ELLE: What was inspiration behind your collection ‘Chiaroscuro’?
Nachiket Barve: Light and shadow were primarily the inspiration, but apart from that we were also talking about Hitchcockian elements, gothic architecture, medieval art, where darker elements were used in a more glamorous light.
ELLE: How did you interpret this inspiration onto the garments?
NB: We experimented with a lot of fabrics – there is this special tussar with lurex that we got woven, then there were pure silks, chanderi silk, satins…all forming the core of the collection, which were then worked upon with surface ornamentation and embroidery.
ELLE: Do you already have any personal favourites from the line?
NB: The graphic and the gothic styles in particular – the last look was one of my favourites where the contrast of the white shirt with the ball skirt was so baroque!
The designer was also joined by his friend Kalki Koechlin, who added: “The collection has a lot of cinematic elements, inspired by the Gothic and Hitchcock’s films. The motifs, like the flowers, are also reminiscent of French cinema and Godard’s films, so that’s kinda cool and I’m a big fan of that era of cinema. And Nachiket’s hobby for photography has come out in the collection through the play of light and shadow, though he prefers to use the Italian term ‘Chiaroscuro’ to depict the contrast between light and shadow.”
Flip through the gallery to take a virtual tour backstage
Photographs: Manasi Sawant
