Menswear designer Divyam Mehta hopes to give textiles a global look through his new line Into the Woods.
By Asmita Aggarwal
Growing up amongst weaves, fabrics and embroidery Divyam Mehtas mom being the sister of the brothers who run Laffaire, Satya Paul and Heritage, textiles and textures come naturally to him.
For the first time showing a menswear line at the AIFW Aut-Winter 2016, Divyam Mehta after Pearl Academy of Fashion, decided to do a course from the London College of Fashion in visual merchandising and retail which taught him how European markets function.
In 2007, he got an opportunity to start his own store and his first choice was menswear. I kind of unintentionally gravitated towards it, as I had an affinity for tailoring and construction, unlike women’s wear which is more flowy and glamorous, he says.
His AIFW line titled, Into the Woods displays his fascination for textures, which are brought out through resist dyeing techniques, mostly Shibori. The idea was to give men a better option than the same old beaded sherwani that they mostly wear for a special occasion. We offered them a superbly tailored Shibori jacket, where you can see textures of a tree or bark carved out in deep, dark and intense colours, he adds.
Admitting that the Indian menswear market is restricted, and was even more so when he began, Divyam wanted to experiment and offered draped trousers with shawls that men could wear anywhere making it comfortable yet fashionable. His uneven hemlines, quilting techniques and thread work narrated a story of innovation with a definite focus on inventive thinking. I think the only way to save textiles is to interpret them in a modern way so that they can be worn globally, which I what has been my brands aim, he concludes.