Gaurav Jai Gupta is known for his avant-garde approach to textiles. His label, Akaaro, celebrates the rich heritage of Indian craftsmanship while pushing the boundaries of conventional fashion. Akaaro experiments with Indian textiles by developing original fabrics in-house and engineered clothes that are timeless classics. With a commitment to sustainability and cultural authenticity, Gupta strives for a unique blend of sophistication, artistry, and conscience. His aesthetic features elements of nostalgia, resulting in pieces that are both timeless and edgy. In 2014, Gupta became the first Indian designer to be commissioned by The Woolmark Company to launch the Cool wool Menswear collection for Raymonds in India. ELLE had a chat with the designer on his upcoming collection for the Lakmē Fashion Week 2024 in partnership with FDCI.
ELLE: What was your vision while creating your collection for Lakmē Fashion Week X FDCI?
Gaurav Jai Gupta (GJG): I wanted to do a modern and urban collection and it’s always a work in progress. We follow a very strong design process so generally I don’t know what’s going to come out. We just wanted to push the idea looking at what we did last season and because what we did with blue was so strong and we definitely wanted to do something that has a very strong recall value which is obviously very different from last time.
ELLE: In three words, describe your upcoming collection for Lakmē Fashion Week X FDCI 2024.
GJG: I don’t have three words. It’s a very difficult thing to do. I think it’s a progressive collection. We’ve also taken the idea of sustainability in handlooms because a lot of it is done from waste and also, how do you make craft very desirable and relevant as well as modern and young. We’re trying to bring a lot of younger audiences into the fold of what we do as a brand. So, I would say urban, eclectic and a bit experimental.
ELLE: Describe the feeling of seeing your sketches come to life during a fashion show. How has it changed from the first time you saw one of your designs become a reality?
GJG: It’s been a long time in the making and when I look back now and how we started, it is quite surreal. I would like to go back and start from where I am now. So we can do more interesting things to it because now we’ve just started. Now we don’t have any time left to show. I think there were a lot of surprises even for me. I’m quite surprised by what we’ve done.
ELLE: If your collection was a song, which one would it be and why?
GJG: A lot of my work is built around music and I can’t really again pinpoint a single song. I’ve been listening a lot to a sort of experimental German music of late, there is this german band called Brandt Brauer Frick. That’s what comes to my mind and that’s what we’re using for the show at Lakmē Fashion Week X FDCI also.
