Rina Singh of Eka on bringing 2020’s upcyling trend to menswear

You may say that 2020 is when ‘upcycling’ joined the luxurious vocabulary. Last month, when Miu Miu introduced a capsule assortment of clothes created from refashioned classic clothes, they have been becoming a member of a rising checklist of worldwide luxurious manufacturers that have been both making sense of extra stock or sharing plans to be much less wasteful.

For creatives, I believe this 12 months was a blessing; a time to introspect and re-align. The previous few months of revision additionally led to a change in how we, at Eka, plan our collections and design cycles. I spent lots of quiet, reflective time at dwelling in Gurgaon within the months of March and April, a interval after we often do most of our gross sales. I realised that owing to the shortage of sources due to the pandemic, we might not be in a position to develop as many textiles as we had up to now. It made me flip to our stock accrued over time from our community of weavers in Phulia, Murshidabad, Bhagalpur and elsewhere. We recycled lots of these textiles imaginatively. We used overdyes, prints and patchwork, and we created menswear.

The swimsuit different

With Eka Core, I wished to make a proposal for males who didn’t need to be confined to fits. Would they, as an alternative, think about simple shapes to work, lounge, journey or vacation in? In the previous, I’ve picked up lots of stuff for my husband, Sandeep, from boutiques in Paris and New York and small labels in Tokyo that provide good collections for males. I used to be impressed by the workmanship and the simple cuts of these items. Sandeep’s individualistic style has resulted in a wardrobe replete with clear, useful items, together with trial-and-error coordinates from our pattern room. I used to be impressed by his worn-to-shreds Comme des Garçon clothes and the intelligent ending inside-out. Then there may be Rajesh Pratap, who has all the time led by instance together with his cuts, finishes, materials and by being delicate to aware design. I come from a household of agriculturalists. It is usually stated that design is developed or an acquired aesthetic. I really feel it’s one thing that should match your philosophy of life. For me, this might be craft, neighborhood dwelling, a easy life.

Comfort is paramount to my collections. Breathable textiles are tough to sew shut to the physique, thus giving room across the form and creating silhouettes which are dishevelled, beneficiant, slouchy. Having a robust maintain over indigenous textiles and utilizing them to create comfy shapes whereas working with womenswear since 2011 has additionally been channelised right here. Core is an concept that I had seeded final 12 months and it was anyhow due to be launched this 12 months. The pandemic gave it a nudge as day by day necessities turned a necessity.

Not a capsule assortment

I don’t anticipate males to purchase as girls; as an illustration, in the event that they like the autumn of a pair of trousers, they might purchase these in three colors whereas girls have a tendency to decide a spread. At the identical time, I really feel menswear is a stronger, extra loyal market as seasonal collections don’t want an enormous variation. The textiles utilized in Eka menswear received’t require a lot floor and design developments. The concept is to add parts that make it work for the phase of males who’re developed of their style sensibility. This isn’t a capsule assortment however will probably be ongoing. In pure textiles like wool, linen and cotton, all recycled and repurposed from Eka collections, they’ve a timelessness and performance.

Right now, our real-time entry to the world via social media and commerce platforms has made the world a smaller place. Clothes are however one medium that show how the strains are blurring for design identities — transcending nation of origin and native design sensibility. They advantage via the native craft panorama and expression of private identification. We can both dwell in our silos or create a fluid language with intelligent identification to cross over and merge.

Rina Singh is the founder and designer of Eka and Eka Core. Her début menswear line launches on ogaan.com on December 5.