Designer: Sanjay Garg, Raw Mango
It has been a year of milestones for Sanjay Garg. The textile revivalist, whose brand is a flattering metaphor for modern India, launched his flagship store in Mumbai this March. Housed in a century-old building in Colaba, radiant daylight teases the zen-like interiors of the two-level space, with no wonted mannequin in sight.
In August, he was chosen as the opening act for the Winter/Festive 2017 edition of Lakmé Fashion Week. The collection, titled Cloud People, was an intimate affair, harking back to a theatrical style of presentation, at the 106-year-old Royal Opera House. Garg experimented for the first time with Lucknow’s oldest embroidery art, chikankari, to feature angelic motifs on Bengali mul, and, once again, tapped into the boundless possibilities of Benarasi brocade.
He couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to wrap up the year, when his rani pink Madurai sari with a parrot motif was chosen to be part of the Is Fashion Modern? exhibit at New York’s MoMA (Museum Of Modern Art). “It was one hectic, mad, albeit eventful year. But it was not without its challenges. I’m hoping for bigger, better things in 2018,” he says.
From left, on Bose: Cotton shirt, ₹6,000, silk brocade sharara, ₹45,000, silk jacket, ₹55,500; all Raw Mango. Acetate sunglasses, stylist’s own. On Garg: Cotton T-shirt, cotton silk shirt, cotton pants, leather shoes; all Garg’s own.
“I have wanted to get to know Sanjay for as long as I have been following his work. His love for what he does, and how he does it really intrigues me.”
– Priyanka Bose, Actor
