Engineering couture: Amit Aggarwal

Amit Aggarwal is well-known for his engineering of modern and innovative couture inspired by nature’s awe-inspiring forms, while seamlessly combining India’s rich textile heritage and our commitment to environmental sustainability.

In line with this vision, the new Couture 2018 collection has been inspired by two wondrous natural phenomena, the formation of crystals at a molecular level and the enveloping of the metallic chrysalis around a butterfly cocoon. The collection is titled Crystalis, a derivation of words crystal and chrysalis.

He explains, “When molecules come together to form a highly ordered microscopic pattern, which then repeats itself infinitely, a crystal is formed. This phenomenon greatly resonates with our design process, one that’s centered on forging unique materials together to create singular design units and then repeating them to create complex patterns, textiles and embroideries.

The form and texture of our design elements too have been specifically designed to be sharp, angular and crystalline in appearance to reflect this core inspiration.”

“The metallic encasing that forms around the cocoon of a butterfly, the chrysalis, has been a formative aesthetic influence in this collection in equal measure. Our metallic and crystalline textiles sculpt, drape and travel in much the same way, eventually unravelling to reveal the elegant form of the female body,” he adds. 

Both concepts are bound at their very core by the idea of units, sometimes geometric and sometimes organic, coalescing together to form complex structural formations in our physical world. The colour palette follows the concept. Jewel tones of rose quartz, silver onyx, emerald, amethyst, topaz and sapphire, as well as metallic shades of rose gold, silver, pewter and light gold have been specifically tailored to create innovative designs. 

And as is his style Amit Aggarwal uses experimental textiles, created using modern industrial materials applied through traditional Zardozi and Ari hand techniques. For this collection a range of hand done three dimensional embroideries are used in various crystalline and bio mimicked forms and motifs to give the fabrics a unique visual and tactile quality. 

“We collaborated with textile designer Tanira Sethi to create one-of-a kind, engineered and embellished cashmere laces, meticulously knitted in France and subsequently embroidered and sculpted in-house to create innovatively draped couture pieces.”

Sharply cut innovative patterns, that accentuate and enhance the female form, have been combined with incredibly sculptural yet agile fabrications that dramatically drape around the body, creating a new and inimitable couture language for Crystalis.