Last Saturday, the chic market of Lodhi Colony in Delhi was transformed into a traditional home from Kohima, Nagaland, with picturesque models traversing its rustic locale. The occasion was the launch of the spring – summer ’24 collection of fashion label EKÁ, whose team had created a rather realistic set to present its vision holistically.
“To look at far off landscapes for a sweet escape, to inquire about the way people live, love and long, are elements embedded at the core of brand EKÁ,” explained the brand’s founder and creative director Rina Singh. “For spring-summer ‘24, our line-up of saccharine-toned nostalgic dresses find familiarity in the spiralling lanes of K O H I M A. The city’s terracotta walls, dream-blue sky, whisper-sheer clouds, kind and warm-hearted people, form the backdrop for a collection of water colour layers.”
Speaking about her inspiration, she adds: “We took our inspiration from the famous Studio Ghibli aesthetic. The brand consistently drops pin location in different parts of the country to uncover a new language. Whether its Moira, Ladakh, Lucknow, or Kohima, we are always looking for a new place to express ourselves from.”
The result was an easy-breezy and pleasing to the eye collection of Kota weaves, light-as-air linen, and block-printed khadi dresses. On display were soft layers in unconventional cuts, clothes that fall away from the body and fabrics that age and shape around the wearer, in keeping with EKÁ’s aesthetic. The casual, anti-fit garments multitask as they pair well with uber-feminine accessories like bows and ballerina flats or even military jackets and backpacks.
Singh’s personal ethos has always been one geared towards simple living, rooted in her being raised in a family of agriculturalists. “I developed a sound understanding of textile design through international exposure and extensive travel across rural India. Over this time, my love of people, nature and craft has been central to my vision, and it is shared by my husband Sandeep Dua, who is the managing director of EKA,” she shares.
She hails from rural North India and was raised in a culture that focused on family and community craftsmanship. Hence, these principles have always influenced her work. Singh was awarded the Chairman’s Scholarship from Wigan & Leigh College to study fashion in the UK in 1998. She received the Elle India Graduates Award in 2015 and was runners-up at the prestigious Woolmark International Prize in 2016. She was awarded the Vogue Power List – Minimalist Designer of the Year in 2019 and was also featured in Harper Bazaar’s Women of the Year for 2019.
Speaking about the idea behind the collection, she says, “The collection is a moody nod to Studio Ghibli that’s photographed in Kohima for picturesque documentation. We are always inspired from traditional textile techniques at EKÁ. We use a lot of hand weaves and prints that we redesign and develop each season with a new informed vocabulary. Our aesthetic is fresh with an offbeat colour mix and interplay of patterns showcased in an unconventional fashion. We also used Ghibli studio’s aesthetic for colour and mood to give us an extensive palette of pastels and earthy cottage core. Our photo shoot and accompanying video was shot in Kohima – the city of kewhira flowers. It’s an old city with a young soul, and it rendered itself to the delicate, poetic storytelling that we repeat each season with feminine dreamy undertones.”
All the pieces in the collection are created with hand woven Kota, cotton silks, Jamdani and linens – block-printed and yarn-dyed in bold patterns of checks and stripes layered with sombre chalky pastels. The block prints are created with a vocabulary of print intelligence where 14-20 blocks were separated for one print exploration. They are then filled up as art works and collages. Each piece is a unique ode to the handwoven rich textile crafts of the country.
Singh ends by sharing her special connection with Kohima, “Our policy at EKÁ has always been to find poetic backdrops for the photo documentation of our collections. For the Ghibli aesthetic that we were keen to highlight with this collection, Kohima seemed most appropriate, and we picked it for its architecture, starkly beautiful landscape, and its poetic colour renderings. Its young and fashionable population also became our muse.”
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.