Bag a pichhwai
Jeda Nasha.
Ibtida.
Besides the clothing line, Anita Dongre has extended her commitment to ethical fashion with her new collection of vegan accessories. These accessories are made with Mirum — the world’s first plastic-free alternative to leather. Each accessory features hand-painted motifs.
“We’re one of the first Indian brands to incorporate Mirum. This is our second drop of vegan accessories; the first edit was launched in January last year. This time around we’ve also incorporated hand-painted pichhwai on a vegan fabric base. We worked on it for over two years to understand the materials and incorporate it in our design language. The aim is to continue utilising it in our future collections too, since it aligns perfectly with our commitment to leather-free fashion,” says Anita. Inspired by a 400-year-old legacy of pichhwai paintings and heritage craft zardosi, the accessories feature hand-painted motifs.
“We have also added a line of pichhwai bags hand-painted by our master artisans in Rajasthan. We work with artisan clusters across the country and strive to showcase our exquisite crafts. In the latest capsule we have also used our signature gota-patti embroidery as well as metal-engraved artwork,” adds Anita. and Raghav Chaitanya (for the track Chhad Ke Na Jaa), who brought their own colours to the EP,” says IP. Rajarshi adds that the compositions in the EP also have nuanced sounds, such as the sound of scratching, writing on a piece of paper.
Lyrically, while compiling the EP, IP and Rajarshi were made entirely out of Bemberg yarn,” she says.
Anita believes that Bemberg is uniquely suited for the tropical Indian climate, oering breathability and comfort in the sweltering heat, making it ideal for soaring temperatures and beach weddings. “Its soft, smooth texture adds a touch of luxury, appealing to brides or bridesmaids seeking elegant yet practical attire for destination weddings and fashion enthusiasts who appreciate high-quality fabrics with a touch of luxury,” she adds.
The limited-edition, ready-to-wear Azure capsule, envisioned for summer soirees, ranges between ₹23,000 and ₹65,000 and is available across all of the designer’s stores in India as well as online.
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IP Singh and Rajarshi Sanyal of the band Faridkot; and (above) their EP
considerate of the chronology and silence between the tracks. “We are lucky that all the ve tracks ow from one to the other. There’s an invisible thread joining them. The songs in the middle have an emotional curve that reaches a crescendo. So, when you start with the rst song, the emotional curve begins, it peaks in between, and then we bring it back, completing the whole circle with the last track,” says IP. He shares that Rajarshi would often hear the songs repeatedly to see the order in which they were to be placed in the album. “One had to gure out the aftertaste of the song to see if it is setting the palate for the upcoming song,” he adds.
The band continues to maintain its self-de ned genre “confused pop”, refusing to be con ned to labels. IP’s stance is clear: “We always want to achieve something that is liked by people, but the confusion is caused by how do we get there. There are 200 million ways to reach there, so we keep exploring them, and you can call this sound confused pop.”
The band members say that they are planning to release two more EPs this year. “Besides that a couple of lm projects and OTT projects are on. We want to explore the sounds and songs of India,” Rajarshi signs o.
You can listen to Ibtida on Spotify and other music streaming apps.