something portuguese

I discovered what can be called a locality in Bandra called Ranwar ( pronounced Run-wer) in the heart of Mumbai city and it was so understated in appearance that it almost was like time had forgotten this quaint three street area. Said to be around 400 years old, it was built by the Portuguese before they were driven out. They acquired Bombay in 1534 from Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate. It is one of the last remaining pakhadis ( hamlets ) that has made up Bandra since the early 1700s.

This quaint little village has stood firmly right besides the forever bustling Hill road, with its shopping and cafes to distract anyone from this little gem of architecture and history. The houses are all lined up one after the other and their old wooden doors look out onto tiny streets. The walls are peeling with paint of the most fascinating colours- and a very quiet exists in the every day life of the residents. They greet each other like a small community would.

What drew me to this area was not just the architecture but how subtly life could seem to be lead- away from the terrible noise of the city. Whether passive or not, it struggles to lift itself up every time a few houses are broken down to make way for high-rise buildings - another iberian patio razed to the ground, another portuguese porch taken away. Such is the detrimental impact that urbanization and a need to glamorize the city has had on this quiet settlement.

A momo shop nestled in the heart of the village
Mumbai July 2011

Taking it now as a source of inspiration for the home furnishings collection, I designed a couple of moodboards highlighting textures, colour ways as well as moods.
See them here : http://goldenavenues.blogspot.com/p/something-portuguese.html

to market

Having no direct platform through which to interact with Padmaja's avant-garde client base abroad, I decided to get an idea of the same kind of client base by visiting up-market boutiques in the city. I visited Bombay Electric, Bungalow 8, Attic, Loose Ends, and Taxxi and Vitamin K. They each housed a number of high-end brands by designers catering to the avant-garde customer. I found that generally the clothes were said to be avant garde, but not in the traditional sense of the term ( for instance, I'm sure Rei Kawakubo would attack at the mention of it ) but on the other hand, for a place like India, 'avant-garde' will resonate with a set of different sensibilities. Also, I found the clothes boring, lacking any concept or interest and made for the sake of it.

Bombay Electric not only housed their own collection of garments but also Ela by Joyjit Talukdar, which comprised of a series of garments in natural cotton fibre with interesting texturing of pleats, embroidery as well as braiding. They also housed other brands whose collections I felt were for the most part thoroughly glamorized and lacking in substance with regard to any concept. The clothes were pretty, sequinned and rich in colour and embellishment. In a city like Mumbai, such attire would be suitable for the type of clientele from Bollywood that aim to be seen. Bungalow 8 on the other hand, also seemed to cater to the high end user- from bath to bed and also apparel, they housed collections that borrowed a lot from traditional textiles of India in terms of colour and pattern. It however lacked that feel of tradition.

Attic was not so much of a different experience- high end apparel that reflected high taste, borrowed a bit too much from street art, typography and film in India and also priced equally high. One collection that I found interesting was called Amrish by Amit Vijaya & Richard Pandav. It consisted of pieces that were patterned with shibori, the traditional dyeing techniques of Japan. The patterns were unusual but placed in very usual ways. In Taxxi & Vitamin K I found brands such as Kimmona and Poonam Pamnani creating collections using simple pin tucks and pleats.

I also managed to see large parts of the city in small time periods - either sitting in the taxi through traffic or strolling around at Colaba Causeway and Bandra- some of the architecture is amazing and so inspiring- and in such contrasts to the kind of designs/concepts/art/fashion/textiles I had seen in the shops!

So thursday and friday's market trips left me which some questions :
+ If fashion is purely aesthetics of the self then where can one incorporate a design process with meaning that goes beyond the facade of beauty?
+ What does it mean to design for the avant-garde customer keeping in mind the concept of zero-waste?
+ Is there something in the city of Mumbai that is understated to be taken forward as an inspiration?