FESTIVE FLAIR
Fresh from their show at Lakme Fashion Week, Indian designers Priyanka and Ankur Modi will bring their latest collections to a Diwali trunk show in Dubai this month, writes Panna Munyal
“Heavy embroidery is not the be-all and end-all of a festive wardrobe. I wish more people would realise that,” says Indian designer Priyanka Modi, co-founder of AMPM. “When it comes to embellishment for your Diwali or wedding outfits, also look to prints, look to colours, or simply accessorise differently. Not only will you look ‘festive’ enough, but you’ll be more comfortable and elegant for it.”
Priyanka and her husband and business partner, Ankur Modi (their initials form the rather clever brand name), demonstrated this relaxed yet stylish aesthetic through their Gypset collection at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai last month. And the response, she says, was heart-warming. “Wearability is a huge factor for us. Our biggest reward is when people can relate to what they have seen on the ramp and imagine it hanging in their own wardrobes,” says Priyanka. The duo will bring curated pieces from the Gypset range to the Numaish trunk show at the Shangri-La in Dubai on Friday and Saturday, just a few weeks before Diwali, the Indian festival of lights. “The collection is inspired by and created for the modern, jet-setting woman, and includes the functional pieces we carry with us on our world travels.
“We worked on creating interesting and flexible separates, such as a long boyfriend jacket that can be dressed up or down; a long and flowing cape that’s effortlessly easy; a draped dupatta that’s belted up so your hands are free; and a flouncy paper bag silhouette that has been incorporated in skirts, dhotis and saris alike,” says Priyanka, who describes the collection as Indian with a modern twist and mature colour palette, in keeping with the promise of cooler weather. “We used shades of sand, forest green, tan and burgundy, with some coloured stones. Our motif – the horse in this collection, to signify travel – is rendered in laser-cut patra [metal sheet] work in a gunmetal silver.”
The trunk show will also include pieces from the duo’s newest collection, Qalb, which takes its cues from the Gond art form and bagh prints indigenous to the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. “The Qalb pieces coincide exactly with the start of a new season, and are accordingly rendered in fresh colours, with lots of prints – both screen and digital – hand aari [threadwork], light embroidery, and quirky geometric and deer motifs, which are found in Gond art,” explains Priyanka.
The Gonds are one of the largest tribal groups in the world, and legend has is that every family in the Madhya Pradesh village of Patangarh has at least one artist. The art form itself has very humble beginnings – it was used to beautify the mud walls of the village’s houses. In the early 1980s, artists began experimenting with acrylic and watercolours, and many of the resultant paintings have since been exhibited in galleries all over the world, most notably the works of Jangarh Singh Shyam. However, like most rural art forms, Gond, too, is under threat of extinction owing to lack of proper training and marketing prowess.
With much dialogue surrounding the fine line between creative inspiration and cultural appropriation, I ask Priyanka where AMPM’s Qalb collection lies. “Frankly, India is a gold mine when it comes to heritage arts and crafts. Gond and others are relatively well-known, but there are still so many that we are not exposed to, even within the country. Because of this lack of documentation, many traditional practices are dying out. In the collection, we’ve tried to bring the art to the modern-age consumer, not by replicating it exactly, but by making it relevant.
“As designers, we are mediators who can draw out these emotional and cultural connections to our roots, and cite as our sources the artisans who are striving to keep them alive. So did we use local craftspeople first-hand? No. But we visited the state and bought their paintings. Similarly, for a collection inspired by Benares, we visited the place and picked up reams of fabric from local vendors and brought them back home to reinterpret and, yes, credit.”
Home is Delhi, where Priyanka studied at the Pearl Academy for a year followed by a course at London College of Fashion. Before starting AMPM when she married Ankur in 2012, she worked for Indo-Parisian label Nitya. “When I returned to India, I realised there was a lot of couture in the market, but hardly any prêt,” she says. “So we decided to launch AMPM and offer effortless, semiformal clothing that adheres to our three pillars: wearability, elegance and value for money.” The Gypset and Qalb collections are priced from Dh460, although some of the pieces retail for as much as Dh6,950.
“All fashion is cyclical. Prêt and simple, everyday wear was the need of the day when we started, but over the years, we’ve seen a growing demand for occasionwear, which we focus on through our Signature line,” she explains.
AMPM has also found favour among Bollywood celebrities, with the likes of Alia Bhatt, Kajol, Dia Mirza, Shraddha Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez being spotted in its creations.
“Although word of mouth is the strongest tool, what Bollywood stars can do for somebody’s fashion aspirations and the value they get to the table is unparalleled,” admits Priyanka. “There’s no denying that their endorsing a brand leads to other consumers seeking it out more actively. I would like to think that they, or their stylists, look to us for our elegant and functional outfits, which are at once festive and so easy to pair.”