Apparel August 2019 Apparel August 2019 issue | Page 80

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
TEXTILES FIRST
Soham thus returned to Ahmedabad and set
up a production facility where textiles, crafted
by artisans from different clusters, are stitched
into finished garments. The textile then inspires
the surface design, along with designs of the
stitched garments. He works only with natural,
organic fabrics that are handwoven at myriad
textile clusters in the country. He has designed
garments with cotton, silk, and linen, and plans
to work with wool fabrics in the future. Similarly,
khadi and chanderi have also been his fabrics
of choice.
Over the years, Soham has collaborated with
weavers and artisans hand-working different
traditional surface design techniques such as
ajrak hand-block printing. His latest collection,
titled White & Black, has been inspired by his
keenness to work with Bengal cottons.
SOHAM PREFERS TO FOCUS HIS
EFFORTS ONLY ON ONE WEAVE
AND ONE SURFACE DESIGN (IF
BEING USED) AT A TIME SO THAT HE
CAN DO FULL JUSTICE TO IT.
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August 2019
KEEPING IT MINIMAL
In the designing of textiles as well as garments,
Soham believes in keeping the look minimal. “I
am always looking at what can be removed from
the textile or garment—without taking away the
core essence and inherent beauty of it—rather
than seeing what can be added. I like to work
with geometry and so far, I have relied on it.”
For instance, in the case of ajrak, this could
mean reducing the number of colours and
motifs without changing the production process
so that the work remains authentic, just with a
slightly different interpretation. One example is
the Dana collection that featured danas or dots,
created using the ajrak technique. The line is
quite different in the sense that it does not feature
geometric and floral motifs found in a traditional
ajrak print.
Soham prefers to focus his efforts only on one
weave and one surface design (if being used) at
a time so that he can do full justice to it. “Rather
than moving from one textile technique to another
for each new collection, I prefer to go deep
into one technique. Each craft offers endless
possibilities and I prefer to keep exploring and
reviving it till I feel I have exhausted its potential.
For instance, we brought out the Dana collection
in 2012 and revisited it in 2017.” In this way, he