An ode to the
he metaphorical iterations of the colour blue may have attributed to its aesthetic value. No wonder, it has been the muse of many fashion designers — from Charles Lewis Tiany’s trademark Tiany blue and Yuima Nakazato’s 2022 collection Blue Season to Stella McCartney and Fendi taking to its pale shade during the Spring-Summer ‘24 runway shows. Closer home, couturier Anita Dongre is romancing the hue’s association with Nature. Its prominent proportions in her newly launched collection, titled Azure, are coupled with eco-conscious craftsmanship. “True to the inspiration, Azure brings to life the colour spectrum of the ocean and the sky,” says Anita, who sourced Bemberg yarn exclusively from Asahi Kasei, a multinational Japanese chemical company that specialises in chemicals and materials science, for the collection.
The range, which comprises a variety of kaftans, dresses, saris and skirt sets, was born from a dream.
“I woke up one morning, buzzing to come to work and sit with my team because I had this vivid dream involving the sounds, textures and movement of waterscapes, which really inspired me. I wanted to encapsulate the ow and uidity of water with a quiet feminine sensuality,” says the designer.
She started working on the capsule around mid-August last year and states that the Mumbai monsoon added a
TBeaming with Bemberg
YModels wearing the dress and sari in the Azure edit, which explores the colour spectrum of ocean and sky; fashion designer Anita Dongre; and a model displaying the brand’s red bag with hand-painted pichhwai on a vegan fabric base.
amarjot.kaur@thehindu.co.in
lovely ambience while designing the collection.
“It took us about six months [to curate the edit] because we were quite particular about getting the right fabric that captured the ow I imagined,” she adds. The motifs in the collection, she says, were designed with a watercolour aesthetic and translated on the garment using digital printing.
Bemberg is a brand of cupro, which is regenerated cellulose
bre. Made from 100% cotton linter that is a pre-consumer material, Bemberg is a sustainable material that is biodegradable and compostable. “The breeziness of the fabric was a perfect match. For this capsule, while we were working on the moodboard, they [Asahi Kasei] shared their latest development of soil and marine biodegradable yarn and everything just clicked,” says Anita.
She shares that her brand started working with Bemberg