – impersonating streams of water gushing down in full force or a city growing relentlessly on a piece of fabric.
We attempt to question the boundaries of what is nature anymore, where does it start and how does it conclude.
The clothes are an ode to the fabled tradition of couture. The lush fabrics, the silken threads, the all- consuming process of hand embroidering, hand cutting and hand sewing thousands of minute elements and the achingly slowed down journey of creation enabled us to draw a vison of pure magic.
For us this exhibit presented itself as a leap of fantasy, inhibited only by our imagination – our glorious tryst with the essence of couture.”
Rahul Mishra Couture
