Designer Payal Khandwala fondly recalls sewing garments for her miniature dolls -- it marked her first tryst with textiles. Going forward, she went onto design a fitted tulle dress for her graduation at the young age of 15, which turned out to be nothing short of a disaster. This was when she realised that personal style should take precedence over fashion. True to her signature look, the designer's deconstructed silhouettes find themselves inspired by poppies, that signify several things to different people across cultures with this latest drop.
Peace, love, loss, success, remembrance, recovery even restful sleep. As a metaphor for life and death and everything that comes in between, the poppy as a symbol was the ideal motif to start play with colour, form and abstraction. Flawed yet beautiful, the artwork is a tribute to the magic of nature, akin to all the tiny imperfect details that shape a blossom. A reminder that even from a broken petal, a blemished leaf or a stem slightly bent, can still emerge an extraordinary flower. Coming on the heels of a difficult time, this release is for all the dreamers that find perfection in the imperfections, and look for hope especially when seemingly, there is none. By choosing to see the good even in the bad, it also celebrates that childlike spirit within each of us, and a certain lightness of being we all aspire to have. To life, fragile and fleeting. And to new beginnings, both bold and bright.
Payal launched her eponymous label in 2012. Her approach to clothing is much like her art. The prism with which she sees fashion is therefore distinctive, she treats dressmaking as simply a shift in canvas. She orchestrates colour and textures to create layered separates that are dramatic yet minimal, with subtle attention to detail. Talking about the creative process for this collection she explains, 'I wanted in particular to pick a graphic that represented different things to different cultures, and the poppy was the perfect beginning. Besides its obvious graphic appeal, it is a motif that symbolises life and death and everything in between, peace, love, loss, recovery, forgiveness. The artwork was purposefully flawed just like in these difficult times our life seemed, but this release was really just for all the dreamers like me, that look for perfection in the many imperfections that surround us. A nod to all of us that look for a silver lining where there often seems to be none.'
For Payal the fashion of now should look more sincere and honest. She adds, 'I wish it could be less about the packaging and more about the product. For example, in my opinion, words like sustainable mean nothing if you go on sale every few months because it only compels consumerism. And if clothes are ultimately meant to be worn, they must make you feel a certain way. We can discuss concepts and art direction to death, but in the end, it doesn’t mean a thing if the pants don’t fit.'
Date 17-06-2021
