From embroidery created out of scrap, to making even the motifs move along as you wear the ensemble Anurag Gupta woos the unusual.
By Asmita Aggarwal
He honed his skills under none other than the former creative director of Paco Rabanne the inimitable Manish Arora, but the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT), Mohali graduate wanted to find his own handwriting. Thus, it was only in 2018 that Anurag summoned the courage to launch his label, though with a catch. He uses scrap materials not threads to craft embroideries, for almost all the surfaces he executes. This year he has deftly added 3 D prints to elevate ornamentation.
Interestingly, he has gone back in time to when Charles Darwin discovered the theory of evolution, he sketched and then printed it on fabric. But thats not all his past experiments have been, his famous newspaper print, where being a current affair addict, he decided to use this as his muse, and not the conventional gotta-paatis. Training under Manish Arora, I learnt the technical know-how, his understanding of construction was impeccable and I believe thats my forte, says Anurag.
Floating in a world of style for the last ten years, Gupta says it took him five years to work on the business of design, and what can draw buyers towards his offerings. Unpredictability became his mainstay, what you would not expect in terms of embellishments—so he began to think out-of-the-box. This year while reading B R Ambedkars book a chapter Failed Promises, a story on untouchables made him rethink human existence. Manual scavenging, and their condition has been highlighted with his mud-splatter prints and subtle texturing. I decided to work with deconstruction and edgy shapes, with a strong emphasis on pattern cutting in greys, as well as olive and charcoal, with a pinch of yellow, he admits.
Using recycled polyester and linen, the beauty of his embroideries is that it moves with the body as if, mimicking the movements. The detailing can be seen in the manner in which the embroideries are placed on the fabrics, when I did a line on insects, the functionality reflected in the way that when you wore it, became a part of your anatomy, he concludes.