Hesitant to get photographed, and easily one of Indian fashion landscape’s most reclusive designers, Aneeth Arora of Péro, lives a life earnestly dedicated to her craft. Her offering Péro’s resounding success finds a home in compelling storytelling and meticulously crafted ensembles. The label is now out with their SS ’24 collection titled ‘Heartsong,’ which is set in this whimsical land, reverberating with the melodic bubbling noises of the brook layered with the sweet singing of the community that lives there.
It’s the purity, you see. The words ‘LOVE’, inspired by hand-embroidered initials on vintage French home textiles, provide a surprise element to the design ethos of Péro’s SS 24 collection rooted in french artistry. Here’s what Aneeth had to say, when quizzed about all things inspiration, research and design development.
ELLE: Kindly tell us about Heartsong. The inspiration, the ethos and the name.
Aneeth Arora (AA): We came up with the idea of Heart Song because we felt that anytime someone is engaged in doing something therapeutic, there is a certain kind of satisfaction in the act. I have also realised that people start humming when they are doing something they really like. So the whole season was about slow living and doing things at their own pace and being able to express yourself in many ways, especially in this age of everything going so fast. This is why we called it Heartsong. All the practices we see in the campaign are all the things that are similar to therapy to people – be it engaging in activities like gardening, doing the daily chores, cooking or going out to a feast with their friends.
ELLE: If your collection was a movie, which one would it be and why?
AA: I honestly can’t name a film, but it surely will be something which is based in the French countryside. A storyline where people are living a slow life, and are least bothered about what’s happening in the cities. Maybe every now and then, they hop onto a car to go into the city. Essentially, it’s for people who enjoy both sides but they love their slow, good life.
ELLE: Could you elaborate more on the french bit, please?
AA: So there was a reason why I mentioned French artistry and slow practices because this season, we have worked with a very intensive needlework technique which is called ‘Petit Point.’ There’s personalisation with French linens using monograms or initials of people which are hand stitched. And that is how this is different from previous seasons because in the past we haven’t worked with that particular fabric and the inspiration this season was nothing like we’ve done before. It’s all embroidered by hand. I also think that this is the USP of the season.
ELLE: What are the silhouettes and colour palettes in this collection of Péro like?
AA: It’s very true to our inspiration for the textiles this season which are French textiles. For starters, most vintage French textiles are those linens with a very natural tinge. They are either off-white or boast of a red/blue stripes. Safe to say, the predominant colours are off-white and beige with accents of red and navy blue. You know those linen grain sacks in which they store grains? It is a typical beige coloured sack with key lines of red running down the centre, that is a very typical French textile. So that, was the starting point, and then we started researching on a lot of linen towels and linen textiles with French florals.
ELLE: Péro does a lot on the material exploration grounds. Is it research oriented or you just decide to sit one day and spend hours playing with the fabric? What’s the process like for you?
AA: We do a lot of extensive research here, at Péro, which starts about 2 years in advance. The starting point can be very simple, like the French towel I bought from a flea market during my travels. But if that’s the starting point, we then hop onto the research part of it, which is done by 10 designers and each one looks at the story, the print and the embroidery. After the whole research is done, we make a bible for the season to follow and use it when we’re actually getting down to making the clothing.
We work with indie handloom textiles from different regions of India, and so to inculcate the new season and the new colour palettes and to be able to achieve that in time, we have to be able to work 2 years in advance. To answer your question, the research is super extensive but the starting point is just an instinct. It could be just a colour, say pink. In this case it could just have been a French Towel lying around on my table.
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