Residual Memories
Sushant Abrol, inspired by the ideology of “what is left behind” pays homage to his late brother Samir, through molten metallics, abstract kantha and silver coated denim. Asmita Aggarwal Five years ago, when Sushant Abrol’s brother Squadron Leader Samir Abrol’s brother, died in a crash, he went to the crash site, and noticed boundaries were put in place. It was an emotional time, with his mother, who had lost a young son, the tarmac had ripped, he saw shiny metal pieces strewn across, and one such was right next to his shoes. He quietly picked it up, put it in his pocket, it had a screw left in it, a molten piece of burnt aircraft. He thought to himself this is what gets left behind of a once mighty plane, thus the name of his men’s wear line for Chivas X FDCI “Residual”. “When I looked closely, I saw how deformed metal has become, almost charred,” says Sushant of the label Countrymade. Only three hues – black, silver and grey form the basis of his line, the patterns come from them — cotton, leather coated, metallics, along with hand tucking to add a third dimension mirroring the look of how metal burns and kind of turns inwards or folds. He has added many effects— burnt, tears and charred look, as well as denim and frays, as well as hand done applique. Such is the attention to detail, if you look closely the buttons resemble broken plane parts. Out of fabric scraps, he has created a camouflage pattern, like residual pieces, to make a ‘whole’. The speciality of the collection is a unique coating on denim — silver, then enzyme wash treatment to erode it – giving a washed out look. Images of metal textures, fuselage look of an aircraft is done with rivets. “We have coated cotton, wet-looking, almost slippery, like leather, even though kantha is our USP we incorporate it every year, we have ‘residual stitches’ which have a different interpretation. No motifs were used, allowed kantha to flow, abstract shapes, in any direction it wanted—unpredictable,” says Sushant. Molten lines which have been moved or disturbed, sunset images reflecting faded memories, embroidered denims give us a sneak peek into how he wanted to recreate a scene that has been stuck in the recesses of his memory. The consumer must know what he is wearing, where is it coming from, what’s the story behind it? Not too loud, or restrained but commercially viable clothing, after all, he runs a business. “I do seasonal lines, and just returned from a Paris trade show, where I discovered they like cuts to be away from the body, but in India we still like a fitter appeal-diametrically opposite,” he concludes.
The War Within
Bomb blasts, barren land, soldier writings on walls and stones, how war destroys the fabric of mankind and its futility has been beautifully mirrored through deft stitches by Sushant Abrols label Countrymade. By Asmita Aggarwal From writing poetry, to working with 8-10 needlework techniques, using imagery of his late Air Force pilot brothers life-from plane fuselage to the Morse code, Sushant Abrols label Countrymade, launched in 2019 is an homage to ingenious thinking. At 33, Abrol has won the Nexa Spotlight, without ever giving up hope, even after he faced several rejections, this is thanks to his upbringing, where challenge is part of daily life. He is delighted to get a solo show, a task many veterans have been unable to achieve, complete with 30 looks, after all he is just four years old in the industry. He was clear, he will launch unconventional menswear, but not slide into the comfort zone of ethnic offerings, even though this space is till evolving. Menswear doesnt work like womens wear, the former like to touch and feel, desire right fits, and to get a repeat clientele, you need to understand and customise, says Abrol. A believer in slow growth charts, building on a strong foundation, albeit consistently, is his motto. Without spending on PR and marketing, he refuses to overexpose the brand, neither has he tested the choppy waters of influencer marketing. I havent evolved with the insta-creator economy, it has been a personal choice, he smiles, adding he wants to still stay relevant even when social media craze wanes. This is even though naysayers advise him against his decision, stating he is losing out on opportunities, but his buyers are matureartists, musicians, and architects, who come to him for elevated basics, so you do not need a Uniqlo in your life. From a distance you can tell its Abrols clothing, and it is nothing like the designers he was trained under from Rohit Bal to Jyotika Jhalani of Janavi. Though his mentor, has always been the inimitable Shahab Durazi, whom he was curious about, often called as the Armani of India. I travelled to Mumbai, met him and since then he has guided me, I always share my progress with him, says Abrol. Just like he read Vanguard, a book written on the architect of Indian fashion Rohit Khosla, by his sister Rohini. The core of this brand rests on stark neutrals, hand done embroidery, he mastered neatness, modernised khankas, refused to do animals or flowers motifs, the inspiration is intangible, like poetry which turns into art forms. Using off white threads for his embroideries, chanderis and pure silks, matkas, katyas, as well as linen, prints over embellishments is his lexicon. Men want to repeat clothing, but I see some reluctance when it comes to embroideries even though we do a lot. They are only now exposed to the beauty of woven and knitted offerings, earlier it was only checks and stripes, he says. The feeling is if it is worked on, it is feminine. Everything Abrol indulges in, comes from a personal space, even if you look at the name Countrymade, it conjures up images of hooch, liquor, or arms, but that is not what he believes. It refers to things made slowly, by hand, a labour of love, a small cottage industry, where there are no industrialised processes. In 2015, he applied for a scholarship to study at London College of fashion, but didnt bag it, little did he know that it would be a blessing in disguise as his label today is for a discerning few who value his craft. His brother remains the central character in all his collections, even the latest, titled No Mans Land. This is based on the letters he received which have been preserved till today by his mom, and when he sat down to read them again, he felt a profound sense of loss—-revisiting the pain. The letters would come with a tagline Confidential meant to be opened only by Sushant, this was today playing in the background when he saw the Russia-Ukraine war on TV. The questions that emerged were What are we fighting for? capturing the odyssey of a soldier reflecting a personal battle ensuing within. I believe in dialogue, as humans we must find a common ground, how soldiers feel after war, when he views the destruction, is my inspiration, he confirms. The line presents this dichotomy and internal confusion through clothing specially Gond art, where the stitches reflect the tyranny of barbed wires and train tracks. The extensive R and D was done viewing thousands of war imagery, from barren land, scribbles on stones and walls by soldiers wanting to vent seeing the inhospitable surroundings, that saw kantha stitches coming into play. On stamps that come on inland letters were used to show the communication, Abrol embroidered them, the detailing of thought by Countrymade is quite engaging. He created artistic impressions of trees, rivers, and mountains in no mans land, indulged in line drawing, gave a birds eye view of farmland through embroidery, the line is replete with symbolism. Bomb blasts are also shown through stitches, even capturing how stones fly with impact, I think the idea was to depict the futility of war, I hope I have conveyed that effectively, he concludes.