You sense it coming – raised heartbeat, tightened muscles, the speed of your blood as it rushes through your veins; Your breath quickens, eyes dilate, your body is ready; in a sharpened state of awareness, cortisol pumping through your bloodstream. Beads of perspiration dot your skin, and then you smell a flower’s bloom and your mind redirects, unlocking your muscles, unshackling your mind, gently bringing you to reality where your options are greater than just flight or flee, where threats de-escalate.
This defining moment in our everyday life inspires Amit Aggarwal’s latest collection Euphor. In an exclusive chat with ELLE, he talks about his inspirations, the advantages of launching a new collection on social media, and more.
ELLE: Tell us about the mood board of Euphor. What inspired this collection?
Amit Aggarwal: Every time I’ve gone through unnerving times during the last few months, I’ve looked at the blooming of flowers around me. Or I’ve looked at something which has magical colour and still prevails in the darkest of times. This has given me hope and stabilisation. Along with nature, my heartbeat is something that this collection got really inspired by.
I think it was more of a personal journey. Nature can be such a big therapy for the human race currently. And I think that coexistence between both of them is a much larger conversation for a beautiful future.
ELLE: You are launching this collection on Instagram. Do you see this as a future for fashion?
AA: I feel that your Instagram has kind of become your own voice. And I think it’s also the simple fact that it allows you to probably project the brand’s most unadulterated vision. It also gives you a large sense of flexibility to design the show as you wish and bring a lot of details to life. And I also think it’s a little less intrusive into people’s lives at this current juncture and more democratic because it allows the whole world to be accessing the show simultaneously. And it really breaks down the barriers of the whole idea of fashion being a far more elitist kind of role.
ELLE: What are some of the key trends to watch out for in this collection?
AA: Lightness is an important talking point for most of our collections. And we continue that journey even in this one. It’s overall the sense of celebration through the spirit of colour, while also being really grand and opulent.
ELLE: Has the pandemic affected your design sensibilities in any way? If yes, please elaborate.
AA: I think more than the design sensibility, it has eroded the extra layers you accumulate over time. I think there’s a larger connect in terms of storytelling and ultimately bringing the patron closer to the brand’s ethos, the heart and the beat of the brand.
ELLE: Were there any industry trends last year that took you by surprise?
AA: I was taken by surprise by the resilience of the human race. It is so great that we all sprang back to some normalcy much more easily and quicker than I probably expected. No matter how dark the cloud is, I do feel that people do know how to celebrate, how to enjoy.
ELLE: Homegrown, sustainable fashion has become the go-to. How does your brand support the current narrative?
AA: Every technique or craft idea that we try is deeply rooted in the ethos of indigenous craftsmanship. I do feel that we constantly try and marry the narrative of skill with not just with the hand, but the skill of the mind. And I think that probably leads to a very dynamic future for what craft of the country could be in the coming years.
You’re starting from being homegrown and still trying to speak of a larger language only takes the perspective to a bigger dimension.
