Twice As Nice

Nachiket Barve

What were the inspirations and techniques employed for the IWP look?

The idea was to make Merino wool more evening appropriate and feminine. We wove wool with silk, lending it lustre and drape. We also blended wool yarn with silk for the embroidery, did digital printing on wool and softened industrial wool felt and used it for applique. The idea came from the state of the world today and the intrinsic need to protect oneself; I wanted to create a garment that felt like an armour but was tough and soft in equal measure. The inspiration came from armours of the Samurai and the Mughals and even creatures like the pangolins.

If one were to see your earlier work, one would think that wool was really far removed from your design oeuvre.

What really excites me is playing  with texture and techniques. For me, it’s  really about clothes that one can cherish and hold on to. My design story has evolved over the years. The world has changed and this, perhaps, is my response to that. Apart from my IWP entry last year, I presented a line in collaboration with Woolmark in Ludhiana and Amritsar in February and participated in the company’s Cool Wool designer showcase in Mumbai in March. Wool is a beautiful material, even though we generally associate it with sweaters, shawls and coats. I want to push boundaries and look at things in a new light. I am interested in doing work that speaks to a wider audience. My work has an Indian connect but is not ethnic, in that sense. This recognition will allow me to showcase my work on an international platform.

What are the complexities of working with wool?

As a technical fabric it lends itself beautifully to processes like embroidery, stitching and cutting. The challenge comes in partnering with the right people for production because it still is a specialised fabric in India. I worked with shawl manufacturers to engineer a fabric than can be easily stitched. We also had to make wool felt that was of a superior quality. So, research and development was needed at a very base level.

What are your earliest associations with wool?

I remember going to a sheep farm in New Zealand when I was around 13 and wanting to touch the sheep. The visual was of the wet green grass, the flock of white sheep and the crisp cold air. I went back to New Zealand to study at the age of 17 and that memory always stayed with me.

You come from a family of doctors. Does that inform your approach to design?

There has always been a sense of academics at home, of inbuilt curiosity. I love reading National Geographic and am happiest in the forest or by the sea. Because of my parents’ line of work, I feel I have a more empathetic and wider world view. They are my reality check in terms of how clothes have a serious ethos and larger context in the scheme of things.

Zubair Kirmani

You come from Kashmir and are no stranger to wool. What are some of your earliest associations with wool?

We’ve lived and breathed in an environment where wool has been sold as luxury for centuries. My earliest memory is of my mother knitting sweaters for us in pure wool. I don’t think we ever bought sweaters. My introduction to wool also came from the shawls created on my uncles’ looms. We started our own shawl range a few years ago.

What was the thought process and inspirations behind your IWP entry?

Memories of our childhood have always inspired us, as has the architecture of Kashmir. We took inspirations from games of hide-and-seek, of the sunlight reflecting through the pinjars and the hollow spaces that created illusionary visions. We witnessed the play of nature and architecture from dawn until dusk. For this collection, we developed our own fabric, the finest micron of wool, blended with silk and elastane for added comfort. We used Merino wool embroidery with a looping technique used on Pashmina shawls and gave it a three-dimensional twist.
Your label is a decade old (launched in 2006), but you’ve been low-key in an industry that demands visibility. This will change all that.

When I started out, militancy in Kashmir was at a peak, so there was a general reticence to my demeanour and I preferred to stay away from the glamour. Recognition came organically and the work we did spoke for itself. I think that nature shows us a path and the IWP win has been a step in the right direction. I firmly believe in Rumi’s saying: ‘When you are everywhere, you are nowhere. When you are somewhere, you are everywhere’. My wife Renni has partnered with me on Bounipun and she has been instrumental in inspiring change.

What was it like growing up around the craftsmanship of Kashmir?

One is not born in Kashmir. One is born from Kashmir. The Sufism, the art, the heritage, the craft — all of it is a legacy we Kashmiris carry in our hearts and that is reflected in any form of expression. Soul, patience and spirituality go into anything we do. When I first started designing, I was asked why I wanted to become a tailor. But a decade later, things are slowly changing and people tell me I’m inspiring others back home.

You also gave Kashmir its first designer store in 2012. How do you feel about the current turmoil in the state?

We opened a store there in an effort to bolster the Kashmir crafts industry but it was inundated during the 2014 floods and our craftspeople were displaced. Our IWP effort was possible due to the shawl artisans but now the cycle is repeating itself. Kashmiri people are artistes who have no way of expressing their creativity. Which is why I want to work closely with the local craftspeople so that they can take pride in their work and make a living.