Designer Sanjay Garg is in an inordinately good mood. And it’s not just because his label, Raw Mango, is currently on sale. Garg is the only Indian designer whose creations will feature as part of the prestigious Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) fashion exhibit, ‘Items: Is Fashion Modern?’, curated by Paola Antonelli.
“Paola came to India and visited my store along with Mallika Varma of Border and Fall. They took some photos, and selected two saris, one from my Monkey Business collection and the other a collection made in Varanasi. I had no clue what they were going to select, but I was very excited,” Sanjay reveals. Using 111 pieces spanning the ages, from the modern era’s iconic Levi’s jeans and the little black dress, to culturally significant garments like the sari and the kippah, the exhibition aims to reflect the past, present and future of civilization through fashion. Sanjay says, “I’m happy that the sari is going to be represented along side Levi’s jeans and the white T-shirt.”
The exhibition opens on October 1 in New York, but the designer will be travelling for the exclusive preview on September 26. Some of his time will be engaged in giving a lecture at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “I’ve never given a presentation in my life, I hate them, but they [the West] don’t understand the sari as we do,” he adds. “We want them to look at the sari from a socio-political point of view. Fashion in general is very much influenced by society, you can’t separate it from traditions and taboo.”
Items: Is Fashion Modern? opens on October 1 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
