Maximal Brutalist

 For this collection, I looked at Corbusier’s High Court in Chandigarh, where my father worked. Variations on a traditional ikat weave. Pockets shaped like the windows on the stairwells, tones of cream and forest green to mimic the concrete against the lush forests. Block-prints next to black, tailored wool. A bright orange brocade, normally used in loose Kurtis, is in a double breasted suit. This was about adapting elements of court dress in India using the language of Corbusier’s building.

The city, entirely brutalist in style, is an incredible oddity. It is often overlooked as one of the major first movements of a newly post-colonial India. Chandigarh was an inspiring but restrictive city. North India conservatism prevents the transgression of tradition. Being a queer Indian comes with a host of conflicting identities, being forbidden to interact with the extreme flamboyance of color, texture, shape and craftsmanship that was always in front of me. This is the beginning of what I hope will be a continued reclamation of Indian identity.

Patterning the coat started with the blocks from the bespoke tailored jacket. Developed with the sharp edges and rounded corners of the high court building

One undersleeve is blocked in ikat, a nod to the structured asymmetry of Corbusier’s architecture. The back forms the inverse of the rainwater pyramid fountains

Fully lined in a blue twill lining.